2019 Wild Card weekend

[Poppa San]

Vikings / Saints: strength on strength. Vikings #5 scoring def - #8 scoring offense vs the Saints #3 scoring offense - #13 scoring defense. Vikings need to contain Thomas to a merely human level and limit the damage from Kamara and Murray. On offense a healthy Cook helps but will need "good Kirk" not "bad Kirk" to pull off the upset. Unfortunately for them "bad Kirk" typically shows up when the lights shine brightest. He needs to shake that for at least one week. BTW, Taysom Hill will score at least once.

I'll visit the other games later in the thread unless someone else does a much better job.

 

[ARPackFan]

Seahawks / Eagles: This is a rematch of week 12 where the Seattle Seahawks traveled to Philadelphia and beat the Eagles 17-9. In that game the Eagles turned the ball over 5 times to Seattle’s 2 but had more first downs (23 to 14) and won time of possession (32 min. to 28 min.). Since then the Eagles record is 4-1 averaging 28 points on offense and giving up 21. The Seahawks went the other way and are 2 -3, averaging 23 points on offense and giving up 27. Both teams have been hit hard with injuries, most notable the receivers/TEs for the Eagles and running backs for the Seahawks. For the season: Eagles #15 scoring defense & #12 scoring offense vs the Seahawks #22 scoring defense & #9 scoring offense.

Right now, the Eagles have the momentum and home field advantage for the game. Even with Lynch the Seahawks may struggle running the ball unlike the previous season match-up where Rashaad Penny, who was lost for the season with an ACL, had 129 rushing yards out of the team total of 174.

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

The key for the Vikings is the health of Cook and Thielen. Cook has had 2 weeks off and Thielen sat for Week 17. They have to be ready to play. They're indoors so weather shouldn't be a factor. Cousins has to play like the Top 5 QB that some believe he can be at times. Lucky for him this game isn't on Monday night.

The Seahawks also have to get Brown back and Lynch has to get some reps and conditioning. Based on what I saw, Seattle would have won by 10 if they had Brown blocking and Lynch had a better understanding of the offense and was more in shape. Lynch obviously was in some shape, but he looks about 10 lbs above his playing weight. He's also about 3 years removed from Carroll's offense and I'm sure there are some wrinkles that he's not familiar with or forgotten. He was pulled from the majority of the passing reps in exchange for Homer(Who made the most of those reps). With a possible 2nd ring on the line, I'm sure he's doing everything he can to be ready next week. What sucks for Seattle is they're making an east coast trip which to me I think can be just as much a factor as east coast teams traveling west. But Carroll will have them prepared either way.

 

[Do7]

I can tell you right now Saints fans are looking past Minnesota and looking towards our game the following week, in which I tried warning them that wouldn't be wise. They are that certain The Saints will beat them. I've noticed Saints/ Saints fans have a tendency of underestimating their opponents.

 

[melvin dangerr]

Vikings over the Saints 2 dome teams, Drew will be more pressured forcing throws, this goes down to the wire, don’t think cousins will repeat another bad performance@ home, the Eagles will not beat the Seahawks, Lynch will definitely be more evolved in the offense this time around, look for Russell Wilson to be more of a scrambler to force Saints D off their pass defense..

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

I can tell you right now Saints fans are looking past Minnesota and looking towards our game the following week, in which I tried warning them that wouldn't be wise. They are that certain The Saints will beat them. I've noticed Saints/ Saints fans have a tendency of underestimating their opponents.

I hope that's the case, because I'd say the only 2 defenses in the NFC who can stop the Saints are the 49ers and Vikings. If Zimmer gets that defense going, they've got a game.

Keep in mind the Saints defense is not the greatest in pass coverage either so if Thielen, Diggs, and Smith can get going, an upset is possible.