2008 Wild Card Weekend Predictions

No. 5 Atlanta Falcons 27 at No. 4 Arizona Cardinals 31- I honestly don't understand the hype surrounding the Falcons. Sure, they had a good record this year but looking at their schedule they had two wins that were actually impressive (on the road against the Vikings in week 16 and at home against the Panthers in week 12) while the rest were mostly vanilla. Not that the Cardinals have been particularly impressive this season either, but at least Kurt Warner has playoff experience, good receivers, and an offense that demands he throw to them on 65% of the snaps. No matter how you swing it, Atlanta's secondary just isn't that good, and while Matt Ryan probably has a bright future I wouldn't expect a road win.

No. 5 Indianapolis 20 at No. 4 San Diego 23- Now three-time MVP Peyton Manning has carried, dragged, and willed the Colts to 9 straight victories after a rocky 3-4 start. Despite finishing 8-8 the Chargers have the momentum after taking the division from Denver in a brutal 52-21 rout in the regular season finale. While the Colts have only allowed 6 passing touchdowns all season, the run defense is still the same porous unit we saw in 2006. If the Colts can manage to slow down LT (who finally looked like himself again in week 17) and the up-and-coming Darren Sproles, Philip Rivers will probably make some turnovers and give the Colts a chance. The simple fact is that the Chargers are a dangerous team again.

No. 6 Baltimore 14 at No. 3 Miami 17- Again, experience should trump the hype surrounding Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh's renewed Ravens squad. Chad Pennington posted a career year in yards and threw 19 touchdowns to only 7 picks, and was a deserving candidate for MVP. After getting the Dolphins into the playoffs over Brett Favre and the Jets, look for Pennington to keep rubbing salt in Mike Tannenbaum's open wounds with playoff victory.

No. 6 Philadelphia 24 at No. 3 Minnesota 31- Somehow the Eagles managed to sneak their way into the postseason with losses by Tampa Bay, Chicago, and their resounding victory over division rival Dallas in the final week of the regular season. However, the Eagles have been a spotty team all year and it's hard to believe that any quarterback (yes, even Tarvaris Jackson) could have trouble finding open receivers when they've got Adrian Peterson in the backfield waiting to break a 70-yard touchdown.