Cardinals vs. Panthers

The Panthers desperately need a victory to get to .500 before they likely get eviscerated in Seattle.

Arizona has an enormous head coaching advantage as well as advantages on both sides of the ball with the exception of quarterback. Unfortunately, if Ryan Lindley led the 1993 Cowboys into the playoffs they would have likely been one-and-done.

This feels like one of those Thursday Night Football games that nobody wants to watch but you will because it’s the NFL. It will be ugly and Cam Newton and Ron Rivera will get their first playoff wins.

Panthers 16, Cardinals 12.

Ravens vs. Steelers

The home team has won both meetings handily in this series but this appears like it could be a close game. Le’Veon Bell won’t be able to go on Saturday night but it won’t be as big of a loss as one would think, as the Ravens are one of the best run-stopping teams in football and Pittsburgh will likely attack them primarily through the air.

The Ravens are 3-2 in their last five games but they’ve played worse than that. They struggled mightily in wins over Cleveland and Jacksonville with inferior offenses and were beaten soundly by Houston, who were playing their fourth quarterback of the season.

Joe Flacco has been playing poorly and it doesn’t seem as if he’s going to just “flip a switch” and turn everything around. I think you have to trust Ben Roethlisberger in a big spot.

Steelers 24, Ravens 20

Bengals vs. Colts

How much do you trust Andy Dalton in a big spot?

Not at all? Probably the right answer.

Nobody is going to argue that Dalton is the quarterback to take over Andrew Luck in this or any other spot. With that said, Dalton has the much better team around him and the Colts are just 5-5 against teams outside of the AFC South (Cincy is 7-4-1 against teams outside of the AFC South).

As much as the Bengals are the better team I find it simply impossible to pick Andy Dalton in a playoff game.

Colts 27, Bengals 20

Lions vs. Cowboys

Do you trust Matt Stafford in a big game on the road (where he’s 0-16 against teams with winning records) or Tony Romo in the playoffs?

This game shouldn’t be close. Tony Romo has always been a great quarterback and he’s playing the best football of his career at 34 years old. The Cowboys are a Top 3 football team in the NFL and they’re Seattle’s worst nightmare.

Meanwhile, Calvin Johnson looks like he’s aged 20 years and Stafford is as inconsistent as ever. If Detroit is going to stay in this game, they need to shorten the game by running the football with Joique Bell and Reggie Bush.

Detroit will choose not to run the football and Romo will exorcise some playoff demons.

Cowboys 38, Lions 20.

Last week: 12-4