The NFL playoffs have officially arrived, and Wild Card weekend kicks off on Saturday, January 11.
Fans will be treated to six “win or go home” games over the course of the weekend, including the Minnesota Vikings taking on the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. It’s sure to be an exciting weekend of playoff football, so without further ado, here are my predictions for how these games will turn out.
Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans
- Spread: Chargers -3
- O/U: 42.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Chargers -3
Jim Harbaugh has brought plenty of physicality to the Los Angeles Chargers this season as the team finished 2024 with the best scoring defense in the NFL, and JK Dobbins has been a great addition to their backfield.
Meanwhile, Houston is limping into the playoffs having gone 4-5 in their final nine games following a 6-2 start. The loss of Tank Dell has proven to be a problem on offense, and Joe Mixon has come back down to earth after a scorching start to the season. The Chargers win this game comfortably as road favorites.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
- Spread: Ravens -9.5
- O/U: 43.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Ravens -9.5
It was just a couple weeks ago when the Ravens offense absolutely torched Pittsburgh. Derrick Henry totaled 189 yards on 26 touches, and Lamar Jackson put together three passing TDs.
Of course, Pittsburgh won the first matchup between these two teams, but they have looked like a drastically different team since then. The Steelers lost four consecutive games to finish the regular season, and they haven’t totaled 200+ net passing yards in the past five weeks. Baltimore should take care of business and move on to the Divisional.
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills
- Spread: Bills -8.5
- O/U: 46.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Bills -8.5
This feels like a classic situation where the moment gets to a young quarterback. It will be Bo Nix’s first taste of the playoffs, and it comes in Buffalo, which is hard enough to play in a normal situation, let alone with chances of snow in the forecast.
It has been a very impressive rookie season for Nix, but Josh Allen is going to have a chip on his shoulder for this one. I would expect a pretty ugly game here for Denver.
Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
- Spread: Eagles -4.5
- O/U: 45.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Packers +4.5
It’s a rematch of Week 1 between the Eagles and Packers, and while the Eagles won that matchup, we have to remember that it was played in Brazil on a Friday night — the most out of the ordinary circumstances we’ve seen for an NFL game.
Of course, Philadelphia now has homefield advantage, and the Packers are coming off back-to-back losses against divisional opponents. Jalen Hurts is out of concussion protocol, but he has remained a limited participant in practice to this point, and we don’t know how close to 100% he will be. The Packers can at least keep this game close if not outright win it.
Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Spread: Buccaneers -3
- O/U: 50.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Buccaneers -3
Baker Mayfield is getting closer to solidifying himself as a top 10 quarterback in this league. He was fantastic all season long, and as a result, the Buccaneers have won the NFC South for the fourth consecutive season. It looks like they nailed the middle of their 2024 draft class with selections of Tykee Smith, Jalen McMillan, and Bucky Irving.
Washington has a massive task on its hands, and perhaps Jayden Daniels, who has put together an outstanding rookie season, is up for the challenge. Still, I’m taking the Buccaneers to advance.
Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
- Spread: Vikings -1
- O/U: 47.5 points
Frey’s Pick: Vikings -1
Wild Card weekend concludes with a Week 8 rematch between the Rams and Vikings. Of course, the Vikings are coming off an ugly Sunday Night Football game against the Detroit Lions. Sam Darnold was horrendous, and Minnesota simply couldn’t finish off drives in the red zone.
Still, the Rams have not been particularly dominant on their way to the playoffs. Their offense has scored 20+ points in just one of their final four games, and it came in a Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. They’ve heavily relied on their defense to win games down the stretch, and Minnesota’s defense simply is better than LA’s at this point. The Vikings take this one on the road.
Editor’s Note: Odds found via ESPN. Statistics found via Pro Football Reference.
