Playoff Picks

Here are my NFL wildcard weekend picks:

Arizona takes Atlanta: you'd expect Atlanta to win this game after playing so much better than the Cardinals throughout the last three weeks of the regular season, but my gut's saying that this is one of those situations where the floundering team finds its finesse before being humbled in the second round.

Baltimore beats Miami in a close game: both teams are solid and played well down the stretch but I'm giving Baltimore the edge after their impressive victories over Dallas and Jacksonville.

In the Chargers/Colts matchup, I like San Diego's chances but am picking Indianapolis. I won't be surprised if San Diego has a last minute drive or kicks a winning field goal in overtime for the win (same thing the Jets did to them when they had the better record years back) but Indy has won 9 in a row.

Minnesota vs. Philly's a tough pick. The Eagles were dominant last week but Dallas played one of their worst games in franchise history. And earlier on in the season Philly tied the Bengals. Nevertheless, while Minnesota's been impressive down the stretch Philly has more playoff experience, a game between them and division rival New York would be exciting in later rounds, and the Phillies did recently win the world series. Methinks Philly brings their A game and wins a close match.