Despite a couple of blowouts, the NFL wild card round still managed to deliver its share of wild finishes. The Pittsburgh Steelers, with the help of some key penalties, hit a game-winning field goal to eliminate the Cincinnati Bengals. The Minnesota Vikings weren’t as lucky, as the Seattle Seahawks escaped by the skin of their teeth.
[sc:NFL250 ]Can the two No. 6 seeds do it all again as they face the respective No. 1 seeds in the divisional round? Let’s check out what some college football experts think about those two games, as well as the other two games this weekend, and who they have coming out on top on all four. Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out our divisional round sleeper picks here.
[sc:Football ]2016 NFL Divisional Round Expert Picks
Bleacher Report
| GAME | Daniel Rogers | Chris Roling |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs at Patriots | Pats, 31-20 | Pats, 33-17 |
| Packers at Cardinals | Cards, 35-27 | Cards, 24-17 |
| Seahawks at Panthers | Panthers, 28-24 | Panthers, 30-24 |
| Steelers at Broncos | Broncos, 24-14 | Broncos, 28-20 |
Two of Bleacher Report’s featured columnists, Daniel Rogers and Chris Roling, basically went chalk with their picks for the divisional round. It was a bit surprising, though, to see both of them predicting the Pats – five-point favorites at home – to win by double-digits over the Chiefs, who have won 11 games in a row.
Rogers, in particular, is pretty confident that Brady, who will get top wideout Julian Edelman back for the game, will have the weapons he needs to comfortably avoid a home playoff upset.
The two are similarly assured in the Broncos’ ability to take care of business by more than a touchdown against a banged up Steelers team. Ben Roethlisberger is expected to play despite a shoulder injury, but the chances of both DeAngelo Williams, and more importantly star receiver Antonio Brown, are much less promising.
Fox Sports
| GAME | ADVANTAGE |
|---|---|
| Chiefs at Patriots | Patriots |
| Packers at Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Seahawks at Panthers | Panthers |
| Steelers at Broncos | Broncos |
[sc:NFL240banner ]Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez didn’t exactly stick his neck out and pick any outright winners; instead, he pointed out which teams had the advantage in each of the four divisional games. Unsurprisingly, he went with all four favorites: the Pats, Cards, Panthers and Broncos. Marvez also cited the contrasting fortunes injury-wise that three of the four road underdogs will have to overcome.
The Chiefs could be without top wideout Jeremy Maclin with an ankle problem, while the Pats will have their main receiver Edelman back. The Seahawks will likely be without Marshawn Lynch, who’s still not completely healed from his abdominal injury, while the Panthers could have Jonathan Stewart back. The Steelers will have a banged up Big Ben at quarterback, while the Broncos will have a well-rested Peyton Manning.
The Packers have no such injury issues, and produced arguably their most impressive performance of the season against the Redskins. However, Marvez is a still more confident in Arizona’s ability to reproduce the type of play the saw it demolish Green Bay 38-8 just a few weeks ago. The Cardinals are seven-point home favorites against the Packers.
Inquisitr
| GAME | PICK |
|---|---|
| Chiefs at Patriots | Patriots |
| Packers at Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Seahawks at Panthers | Seahawks |
| Steelers at Broncos | Broncos |
Unlike the writers from the first two outlets, Inquisitr’s Phillip Dengler actually dared to stray from the chalk at least once. He picked the underdog Seattle Seahawks to overcome the Panthers at Carolina. Dengler went so far as to proclaim this matchup has “upset written all over it.”
Aside from Russell Wilson playing the best football of his career and the vaunted Seahawks defense playing up to its championship potential, Dengler also cites Seattle’s immense potential as to why it’ll pull off the upset and head to its third-straight NFC Championship game. The Seahawks are currently priced at +250 to win the NFC again.
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