Paul Bearer's Wild-Card Weekend Preview

By Kevin Adams aka Paul Bearer

Hey what's up everybody, it's your boy Paul Bearer back with another edition of Paul Bearer's NFL Discussion. The regular season is over, 20 teams have been pushed to the side, and 12 teams remain in the playoffs. 8 teams will do battle this weekend in the wild-card matchups, 4 will advance, 4 will go home. It's one of the best times of the year, NFL playoff football is here and the excitement is mounting. With that said, let's take a look at each matchup this wild-card weekend. We have the Jets taking on the Bengals, the Patriots host the Ravens, the Cardinals meet the Packers, and the Eagles do battle with the Cowboys. Let's jump into the wild-card matchups shall we?


New York Jets @ Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals overcame a late season swoon and the tragic death of a teammate to earn the first playoff berth since 2005, after going 10-6 and winning the AFC North. The Bengals swept their division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and proved to the league that they were legit this season and here to stay. Cedric Benson and a tough defense were the keys to this team, helped by Carson Palmer and the passing game. The Bengals started the season at 9-3, but a tough late schedule contributed to a 1-3 finish, but the toughest loss was the death of wide receiver Chris Henry on December 16th, the Bengals mourned the loss of Henry but had to go back out and keep playing. Back to back losses to Minnesota and San Diego tested this team and and their resolve, but they finally clinched the division by beating Kansas City in week 16, they then rested their playoffs and came out unmotivated in a week 17 loss to the same New York Jets. The Bengals lost 37-0 on the road in the season finale, but we should expect to see a different Bengals team at home on Saturday.

However you feel about the Jets entrance into the playoffs or whether or not you think they deserve it is a debate all in itself. The Jets won their last two games against Indianapolis and Cincinnati, they beat Indy after the Colts sat their starters in the second half and beat Cincy after the Bengals had nothing to play for. However, Rex Ryan and the Jets offer no apologies to anybody and are confident going into their wild-card matchup this week, Ryan was so confident he went out as to say the Jets should be Super Bowl favorites. That might be a bit of hyperbole, but whatever gets Ryan and the Jets up for this game is his and the Jets business. The Jets rode a great defense led by cornerback Darrelle Revis and a running game with Thomas Jones to their 9-7 record and playoff berth. But, the key for the Jets will be the performance of rookie QB Mark Sanchez, he has been mistake prone at times this year but of late he has cut back on the turnovers. If he does that and manages the game, it will be much easier for the Jets.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys come into this game riding high. They seemed to have defeated their December demons, finishing the month on a three game winning streak after starting the month with two losses. 2 of those 3 wins were over New Orleans snapping their undefeated their undefeated season and beating their division rival Philly for the NFC East title in the season finale a bit of payback for their 44-6 thrashing they took in Philly last year. QB Tony Romo played great football in the final month and seemed to quiet some of his critics, the Dallas defense has been playing great, and Wade Phillips is looking like a competent coach at the moment. However despite their late success, the Cowboy critics remain, despite beating the Eagles twice this season people still expect Dallas to fall short and lose this game. The critics are expecting Tony Romo to choke, for Wade to become the incompetent coach we have seen before, and for just Dallas to fall apart. Now, I think this is a different Dallas team than the one of old, but it is all on them to go out and prove that they are on Saturday.

Philadelphia looks to show that the 3rd time is the charm and beat a Dallas team they have lost to twice this year. The Eagles laid an egg in week 17 losing 24-0, costing them the number two seed in the NFC and losing a first round bye and the division title. Philadelphia was lackluster, showed no heart and missed the big plays that keys their offense. Obviously, the Eagles must improve if they want to win on Saturday, despite that bad performance the Eagles had a good season. They finished 11-5, Donovan McNabb had a solid year, Lesean McCoy had a good rookie year, Brent Celek became a top notch tight end, and Desean Jackson became one of the NFL's premier big play wideouts. Philly has experience on their side, as McNabb and coach Andy Reid have never lost an opening playoff game since their tenure together and they have been in many playoff battles. Philly is confident that they can beat this team, but they have lost twice already and Dallas feels that they can do it again. Philly has to get their offense on track and start hitting the big plays to Jackson, Celek, and Jeremy Maclin, if not they will go home early.

Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots

The New England Patriots finished this season with an identical 10-6 record like last season but there are two big differences from last season and this one. 1. Matt Cassel was the starting QB at the time due to an injury to Tom Brady and 2. The Patriots missed the playoffs last year. This time the Patriots are back in the 12 team dance, but like last year they have been hit with a big injury. Slot receiver extraordinaire Wes Welker suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season finale and will miss the playoffs, the Patriots have to move on without him and the Pats will call on Julian Edelman to fill Welker's shoes. It's hard to replace 123 receptions and 1,348 yards but the Patriots have to do what they have to do, Edelman will have to step up and Randy Moss will be called on to make more big plays. But the Patriots have been here before and been in this situation countless times, so Belicheck, Brady and Co will be ready on gameday come Sunday, New England is favored in this game despite the loss of Welker and the Pats will always get the benefit of the doubt.

The Ravens went all the way down to week 17 to know their playoff destiny, but a win over the Oakland Raiders in the season finale put them in the playoffs. The Ravens finished the season 9-7 and got the second AFC wild-card spot, the Ravens were led by a great running attack with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee who both have had big games this season. McGahee's big game led the team against the Raiders last week in a close game, the Ravens should run the ball early and often on the Patriots and look to open up the passing game for Joe Flacco. The Ravens also look to get revenge on the Patriots after losing a tough one to New England in week 4, 27-21 the Ravens lost a heartbreaker after Mark Clayton dropped a fourth down pass that would've given them a first and goal. The Ravens played the Patriots tough back then, and will play them close again on Sunday, the Ravens know they let one slip away then but this time look to finish the job and move on to the divisional round.

Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals

The Packers head to Arizona to meet the defending NFC champion Cardinals in what should be a fun matchup. Aaron Rodgers has led Green Bay to the playoffs for the first time since taking over for Brett Favre and he looks to go out on Sunday and gain respect both as a quarterback and from the Packer faithful. Rodgers had a great season throwing for 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns, but had support from Ryan Grant who rushed for 1,253 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Green Bay was backed up by a good defense led by my Defensive Player Of The Year Charles Woodson en route to the Packers finishing 11-5. The Packers dominated the Cardinals, 33-7 last week in week 17 and look to go out and do it again despite the Cardinals resting some players last week. The Packers have been on a roll late in the season winning 7 of their last 8 games and the only loss during that time was at the final gun against Pittsburgh, I think the Packers are the better team right now and the momentum is on their side.

The Cardinals start their defense of their NFC crown and look to repeat last year's improbable Super Bowl run at home on Sunday. Arizona probably had the roughest week 17 out of all the playoff teams, when three starters: Anquan Boldin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Calais Campbell all got hurt against Green Bay, the Cardinals hope that all three will be ready to go on Sunday. Arizona got another solid year from Kurt Warner who may be nearing the end of his career and got usual spectacular seasons from it's two All-Pro wideouts in Larry Fitzgerald and Boldin, but the Cardinals also got a good running attack this season from Tim Hightower and rookie Beanie Wells to compliment their passing attack. The Cardinals finished 10-6, but dropped 3 of the last 4 in the season and look to gain some momentum, however the Cardinals and their fans will tell you that they didn't have any momentum and were slumping going into the playoffs last year and look where they got. Their home crowd was intense last year in the playoffs, and they will be needed heavily this week to make some noise

Paul's Picks
Jets @ Bengals
Ravens @ Patriots
Eagles @ Cowboys
Packers @ Cardinals


Ok people, there you have it sorry about the delay and the missing write-up for Week 17 but please believe that I am back with a vengeance. Enjoy the weekend of Wild-Card playoff football, and be on the lookout for my Wild-Card review on Tuesday and Divisional Round preview on Thursday. So that's it for now, but be sure to comment on it and come on and give it a good read. Until next time, peace