When it comes to the NFL playoffs, there's nothing cooler than the phrase “win or go home.” We all know this to be true, and have always known it, but it's hard to actually say it out loud.
Over the next few days, we'll be watching six playoff games that will carry this honor. Twelve teams will enter, six will leave, and traditions will be forever changed. Drama. chaos. beauty.
Chalk results are not the most common when it comes to such problems. At some point, we're bound to see an upset or two where the favored team gets bounced.
There are two possibilities throughout Wildcard Weekend.
Houston Texans vs. Los Angeles Chargers
For discussion purposes, we define upsets along the lines of how our friends performed in the match. FanDuel Sportsbook Please list these games. That's the most objective way in my opinion and you're stuck here, so go here.
The Houston Texans are the biggest home underdogs in the Wild Card round, as they narrowly defeated the Los Angeles Rams as of this writing. Houston is +3 and the Rams are +2.5, but obviously the Rams game is not being played under normal circumstances, so it's impossible to define “home field advantage” this week.
Needless to say, this Texans team limped to the finish line and did it as AFC South champions. You may remember that they dropped a literal deuce on the scoreboard on Christmas Day after all. Simply put, I wasn't feeling well.
But do we? Really trust your charger that Many? Part of my prudence here is to admit that you really have to see it to believe it. Maybe it's coming from deep within me.
But let me tell you one thing: We've been taking what the Texans have been as a team lately, and that's a very bad thing, and it's really important to note that at one point they played a big role in us. I think they forgot that this was a team they trusted. Jim Harbaugh's Chargers aren't the Chargers of old…they're still the Chargers. If there's anyone who can find a way to inject some life into a struggling Houston team…it's them.
Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
I'd like to think I'm a very unbiased guy here, but please know that I'm a Dallas Cowboys resident at SB Nation who oversees the Cowboys website Blogging The Boys . Additionally, this time last year, the Cowboys, as the No. 2 seed in the NFC, were preparing to host the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers as the NFC East champions. Dallas lost that game in embarrassing fashion, becoming the first No. 2 seed in NFL history to lose in the Wild Card Round (this wasn't revealed until 2021).
Could the Eagles fall victim to Jordan Love and Co. like the Cowboys? I'm not going to equate Philadelphia in that sense because I think Philadelphia runs a much better football organization than Dallas, but beyond the Cowboys meme-ness of last year's lessons, this It served as an example that this is actually possible.
I would venture to say that the Packers are some kind of papier-mâché tiger because they haven't beaten any team. But isn't that the most predictable story? Oh! A team that couldn't beat anyone appeared in the playoffs! it's something like that of course things that happen.
Let me be clear: I think the Eagles are the team to beat in the NFC. In fact, I want to be more clear: I think this is the toughest game for them to stand between them and a trip to New Orleans. The Eagles will likely be underdogs against the Detroit Lions and will be in a dangerous situation. It's a whole different thing to be a team with nothing to lose, like Dallas did last season, and I don't think it's a role that anyone can trust Nick Sirianni to handle lightly.
If I had to guess, I'd say I have twice as much confidence in the Texans' pick as the Packers' pick. But both possibilities remain in my mind. Let's dance.
