Finally, the playoffs are here! College Bowl games have provided us a nice appetizer for the main event. If history tells us anything, your Super Bowl Champion is playing this weekend. The last three Super Bowl Champs (Baltimore, NYG, Green Bay) were Wildcard Weekend Warriors. So who will win the Super Bowl? Whoa, slow your roll, son…The Machine likes a little foreplay every now and then. Let’s start with Saturday’s wildcard matchups.
Potential blackout looming???
Kansas City at Indy (-1)
Is anyone excited about this game? It seems not, as Indy is having a tough time selling tickets. How is it possible that this game (or any playoff game) would not be sold out??? As it stands, the Colts have until 4:35 pm today to sell the remaining 3,000 tickets to avoid a blackout. How can you not sell out a playoff game? Is watching Alex “Game Manager” Smith that bad? Perhaps folks are still pissed at Trent Richardson for ruining their fantasy season. The Machine’s guess: those tickets get sold, and no blackout. There are also unsold tickets in Cincy and Green Bay. Interesting…
Anyway, back to the game. This is a repeat of a Week 16 matchup, where Indy played at KC and completely dominated the Chiefs, winning 23-7. The Colts are an interesting team. They’ve had some inexplicable losses (blowouts to St. Louis and Arizona) and seem to struggle to find an offensive identity. However, winners of 4 of their last 5, they are getting hot at the right time.
While Andy Reid is a lock for coach of the year, he faces a tough task on Saturday. Injuries are starting to mount up for the Chiefs…Tamba Hali and Eric Fisher are likely out, and the statuses of Dwayne Bowe, Justin Houston, and Brandon Albert are murky. Even if all (or some) play, they won’t be at 100%. Notwithstanding, Jamaal Charles and Alex Smith will keep this game competitive, but Indy will be too tough.
Prediction: The Machine likes Indy to cover, and we’ll take the over on crazy Irsay tweets.
Does Chip Kelly have special playoff smoothies?
New Orleans at Philly (-2.5)
For sure the marquee game of the day, Drew Brees and the Saints march into Philly to face the NFC East Champion Philadelphia Eagles. This is a really tough game to predict. All of a sudden, Chip Kelly is back to having a gimmicky revolutionary offense. But is his defense enough to compete with the gun and gun offense of the Saints? Also, Philly was a dismal 4-4 at home this year. Fortunately for them, the Saints were even more atrocious on the road, going 3-5 (compared to a perfect 8-0 at home). The Saints are also 0-5 all-time in road playoff games.
The real equalizer here will be the weather. With gametime temperatures in the 20’s, the weather will be the best player on Chip Kelly’s revolutionary gimmicky defense. Philly has shown that it can play in the cold, playing in that memorable snow game against Detroit earlier this year.
Also, they have Shady McCoy, the NFL’s leading rusher, and the game’s best offensive line. And Nick Foles has been on fire, throwing for 21 tds and only 2 ints in his last 8 games (not surprisingly, the Eagles were 7-1 over that stretch).
The Saints are an offensive juggernaut, and Rob Ryan has greatly improved their defense (do you hear that, Jerrah?). On paper, the edge goes to the Saints. It’s hard to think that, even with the weather, Drew Brees and co. will not find a way to exploit Philly 32nd (yes, dead last) ranked passing defense (told you it’s gimmicky).
Prediction: As much as it pains us to write this, The Machine likes the Eagles to prevail. Running will come at a premium, and Philly is the number 1 rushing team in the league (Saints are 25th).
At 53.5 points, we’re still fans of the over. Actually, for those betting enthusiasts, tease the Saints with the over.
Enjoy the games, and check back with us for our analysis of Sunday’s games.
