AFC Wild Card Round
1.Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals
The Steelers got lucky to get here, with Buffalo winning it to put them into the playoff picture. Can they make some noise? Yes, they can.
If you look at the Bengals passing defense, they're giving up 250 yards a game. And the Steelers have the third most passing yards in the league, with almost 300 a game. Granted, Roethlisberger has thrown 4 interceptions against the Bengals this season. However, Antonio Brown had 43 catches for 524 yards in his last 4 games, with 187 in his last game. The Steelers' pass offense has a lot of momentum going into this game.
If you look at the Steelers passing defense, they're giving up nearly 300 yards a game. The Bengals' pass offense is averaging 250 yards a game. However, Andy Dalton is out. The biggest question of this game is whether AJ Mccarron can deliver. If Andy Dalton, the Red Rifle, hasn't won a playoff game in his career, I don't see McCarron doing too much better. McCarron has shown a great passer rating, and has a 6:2 touchdown to interception ratio, but the rookie from Alabama with no playoff experience and only 4 games outplaying Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, one of the best duos in the league? I don't think so.
The Steelers and Bengals are both top 10 run defenses, and top 16 run offenses. The running game looks even, except for one thing: the Steelers don't have DeAngelo Williams. So they will have to rely on who? Fitzgerald Toussaint? The guy who ran the ball 12 times for 24 yards? Oh. The Bengals have an advantage here, but this will still be a close game.
I think if the Steelers can pressure AJ Mccarron and force him to make a few bad throws, just like they forced him to throw 2 interceptions a few weeks ago, they take this game. I'm calling the Steelers led by the explosive Antonio Brown.
Final: Steelers 24, Bengals 21
2.Kansas City Chiefs vs Houston Tesans
Kansas City hasn't won a playoff game since they had a former 49ers quarterback and they played Houston. Oh wait.
If you look at the Texans passing defense, they're only giving up 210 yards a game. However, against the Chiefs, they gave up 243 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the Texans 10-game win streak, Alex Smith has thrown 14 touchdowns. Alex Smith isn't an elite quarterback, and the Texans are a good pass defense, but I think this Chiefs offense can do a little damage over the air.
The Chiefs are only giving up 230 yards a game, and the Texans are only getting 230 yards a game. The Texans pass offense mainly consists of DeAndre Hopkins, who will be guarded by Marcus Peters. Marcus Peters is already one of the better cornerbacks in the league, so this is a key matchup. However, other than Marcus Peters defending Hopkins, the Chiefs are one of the top 10 teams when it comes to pressuring the quarterback. I think the Chiefs will stop the Texans' pass offense, or at least limit it.
The Texans running attack will probably be led by Alfred Blue or Chris Polk. When Blue is given more than 20 carries, he is averaging 100 yards. However, the Chiefs are a top ten running defense, so I don't see the Texans having a huge game on the ground.
The Chiefs running attack will feature Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware. West has only had one 100-yard game this season, and he's playing a top 10 run defense. Ware, however, has made the most of every carry and has been producing, on a little more than 400 yards on 70 carries. Based on this, if Ware had as many carries as Chris Johnson did when he broke the rushing record, Ware would break the rushing record Chris Johnson set.
Overall, this game is pretty even, but the Chiefs have a little advantage on both sides of the ball. Also, the Chiefs have a lot of momentum going into this game with their 10-game win streak. I think the Chiefs take this one.
Final: Chiefs 17, Texans 13
