2018 NFL Wild Card Playoff Picks

January 4, 2019

By the Football Garbage Time Staff

If you followed last year, you won over 60% of your picks, and we aim to do even better this year.

And if you’ve been following us, you know that we here at Football Garbage Time have gone head to head against Wally, Will and Ray at Urban Sports Scene on our NFL Picks for the last 3 seasons. Why? Because they’re awesome competitors, they KNOW their sports, and, heck, they’re just good guys! But this year we’ll have their picks up right HERE each and every week, so keep it tuned in, to both us and them, because we’ll be picking all season all long.

Without further to do, here we go:

Wild Card Playoff Games

Ha Kung Wong’s Picks

Ha Kung’s Thoughts:

Last year I ended up with a 62% record for the season, so that’s three years in a row with over a 60% pick rate. I had a decent Week 17, getting me to 167-87 (65.7%). And I intend to keep you at 62%+, as well as keep you ahead of Ryan.

So far this season I’m 16 for 17 on Locks of the Week and 9 for 17 for Upsets of the Week. Let’s see what I can do for you for Wild Card Weekend…

Lock of the Week => Chicago Bears (-5.5) over Philadelphia Eagles

Check out my breakdown of the Bears @ Eagles Wild Card Playoff game and why I think the Bears will win and cover the spread!

Upset of the Week => Dallas Cowboys (+1.5) over Seattle Seahawks

Both the Cowboys and Seahawks are coming off nice end to the regular season, with the Cowboys winning 7 of their last 8 (with only a shutout loss to Colts) and the Seahawks winning 6 of their last 7 (with only an OT loss to the 49ers). So why do I think the Cowboys will upset the Seahawks? First of all, the Cowboys may be only 10-6 this season, but they were 7-1 at home, which is exactly where they’ll play this week’s wild card game. And second of all, since acquiring Amari Cooper, the Cowboys are more balanced on offense than the Seahawks, with Ezekiel Elliott on the ground, who leads all RBs in the NFL in yards per game (95.6) by a good margin. Importantly, the Seahawks are 13th against the pass and just 17th against the run, leaving plenty of room for the Cowboys to operate at home. Plus, the Cowboys defense is 5th against the run, which should be sufficient to contain Chris Carson, and although they’re 16th against the pass, they’re 6th against WR1 and 3rd against WR2, which should be sufficient to contain Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett. In fact, the Dallas defense allows the 6th least amount of points to opposing teams per game this season (20.3). I could be wrong on this one, because I think it’ll be close, but I like the Cowboys in an upset.

Also check out my breakdown of the Chargers @ Ravens Wild Card Playoff game and why I think the Chargers will upset the Ravens!

Joanne Kong’s Picks

Ryan Whitfield’s Picks

Ryan’s Thoughts:

Guess you can call me an old school guy. I’m taking the team with the better defense in all four matchups this weekend. Of course three of those four at home which plays a big role in this, but I love Indy as the upset this weekend.

Follow me on Twitter – @RyanWhitfieldNE

Scott King’s Picks

Scott’s Thoughts:

Not a bad end to the regular season, I made a run the bring me into second. For the playoffs I’ve somehow landed on all the dogs. I like some home dogs and road dogs. This could end badly for me. Good luck.

Wally’s Picks

Ray’s Picks

Colts / Cowboys / Ravens / Bears

George’s Picks

George’s Thoughts:

Indianapolis at Houston: I should pick the Colts here. Frank Reich is a Maryland alum and a better coach than Bill O’Brien. Colts have already won in Houston. They have as good a QB as the Texans do. And while both teams rolled down the stretch I think Indy has played better football than Houston. And yet I am taking the Texans because I think Lamar Miller wsill run it better against the Colts than Marlon Mack will against the Texans. And DeShaun Watson will make those 1 or 2 special plays that very few other than him can make.

Seattle at Dallas: Usually at least 1 road team wins on wild-card weekend and the Seahawks are my pick this weekend. Seattle’s front 7 will swarm Dak Prescott and contain Ezekiel Elliott. Russell Wilson will do just enough to defeat the Cowboys’ excellent defense with his ability to extend plays and make things happen.

L.A. Chargers at Baltimore: The best game of the weekend in my view. The Chargers are great on the road (7-1) but coming East and playing at 1 p.m. eastern is really tough. Ravens defense was tremendous in their earlier matchup but they have to deal with a healthier Melvin Gordon this time. Since Lamar Jackson has taken control Baltimore has turned into a ruthless running machine that controls the clock. And they will do it again here.

Philadelphia at Chicago: Saint Nick Foles is going to get his halo dinged and battered. The Eagles revival has come against defenses that aren’t nearly as good as this. Plus Philadelphia’s biggest weakness is stopping the run and here comes the Jordan Howard-Tarik Cohen tandem. The Eagles title defense ends here!