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NFL Wild Card Weekend 2017: Bracket Predictions for Postseason’s Opening Round
- Updated: January 2, 2017
Not every Wild Card Weekend contestant represents the cream of the NFL crop.
Three teams (Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins) advanced to the postseason despite depositing negative point differentials. This does not include the Oakland Raiders, who lost the AFC West and a first-round bye following Week 17’s 24-6 loss without Derek Carr.
Meanwhile, three of last year’s conference championship participants missed the cut altogether. The Denver Broncos would probably be favored to beat three of the four AFC squads that are competing during the opening round.
This doesn’t mean the next Super Bowl champion is sitting out the Wild Card Round, though. Half of the teams have combined to secure six of the last 11 titles, and all four remain threats to again run the table.
With 2016’s final page written, let’s examine the full first-round schedule and highlight a matchup from each conference.
Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Miami Dolphins defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers during the regular season, but they’ll still enter Wild Card Weekend as road underdogs.
In Week 6’s 30-15 triumph, Miami kept Pittsburgh’s stars in check. Ben Roethlisberger registered 189 passing yards—only 39 to Antonio Brown—and threw two interceptions. Given his season average of 157 yards from scrimmage, Le’Veon Bell’s 108 total yards (53 rushing, 55 receiving) represented a down day.
That victory occurred in Florida. While the Steelers’ stacked offense occasionally stumbles on the road, Roethlisberger has roasted the competition at Heinz Field:
Miami’s momentum crashed with a 35-14 Week 17 loss to the New England Patriots, their first playoff-bound opponent since upending Pittsburgh. The 10-6 squad went 1-5 against adversaries with eight or more victories this year.
That lone win came at Pittsburgh’s expense, so perhaps Miami has the AFC North champion’s number. But probably not.
Back in October, Jay Ajayi delivered the first of his three 200-yard rushing …
