Wild Card Crystal Ball: Ending a Drought
Published continually since 1994
My friends, THE GURU is ready for the postseason and that’s partly because - for once - My Beloved Commies are in it. And that, shockingly, is not a typo.
Indeed, it’s been a torturous walk in the desert for the Washington football franchise, making just its seventh playoff appearance in the past 32 seasons. You read that right. Seven postseason trips since Joe Gibbs finished his initial run with the team after the 1992 campaign.
That season included a dominant playoff victory at Minnesota but, since that point, the squad beloved by THE CHIEF and THE TRE MAN is just 2-6 in the postseason. Indeed, just a pair of wins in three decades and nary a playoff triumph since the 2005 campaign.
I was at that ‘05 contest in Tampa with none other than Bucs backer HONG KONG MIKE as the Redskins topped Jon Gruden’s squad, 17-10. The 120 yards produced by Washington’s offense remain the lowest output by a playoff winner in NFL history and, partly due to the steady flow of nachos and sausages, it was a difficult game to digest.
The difference maker that day was the late Sean Taylor, the transcendent safety whose 51-yard scoop-and-score staked Washington to a 14-point first-quarter lead. What a great memory.
Nearly 7,000 days have come and gone since that postseason win, a passage of time that includes the birth of my son, THE FAIR CLAUDINE’s descent into the world of birding, and umpteen afternoons curled up in the fetal position, begging the good Lord for a respectable football team.
And that, of course, brings us to today as My Beloved Commies (12-5, 5-3 away) visit those same Buccaneers (10-7, 5-4 home) in the playoff opener for both clubs. You can catch the action Sunday at 8 pm ET on NBC and its less attractive sibling, Peacock.
You may recall Tampa spanking DC in this year’s season opener, a 37-20 rout that wasn’t as close as that lopsided score would indicate. But that was four months ago and both teams are different animals than they were in September.
Baker Mayfield and his crew are surely better, but they’ll encounter a confident Dan Quinn team that believes they can shock the world. My head says that Tampa has the inside track this weekend but, when it comes to the Burgundy & Gold, it’s all about the heart. Let’s call it Commies, 26-24.
Let’s check out the rest of the games as yours truly heads into the postseason with a 175-98 (.641) mark after Week Eighteen’s middling 9-7 (.563) performance…
SATURDAY
4:30 PM, CBS/Paramount+
I’m taking the visiting Chargers (11-6, 6-3 away) over the Texans (10-7, 5-3 home). Yes, Harbaugh & Co.’s preparation has been disrupted by the horrific wildfires, but few coaches are better when things go sideways.
Of course, I’d love to see a win for my old pal THE NORTH END GRILLER, the die-hard Bolts fan, but there’s more to it than that. I think something special is brewing in Chargerland and, on the flip side, Houston concerns me.
Yes, I’m a long-term buyer of whatever Coach DeMeco Ryans is selling - especially if it’s ranch-flavored - but the Texans faded down the stretch and finished 1-5 against playoff teams during the regular season. I think they’re one and done.
8 PM, Prime Video
Like most of America, I’m picking the host Ravens (12-5, 6-2 home) to defeat the rival Steelers (10-7, 5-4 away), just the third team in NFL history to enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak1.
That said, bumps in the road aren’t foreign for Tomlin as the Steelers have had an in-season losing streak of at least three games for seven straight years. Yet, he’s always found a way out of it. His best hope tonight: an epic performance by his star edge, TJ Watt, again voted an All-Pro performer. Not out of the question.
SUNDAY
1 PM, CBS/Paramount+
I’ll take the Bills (13-4, 8-0 home) vs. the visiting Broncos (10-7, 4-5 away). Denver has been fantastic this season and is surely ahead of even the most optimistic fan’s timetable, but the playoffs hit different when you’ve got to travel to Buffalo, which is 5-2 at home in the postseason with Josh Allen starting.
If you’re looking at (distant) history as a guide, these teams met in the 1991 AFC title game, a gritty 10-7 Bills’ win in Orchard Park as the teams battled for the right to lose to the 1991 Washington juggernaut.
4:30 PM, FOX
I’d love to roll with Green Bay but can’t see the Packers (11-6, 5-3 away) winning at Philadelphia (14-3, 8-1 home).
Jalen Hurts seems healthy, the Eagles are well rested, and the Pack was 2-5 against playoff teams this season, including a 34-29 Week One loss in Philly. Sure, a season opener is immaterial when you’re talking about the playoffs, but Jordan Love’s banged-up right elbow feels like it could be a factor. It may be a rout.
MONDAY, 8 PM, ESPN/ABC/ESPN+
I’ll take the Vikings (14-3, 6-2 away) to beat the Rams (10-7, 5-4 home) in Glendale, Ariz. Football is obviously secondary for the displaced LA squad but, still, there is a game to be played.
Last week’s loss to Dee-troit aside, Minnesota has been as good as any team in the league this season and I expect Kevin O’Connell’s crew to respond accordingly. It’ll be tight but the Vikes will prevail.
Alright, folks, there’s your six-pack of games to enjoy over the next three days. Drink it in - and drink responsibly - as we all think about the folks in Los Angeles. Enjoy and God bless!
The first two: the 1986 Jets, who won their playoff opener, and the 1999 Lions, who lost. Hat tip to NFL Network for the info.
Note that a defeat would end Pittsburgh’s season with a five-game losing streak, just the second such skid of Mike Tomlin’s career. The first was in 2009.