Wild Card weekend is fast approaching and I’m going to look at the NFC side of it. Some highlights include Brock Purdy playing in his 1st career playoff game, Tom Brady facing Dak Prescott on MNF, and the Giants making it into the playoffs for the 1st time since the 2016-17 season. We get to watch a division battle, a football legend in Brady, and one of the best receivers to play, Justin Jefferson. It should be a cracking three games.
The 1st game of Wild Card Weekend is the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium to face the 49ers. The Seahawks won in OT against the Rams and then the Lions helped them out by beating the Packers. Perhaps they got a little bit of help and luck and I think they thoroughly deserve it. When they look back at the Russell Wilson trade, they’ll think of it as a really good business deal. Geno Smith showed up and has played fantastic this season. We all probably didn’t think of the Seahawks as a playoff team after W ilson but Seattle proved us wrong. They ran the ball really well with Kenneth Walker and did just enough this season. On the other side, I believe that the 49ers are the scariest team in the NFL. Their offense is on a whole other level and even their defense is one of the best in the league. Aiyuk, McCaffrey, Kittle, Samuel, and Purdy is their offense. This team is built to go far into the playoffs and will be a team to fear. I think the 49ers will win this game 27-13. They are on a 10 game winning streak and no one is better currently. They have the most versatile RB in the league, a do it all receiver, and a top 3 tight end. No one is stopping them, they will cruise past Pete Carroll’s team.
The next NFC game is the New York Giants visiting Minneapolis and the Vikings. These two teams played each other on Christmas Eve, a game in which the Vikings won 27-24. The Giants might just be one of the most underrated teams in the league. They don’t have a lot of big players and have had excellent coaching this year. Daniel Jones has improved drastically and this organization has really helped him. He’s thrown less interceptions, lost less fumbles, and has built a better understanding of the game. They’ve taught him when to run the ball as he is a pretty movable quarterback. The Giants defense has been great this year. They’ve made big plays in big moments. In the 2nd game vs the Commanders, they stepped up with a fumble touchdown and another fumble late in the game. With what they have, these New York Giants have done an excellent job. I think the Vikings are not what meets the eye to many. They are the number 3 seed but I don’t think they’re serious Super Bowl contenders. The defense has allowed too many points and they haven’t necessarily played well. A lot of their wins have been comebacks. In the playoffs, the stakes get higher. If you’re down by 20 in a playoff game, it is different than going 20 points down in the regular season. The intensity is higher and it’s your only chance. The Vikings have to keep a steady flow throughout the game and not fall. I believe the Giants will upset the Vikings 30-27. The Giants have the team to pull it off and the caliber. I’m so unsure about the Vikings and how they will play that I can’t choose them to win. I think that Justin Jefferson won’t be a big factor in this game because I feel like teams are figuring out how to cover him. It should be a close game but I think the Brian Daboll’s team will edge Minnesota.
The final Wild Card game is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Dallas Cowboys. The Bucs might’ve found the Mike Evans Tom Brady connection again and that is a thing to watch for in this game. The Bucs have been nowhere as good as last season but have still managed to get into the playoffs. For the Bucs, I think their passing game will be important. Godwin and Evans are terrific and they’ll definitely play a big factor in this game. Tom Brady has never lost to Dallas and let’s see if that trend continues in this game. The Cowboys are under a lot of pressure heading into this game. They’ve struggled in the playoffs like when last year they failed to spike it in time and it all comes down to Dak. He had a pretty awful game against the Commanders in the finale and if he plays like that again, you can already say goodbye to the Cowboys. He has to make smart decisions and not do anything crazy that going to lose him the game. We’ve seen the best of the Cowboys this season and the worst of them too. Which version of Mike McCarthy’s team will we see? I think the Buccaneers will win this game 24-17. The Cowboys don’t seem good enough for me and they don’t have it in them to beat Tom Brady. The Bucs are playing better at the right time and I think they’ll edge out the Cowboys.
3 NFC games which could teach us a lot about each team. Will the 49ers beat the Seahawks? Will the Vikings play their ultimate best and beat the Giants? Will the Cowboys shake off playoff woes and beat the Bucs? We’ll all find out during Super Wild Card Weekend.
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