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Sunday Soothsayer: Wild Card Weekend
Sunday Soothsayer: Wild Card Weekend
By Tony Finn | Published  01/4/2008 | Sunday Soothsayers
Tony Finn
Managing Editor and Director of Operations for Sports Grumblings LLC, is nationally published covering the National Football League, Major League Baseball, College Football and has been a FSWA Writer of the Year finalist.  Involved with Fantasy Sports since 1973, Tony has hosted radio and internet broadcasts that include the 'Dog and Tony Show' with NFL draft analyst D.J Boyer, 'Football Central', 'Finn on Sports', 'Gridiron Gamblers', and is the Senior NFL analyst for the PBS broadcast of "NFL Intellect".   

View all articles by Tony Finn
Hasselbeck leads the NFC West Champs...

Matt Hasselbeck - Wild Card Weekend


Overall for the Season: 117-110-11, .517 PCT.

Saturday Jan. 5
4:30PM ET
Seattle (-3.5) over Washington

The Redskins are on fire winning four straight games to finish out the season and clinch a wild card spot in the NFC. The shooting death of All-Pro safety Sean Taylor in November has galvanized the Washington Redskins' defense, and the familiarity of Todd Collins and offensive coordinator Al Saunders has this team gelling. That said this will be the third road game in the last four weeks for the Redskins and the 3000 mile trek to Seattle will prove to be too much as Matt Hasselbeck and the pass happy Seahawks offense win with relative ease.

8:00PM ET
Jacksonville (-2.5) over Pittsburgh

A road favorite in the playoffs? And at Heinz Field for that matter? Maybe no team in NFL history has gone through a more difficult path through the playoffs to win a Super Bowl than the Pittsburgh Steelers did two years ago. The one they now face could easily top that of 2005. The Steelers had Willie Parker for that game and he ran for 100 yards, but his season ended four days later when he broke his leg in a game at St. Louis. That leaves Pittsburgh without the NFL's fourth-leading rusher. Parker has been replaced by Najeh Davenport, who came off the bench against the Rams to rush for 123 yards before being held to 27 last week on 12 carries in a 27-21 loss at Baltimore. Pittsburgh came out flat in that game, falling behind 17-0, despite entering with a chance to claim the AFC's No. 3 seed. The Jacksonville rushing attack torched the daunted Steelers defense in early December when the visiting Jags defeated the hometown Steelers. Fred Taylor ran for 147 yards on 25 carries and the Jaguars' 224 rushing yards remain the most Pittsburgh has allowed since giving up 240 - also to Jacksonville - in 2000. Injuries to the offensive line and a knee ailment to key All Pro safety Troy Polamalu leave the once contending Steelers reeling. Take the Jags and lay the small number. 

Sunday Jan. 6
1:00PM ET
New York Giants (+3) over Tampa Bay

The New York Giants haven't won a playoff game since 2001 but the team also has won seven straight road games. Parts of the Giants postseason failures can be credited to Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia. The Bucs signal caller leads fourth-seeded Tampa Bay (9-7) against the fifth-seeded Giants (10-6) in a wild-card matchup at Raymond James Stadium. Garcia will make his third playoff start against the Giants in as many uniforms, and the sight of the veteran quarterback likely won't be pleasing to New York. Garcia has engineered two playoff victories over the Giants in the past six seasons, most recently last year. While New York boasts a versatile rushing attack led by the bruising Brandon Jacobs (1,009 yards) and emerging rookie Ahmad Bradshaw (8.3 yards per carry), Eli Manning's ability to put together at the very least a steady, efficient performance will be critical to the Giants; and establishing the running game against the leagues best pass defense vital to advancing. This comes against a Bucs defense that was second in the league in yards allowed (278.4 per game), first in passing defense (170.5) and third in points allowed (16.9). While Tampa Bay has some injury issues, the Giants also could be missing some key players Sunday. Veteran cover corner Sam Madison, along with center Shaun O'Hara and linebacker Kawika Mitchell, did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, and Coughlin wouldn't speculate on their status. The Giants extend their road-winning streak in a closely contested contest. Take the Giants and the points Sunday.

4:30PM ET
San Diego (-9.5) over Tennessee

For the second straight season, the San Diego Chargers are on a roll heading into the playoffs. This time around, they're trying not to be overconfident, especially with a matchup against a Tennessee Titans team that is thrilled to be getting another crack at the AFC West champions. San Diego brings another long winning streak into the postseason on Sunday when it meets visiting Tennessee for the second time in five weeks -- but historically, the Chargers have been shameful during postseason play. San Diego did a good job against Titans quarterback Vince Young in the Dec. 9 matchup, picking him off twice and holding him to two yards on two carries, and injuries to the young Tennessee team doom them on Sunday. Take the Chargers and lay the big number.

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