Mister B's NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview and Predictions (The Sunday Games)

First of all, I want to give Tony Romo and the Cowboys major kudos for beating an explosive Philadelphia team on Saturday. They removed a huge monkey off their back. I will say it again; the Philadelphia Eagles are the most overrated team in football. When you lose to the Oakland Raiders in the regular season, you don't deserve to make the playoffs. The Jets defense did a great job of confusing and flustering Carson Palmer all day long. Chad Ochostanko should change his name to Chad the Magician because he was no where to be found when his team needed him most. The Bengals kicker will be looking for work after missing two field goals that would have kept the Bengals in the game.

Wild card football resumes on Sunday featuring two teams that have played one another in the regular season. In the first meeting back in week 4 of the regular season, the Ravens and Pats went down to the wire. Baltimore receiver Mark Clayton dropped an easy catch on fourth down that sealed the win for New England, 27-21. In my opinion, Baltimore is way better than their 9-7 record indicates because the Ravens lost 5 games by 6 points or less. Arizona is hoping for a different result after resting some of their starters against Green Bay the last game of the year. Green Bay might be the team no one wants to face in the NFC because they are jelling offensively and defensively. With that said, let's look into this Sunday's match ups.

Baltimore Ravens (9-7) @ New England Patriots (10-6) (Sunday, January 10, 2010, 1pm ET, CBS) Most fans and experts will pick the Patriots to win this game because the Pats are at home (8-0 in the regular season), and might have the best quarterback/head coach combo in NFL history with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. They will say "The Patriots don't lose at home with Brady and Belichick." I would tell those fans and experts they are dead wrong. Don't underestimate the Baltimore Ravens by any means.

There's something about this Pats team that just doesn't vibe with me. Maybe it's the defense. This season, the Pats really struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, after trading Richard Seymour to the Raiders prior to the start of the regular season. Their run defense has been suspect at best at times. If the Ravens are smart, they will give Ray Rice and company plenty of carries to keep Brady and that explosive New England offense off the field. The Ravens must not give up the big play to Randy Moss or it could be a long day Baltimore has a tendency to draw a lot of defensive pass interference calls in the course of their games, so they have to be physical with the New England receivers within the allowable 5 yards and look back for the ball while in coverage. The Ravens need to play great 3^rd down defense and get their defense off the field. Julian Edelman could be the key for the Pats. I think the Pats are really going to miss Wes Welker in the end.

If Ed Reed comes back healthy, the Ravens have a great shot to win. I think the team that runs the ball most effectively will win this game. Joe Flacco must find the other guys not named Derrick Mason to open up the passing game. One thing that I have learned over the years is that there's always that one wild card game with a surprise result. Ladies and gentlemen, it's this very game.

The Winner: Upset alert baby! The Ravens will stun the Patriots 31-20.

Green Bay Packers (11-5) @ Arizona Cardinals (10-6) (Sunday, January 10, 2010, 4:30pm ET, FOX) This game is very easy to breakdown. The team that is able to give up the least big plays will win this game. Both teams will bring the heat and Kurt Warner is more likely to turnover the ball. Charles Woodson versus Larry Fitzgerald might determine the winner of this game. Green Bay has the better defense and run game overall. The Packers seem poised to go deep in this year's playoffs. The Packers offensive line issues are a thing of the past because they only gave up seven sacks in their last six games.

The Winner: The Pack attack with a 28-14 victory over the inconsistent Cardinals.