Pepster: It is that time of year, ladies and gentlemen, where the best of the best football players in the world start the competition for Super Bowl Champion. That's right, it's Wildcard Weekend, with four (almost) scintillating competitions that begin this afternoon. Let's jump right it, and we will take the games in the order that they will be played. First up: Oakland and Houstson.
Sinickal: Excuse me? That is the first playoff game of the year? Can we just fast forward to next week?
Hopps: I probably won't even watch.
Pepster: OK,I hear you. So we don't start off with the most attractive of matchups, especially given the Brock Osweiler/Conner Cook quarterback competition. Which sounds like something that should be said during training camp for third string.
Hopps: This is the first time in the Super Bowl era that a quarterback will be making his first career start in the postseason. Good luck Conner Cook, you are going to need it.
Sinickal: The over/under on Cook completions should be 2.
Pepster: That might be a little low, so I'll take that over, but the Texans did finish the season with the number one defense in terms of total yards (but 11th in points). Good thing for them that they are a whopping 29th in total yards on offense (but they are T28th in points).
Hopps: Speaking of Houston's defense, I predict that Michael Crabtree will get his chain snatched again.
Sinickal: That is where we disagree. Crabtree will be wearing a padlock around his neck. That might slow him down a bit, though.
Pepster, Sinickal, Hopps (in unison): Texans.
Pepster: Let's turn to tonight's game in Seattle as the Seahawks host the Detroit Lions. Matthew Stafford has had by most standards, a helluva year, especially given the retirement of Calvin Johnson and virtually every running back on the team.
Sinickal: Stafford will break his thumb on this throwing hand - because that's what the Lions do.
Hopps: The Lions haven't won a playoff game since Barry Sanders. BARRY SANDERS.
Pepster: Well, both of those may be true, but this isn't the same Seahawks team as the previous few years. They struggled early (boring close win [12-10] over the Dolphins in week 1 when the Dolphins started pre-retirement Arian Foster), they struggled late (losing at home to Arizona in week 16 and barely beating a despicably bad San Francisco team 25 - 23 in week 17). They just haven't been the same since Earl Thomas went out. Part of what makes the "Legion of Boom" great is all of them collectively, and Thomas is likely the best.
Sinickal and Hopps (in unison): BUT IT'S THE LIONS!
Pepster: I am going with Detroit. Stafford throws for 330 and 3 touchdowns.
Sinckal and Hopps: HA! HA! HA!
Sinickal: Wait, you're serious?
Hopps: Given me Seattle.
Sinickal: Me too. Good luck with that.
Pepster: Hopefully tomorrow's games will be more enticing that the dreck we have tonight. Let's go to the early game where the Miami Dolphins are visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Steelers are a 10 point favorite. Now, honestly, this I do not understand. The Dolphins defeated the Steelers earlier this season - albeit at home - after knocking Ben Roethlisberger out of the game. Their defense bottled up Le'Veon Bell nicely, who only gained 53 yards rushing (+55 yards receiving). Should this really be a 10 point spread.
Sinickal: Well, Matt Moore is pretty nice as far as backup quarterbacks go, but I think Ryan Tannehill gets into this game for at least one snap just so he can say he played in a playoff game. Come to think of it, so will Brock Osweiler!
Hopps: Not that I am a big Tom Savage fan, but GOOD GOD - BROCK OSWEILER.
Pepster: Anyway - let's get back to the Dolphins/Steelers game.
Sinickal: Pittsburgh, easy.
Hopps: I concur.
Pepster: It's unanimous. Steelers. Primarily because I do not want to see the Dolphins play at New England next week. Last game, New York Giants at 11-5 travel to the higher seeded Green Bay Packers at 10-6. Predictions?
Sinickal: Aaron Rodgers is pushed out at the sideline for a first down in the second quarter next to Eli Manning, where the two set into a heated squabble over who is the greatest playoff QB ever. Strangely missing from that conversation is Joe Montana.
Hopps: Well, the last two times the Giants went to Green Bay they went on to win a Super Bowl. Eli has a much better post season record in Green Bay than Aaron Rodgers.
Pepster: Guys, are we really getting into the minutiae of which quarterback is better in one specific stadium?
Sinickal: I didn't mean for us to get into that discussion, I just think Eli and Aaron will.
Hopps: I will get into any argument I want.
Pepster: Well, I will never give any credit to Aaron Rodgers, so to try to seem neutral, I will compliment Green Bay's left tackle, David Bakhtiari who, with all apologies to Tyron Smith, was the best left tackle in football this year.
Sinickal: F'in nerd!
Pepster: No, that is Baltimore Ravens guard John Urschel, who while playing in the NFL just started pursuing his Ph.D. in Mathematics at M.I.T., was named to Forbes "30 under 30" list in the field of science, has had six peer reviewed mathematics papers (with 3 more ready for review), and he specializes in spectral graph theory, numerical linear algebra and machine learning.
Sinickal: I was talking about you!
Hopps: Well, you both have points there.
Pepster: So, who is going to win?
Hopps: Giants.
Sinickal: Packers.
Pepster: Green Bay has gone through Eddie Lacy, James Starks, Knile Davis, John Kuhn, Christine Michael at Running Back, and even Offensive Coordinator Edgar Bennett thought about coming out of retirement before they settled on Tight End Ty Montgomery as their go-to tailback. They still have a better rushing attack then the Giants. Packers.
Any last thoughts
Sinickal: Can we just get to next week?
Hopps: So you can watch my Cowboys?
Sinickal: Dope.
Pepster: See everyone here next week.
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