If sports have shown us anything over-the-years, it is that the playoffs – in which an entire season is on-the-line – rarely disappoint. Even when the matchups appear to be one-sided, we are almost always treated to a show at one point-or-another. This is especially true for the Wild Card round of the 2017 playoffs, as all four games have spreads of six-and-a-half-points or higher.
We can safely assume that we will not be witnessing four noncompetitive games.
One of the most important considerations for this weekend’s action is that, with the Eagles and Vikings having quarterback issues, there is a distinct possibility that one of the four NFC teams playing in the Wild Card round can make a run to the Super Bowl. At least, the teams think so. And that is more than enough for us to use to our advantage.
Below are predictions for each game against the spread. Spreads have been taken from various websites and are subject to change. The spread in parenthesis denotes the selected team. An asterisk denotes a confidence pick.
*Confidence Picks – 2017 Season: 51-46-4 (Last Week: 4-2)
(2016 Season: 53-67-3) (2015 Season: 69-45-2) (2014 Season: 61-46-2) (3-Year Total: 183-158-7)
All Picks Against Spread – 2017 Season: 134-112-10 (Last Week: 11-5)
(2016 Season: 123-136-8) (2015 Season: 143-117-7) (2014 Season: 149-114-4) (3-Year Total: 415-367-19)
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs
The events of Week 17 might have been great for our picks against-the-spread, but they were not kind to the general football fan. Instead of getting a divisional matchup between the Titans and Jaguars and a rematch of an earlier meeting between the Chiefs and Bills, we had the opposite pairings emerge. Granted, more factors were at play that could have made more desirable matchups impossible, but it was still a disappointing turn-of-events.
As I wrote, last week, Tennessee was truly one of the most maddening teams throughout the season. The Titans were my pick to win the win the AFC South before the year began and, while they delivered with a playoff berth, they were far from impressive down-the-stretch. It was only via a big lead in the standings that it was able to survive a later dip.
Then again, can’t we say the same things about the Kansas City Chiefs?