The time for playoff football is here. Lets take a look at the matchups for the first round starting with the NFC and then on to the AFC tomorrow.
Seattle vs Minnesota (NBC 1:05pm Kickoff)
AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt
This matchup has two teams playing at a very high level down the stretch. The Seahawks are coming in playing some of the best football in the NFL after taking it to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night 36-6. They are as dangerous as a 6 seed could be. The Legion of Boom has found its bite and is flying to the ball. Russell Wilson is playing at a new level with a new look offense that has had to adapt to the loss of Marshawn Lynch. Lynch should be returning this week versus the Vikings which will add a new wrinkle to the Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer’s game planning on defense.
Minnesota has taken huge steps forward this season. They are young and exciting to watch because they have nothing to lose. They are hosting a playoff game, and are an underdog at home. Adrian Peterson has carried this team and Teddy Bridgewater has grown into a strong quarterback. He can extend plays and make the throws he needs to win. He wont blow you away but he will keep the Vikings relavent. The defense plays like Zimmer wants, hard. They make sure you remember who you are playing but there is no one person that stands out. The unit as a whole keeps them going.
End of the day though: Seattle wins 24-13
Green Bay vs Washington (Fox 4:40pm)
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The Packers are a struggling team. No doubt about it. This is the playoffs though so anything goes. Arron Rodgers is still one of the best creative quarterbacks out there and takes broken plays and turns them into big plays. The struggle for the Packers this year has been consistently getting receivers to catch the ball. Drop after drop has cost this team. The defense is nothing special, but Clay Matthews still can wreak havoc on a young Redskins offensive line. Matthews will give Kirk Cousins a lot to worry about over the next few days leading up to Sunday.
Washington is sneaking into the playoffs at 9-7 but they could make a lot of noise very quickly. Unlike the Packers finishing the second half of the season at 4-4, the Redskins went 6-2, winning their last 4 games with 3 on the road. Cousins has plenty of weapons to spread the ball around to the likes of DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jordan Reed, and the rookie slot receiver Jamison Crowder. That is plenty to keep the Packers defense busy on Sunday. The hard part for the Redskins will be matching up the Redskins secondary vs that ability of Rodgers to pick them apart with too much time.
Packers start playing golf early this year: Washington wins 35-30.
Featured Image by: Leon Halip / Getty Images North America
