THE JUDGES CHAMBERS NFL PLAYOFF PICKS Week 17: (6-4) FINAL REGULAR SEASON RECORD: (134-90) (5) Arizona Cardinals (11-5) @ (4) Carolina Panthers (7-8-1), Saturday 4:30 PM: A season of chaos & uncertainty highlight the wild card opener tomorrow as the Cardinals seek some Ohio State-Esque Magic with 3rd string QB Ryan Lindley as they try to upend the hot Panthers who won 4 straight games in December to win the NFC South for the 2nd straight season. Its almost impossible for me to give this game a fair diagnosis, but looking at, the Panthers right now are playing far & away better than their counterparts in almost all of the critical facets, add in the fact the Cardinals run defense has given up 160 yards rushing over the last 6 games, and a healthy as you could be after a car accident QB Cam Newton, the PANTHERS should win rather easily, 27-10. (6) Baltimore Ravens (10-6) @ (3) Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5), Saturday 8 PM: Joe Flacco & the Ravens despite all of its follies against Houston & Cleveland the last two weeks, became benefactors of a Chargers choke against a Chief team whose QBs couldnt throw a TD pass to a WR all season. Now, they must prepare for another war against longtime division rivals, the Steelers in the seasons rubber match. The Steelers will be forced to go without the services of RB LeVeon Bell, putting more pressure on QB Ben Roethlisberger to duplicate his 6 TD game against Baltimore in a Week 9 win, 43-23. Without Bell to contend with in the passing game (Bell only rushed for 80 yards total in the 2 games, but caught 5 passes in each game for 86 yards), expect Baltimore to create more havoc against WR Antonio Brown (who led in NFL in catches & yards in 2014). With that said, this should be more of the classic Steelers-Ravens games with points hard to come by. In the end, no Bell means no win for Pittsburgh, 21-17 RAVENS. (5) Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) @ (4) Indianapolis Colts (11-5), Sunday 1 PM: The Bengals get a chance to atone for many for its recent failures: 1. No Playoff wins since the 1990 season. 2. An 0-6 All-Time Record in Road Playoff Games & 3. A 27-0 embarrassing loss to Indy in Week 7. The Colts offense have severely missed veterans Reggie Wayne & Ahmad Bradshaw in the lineup since midseason when the Colts had the leagues top rated offense, while the Bengals will likely be without A.J. Green, who has yet to clear the concussion protocol. Without Green, QB Andy Dalton needs the rushing tandem of Jeremy Hill & Giovani Bernard to take control of the offense. If they are unable to move the ball on the ground, it means more passes from Dalton (28 has been the key number; less than 28 passes, the Bengals are 7-1 this year). The Colts, on the other hand, have only 1 win this year over a playoff team outside of the Bengals (and have given up 196 points in its 5 losses). Neither team impresses me right now, but by a late Field Goal, Ill take the BENGALS in the mild upset, 27-24. (6) Detriot Lions (11-5) @ (3) Dallas Cowboys (12-4), Sunday 4:30 PM: The Dallas Cowboys have far exceeded most expectations after a 4 year absence, return to the playoffs with as deadly a offense their has been playing down the stretch, averaging 41 points per game in its 4 game winning streak en route to the NFC East Title. The trio of Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, & Dez Bryant have been hard to slow all year. Although Romo admits this week will be a true test for his offense, facing a Lions Defense who was top dog this year against the run. The main headline lies in DL Ndamukong Suh, who avoided a 1 game suspension after successfully appealing a controversial act against Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers last week. The Lions offense have shown flashes of the dynamic offense it could be with QB Matt Stafford & WR Calvin Johnson but also have shown plenty of inconsistent they cant afford to have now. The good news is that the Cowboys are 1 of the worst teams in the NFL against the pass (26th), and a ground game which has had flashes of brilliance this year in Joique Bell & Reggie Bush. As much as I would like to pick what would be the biggest upset of the weekend, its hard for me to fathom Romo & Co. blowing a home playoff game after the December destruction they posted. COWBOYS 31-17.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 16:50:39 +0000