NFL Wild Card Weekend Predictions

The NFL regular season is over and now the REAL action begins. Saturday January 5th marks the opening weekend of the playoffs, so let's take a look at the match-ups and make some predictions.

AFC
Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh
The Jaguars may very well be the hottest team coming in to the playoffs. They have already knocked off the Steelers on their own turf just a couple of weeks ago and will most likely be considered favorites to repeat that feat. The Steelers, under new head coach Mike Tomlin, looked great early on this season but have sputtered in the past few weeks. Expect the Jags to play a similar smash-mouth style that brought them success at Heinz Field a couple of weeks ago, with the running combination of Jones-Drew and Taylor getting the lion's share of the work.
Prediction : Jags 23 Steelers 20

Tennessee @ San Diego
The 14-2 Chargers of last season were predicted by many to be Super Bowl contenders this season, but they struggled early on under new coach Norv Turner. The ship has since been righted and they are back to their usual potent self with superstar Ladanian Tomlinson playing out of his skin. The Titans have been very up and down this season behind second year QB Vince Young. If he struggles in this game, expect it to be over early. I just don't see Tennessee having the firepower to compete against the explosive offense of the Chargers.
Prediction : Chargers 34 Titans 13

NFC
Washington @ Seattle
The Seahawks have been virtually unbeatable on their home turf for the past few seasons, but this is a game where I believe we could see an upset. Shaun Alexander has struggled for the Hawks all year and they have relied heavily on the arm of Matt Hasselbeck. You really need a running game to be succesful this time of year and the Redskins have that with Clinton Portis. It also doesn't hurt that backup QB Todd Collins, going ten years between NFL starts, has been lights out since stepping in. Add to that the intangible of the skins playing for recently deceased teammate Sean Taylor and you have the perfect recipe for an upset.
Prediction : Redskins 28 Seahawks 21

NY Giants @ Tampa Bay
The Giants are another team that started off slow and picked up their game in the second half of the season. Their performance this week against the Patriots was exceptional and should give them a huge confidence boost going into this game. They will rely heavily on Eli Manning and if he can avoid the big errors that have plagued his career so far, I expect them to pull this one out. The Bucs will lean heavily on veteran QB Jeff Garcia, but I don't think they have enough talent to win here.
Prediction : Giants 24 Bucs 10