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NFL Playoffs 2017: Odds, Schedule and Bracket Predictions for Wild Card Games
- Updated: January 2, 2017
This time of year is typically bittersweet for NFL fans. The regular season is over, and 20 teams are now done playing until next preseason. In a little more than a month, the postseason will be wrapped up too.
Over the next month, though, we’ll get playoff football and the excitement and intensity of win-or-go home action. That action kicks off this Saturday with Wild Card Weekend.
Today, we’re going to examine the four games on this weekend’s slate, along with the latest lines, courtesy of OddsShark.com. We’ll be making out picks against the spreads and predicting which four teams move on to the next round.
The New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons have byes this week and will be waiting for the week’s winners to emerge.
Wild Card Round
Games and Predictions
Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans
Saturday’s game between the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Texans has the potential to be an absolute mess. The Raiders have already lost starting quarterback Derek Carr for the remainder of the season and saw backup Matt McGloin suffer a shoulder injury in the season finale.
The Texans, meanwhile, saw starting quarterback Tom Savage suffer a concussion on Sunday. His status for next week is uncertain.
Brock Osweiler returned to the starting lineup after Savage was injured and performed fairly well. He finished 21-of-40 for 253 yards with a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown and no interceptions.
“I thought he did pretty good,” Texans tackle Duane Brown said of Osweiler, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I thought he played pretty loose. He made some big plays.”
Regardless of who is under center for Houston, we believe the Texans defense can carry the day. The McGloin and Connor Cook-led Raiders mustered just six points against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Denver is ranked fourth in total defense (316.1 yards per game allowed), while the Texans are first (301.3 yards per game allowed).
Look for Houston to win a close one at home.
Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks
A couple of weeks ago, the Detroit Lions had an opportunity to steal the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Now they’ve lost three in a row and are forced to visit the Seattle Seahawks to open …
