AFC Wild Card (What to expect and predictions)
The postseason is here. Wildcard round. Who is going to play spoiler to the dominant and heavily favored Patriots? Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, or the Houston Texans? 2 teams get to advance, and 2 go home. Let’s take a look!
Raiders (5th seed) VS Texans (4th seed)
The Oakland Raiders were coming into the post season as the number 2 seed, but an injury to QB Derek Carr led to a loss to the Broncos, falling to the 5th seed. With Carr out, the raiders will look to rookie QB Connor Cook. A 4th round pick in the 2016 draft, this will be his first start of the season. If the Raiders want to advance, they will have to protect him so he can protect the ball. The Raiders do have plenty of offensive and defensive weapons left. WR Amari Copper and Michael Crabtree will have to make some plays to help Cook out. On the other side of the ball, the defense will be lead by Khali Mack. The Raiders defense will need to work at keeping the offense on the field and keep the Texans off.
The Texans, lead by embattled QB Brock Osweiler, will have to play above and beyond what we normally expect if they want to advance. Osweiler is only in due to QB Tom Savage still being in the concussion protocol. They will want to get WR DeAndre Hopkins and RB LaMar Miller involved heavily and early. The defense is missing its own juggernaut in DE JJ Watt, but they have a very capable relief with ILB Benardrick Mckinney and Jadeveon Clowney. They should have an easy time pressuring a rookie QB in his first start.
My prediction – Texans 17 Raiders 14
Dolphins (6th seed) VS Steelers (3rd seed)
The Dolphins had an up and down season but overall looked good. However, with QB Ryan Tannehill out, they are lead by backup QB Matt Moore. They will lean on RB Jay Ajay, who has had a very solid season to help win this game. WR’s Devante Parker, Kenny Stills, and Jarvis Laundry will have to do everything they can to make Moore look good as well. The real challenge for the Dolphins will be on the defense. They will have to slow down a strong running and passing attack from the Steelers. The dolphins currently rank in the bottom of the league in both pass and overall yards (26th and 24th).
The Steelers, led by QB Ben Rothlisberger are looking to make a run for to stretch the league high Super Bowl wins to 7. With weapons such as WR Antonio Brown and RB Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers rank 7th in total yards and 5th in passing yards. They will look to have their way with a weak Dolphin defense. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers will to the front 7 to harass backup QB Moore. If they can disrupt his timing, then they will be able to focus on stopping Ajay.
My Prediction- Steelers 31 Dolphins 17
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