NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round TV Schedule, Announcers, Spreads and Picks

Update 1/5: That announcers have now been updated for all four Wild Card round playoff games.

The regular season has ended and the playoff schedule is set. Incredibly, the Wild Card round this upcoming weekend will give us three rematches of Week 17 games.

Considering that I nailed two out of the three (and 10 out of 15 overall last week, with one push) you’d probably think I’d be pretty confident heading into the playoffs with my 135-106-3 record picking against the spread on the season.

And you’d be right, but that doesn’t mean that this week’s games aren’t very tricky to predict.

The Jets smashed the Bengals, but Cincinnati seemed disinterested and flat. The same is true for the Packers win over the Cardinals. And who knows what to make of Dallas’ shellacking of Philadelphia. The Cowboys took two from the Eagles this year and are favored this weekend, but we know the old adage about how hard it is to beat a team three times.

The TV schedule is set and the spreads are in, so my picks are as well. As I’ve done all season – with pretty damn good success I might add – I’m picking these games based on my gut reaction immediately after seeing the first spreads posted.

It’s worked well all year, so like a good football team I am not going to change things up once the stakes are higher.

A couple of quick things to keep in mind:

• All times are ET.
• Some games do not have all of the information filled in as of this post being published (i.e. a few games don’t have spreads yet and the announcer assignments have not yet been announced). I’ll up date this post as soon as the information is available at the506.com.
• Point spread and over-under listings are as of Monday night, and obviously subject to change throughout the week. If you want update point spread info, or some expert advice as you make your weekly picks, below are a few helpful links.
• DocSports: NFL Odds | NFL Picks
• DocSports: NFL Playoff Tree | NFL Playoff Brackets | NFL Playoff Schedule | NFL Playoff Predictions

And with all that said, here is your NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round TV schedule, point spreads, announcers, free picks, and byes.

NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round Viewer’s Guide

TV Schedule – Announcers – Kickoff Times

Point Spreads – Free Picks – Odds – Over-Unders

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals

• Jets-Bengals Date: Saturday, January 9th
• Jets-Bengals Kickoff Time: 4:30 ET
• Jets-Bengals TV Network: NBC
• Jets-Bengals Announcers: Tom Hammond, Joe Gibbs, and Joe Theismann
• Jets-Bengals Point Spread: Bengals -3
• Jets-Bengals Over-Under Odds: 34
• Jets-Bengals Spread Pick: Cincinnati was utterly embarrassed last night by the Jets. However, before we read too much into that result, consider that the Cincy had nothing to play for, was sitting Cedric Benson, and the Jets had everything on the line. This is a Bengals team that has played terrific defense all season long and while they have struggled offensively, they have been scrappy enough in the 4th quarter of games to pull out victories. The Jets have a tremendous defense, and I see this being a very low scoring game. I like the Bengals to win it, but I think the Jets (barring a complete collapse by Mark Sanchez) can hang tight enough to cover. (bonus hint: take the under!) Jets-Bengals free pick: Jets +3
• MSF: Jets-Bengals Preview

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

• Eagles-Cowboys Date: Saturday, January 9th
• Eagles-Cowboys Kickoff Time: 8:00 ET
• Eagles-Cowboys TV Network: NBC
• Eagles-Cowboys Announcers: Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth
• Eagles-Cowboys Point Spread: Cowboys -3.5
• Eagles-Cowboys Over-Under Odds: 45
• Eagles-Cowboys Spread Pick: Wow. What else can you say about the Cowboys’ last three games. They stopped the Saints unbeaten streak, shut out Washington, and then shut out Philadelphia to win the NFC East. I’m not sure that there is a team in the NFL playing better than Dallas right now and there is probably not a QB playing more efficiently than Tony Romo. While I don’t think Philadelphia will get embarrassed this time around, I don’t think the Eagles run the ball well enough to compete with the multi-dimensional Cowboys offense. I like Dallas to win, cover, and be a very tough matchup for either the Saints or Vikings in the divisional round. Eagles-Cowboys free pick: Cowboys -3.5

Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots

• Ravens-Patriots Date: Sunday, January 10th
• Ravens-Patriots Kickoff Time: 1:00 ET
• Ravens-Patriots TV Network: CBS
• Ravens-Patriots Announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
• Ravens-Patriots Point Spread: Patriots -4
• Ravens-Patriots Over-Under Odds: 43
• Ravens-Patriots Spread Pick: The loss of Wes Welker hurts the Patriots long-term in the playoffs, but I agree with what Trent Dilfer said on SportsCenter this morning, which is that they can overcome his loss this week. The Ravens have struggled in the secondary all year, and Julian Edelman will be able to do enough as Welker’s clone replacement to give Tom Brady a solid outlet. Tom Brady and Randy Moss seem to have some of their rhythm back and the Patriots have a stable of running backs with different skills to keep the Ravens off balance. Baltimore has just been too up and down this season for me to trust them over New England, Wes Welker or not. Ravens-Patriots free pick: Patriots -4 (and I like the over in this one)

Quick note: Since I originally published this post and made my picks, the line on the Packers-Cardinals game has move from Cardinals -3 to either pick ‘em or Packers -1. That’s a hell of a lot of movement and obviously is being caused by the injury concerns of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Anquan Boldin.

I don’t usually update my picks from Sunday night when I first make them, but the wild swing in the point spread makes it necessary for me to do so this week. Below is the updated number and pick.

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals

• Packers-Cardinals Date: Sunday, January 10th
• Packers-Cardinals Kickoff Time: 4:40 ET
• Packers-Cardinals TV Network: FOX
• Packers-Cardinals Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
• Packers-Cardinals Point Spread: Packers -1
• Packers-Cardinals Over-Under Odds: 47
• Packers-Cardinals Spread Pick: This is another game for which I would not read to much into the Week 17 result. Neither team really had anything to play for and Green Bay decided to show up while Arizona didn’t. Of course, that has been a theme of the second half of this season. The Packers have come to play every week, and played well, whereas Arizona has been up and down. Considering the injuries the Cardinals suffered to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Anquan Boldin, plus their inconsistency, it makes them a difficult pick. The Packers are as hot, if not hotter, than the Cowboys right now. And you just know that a Favre-Rodgers rematch is happening in the divisional round, right? The Packers need to win for it to be a possibility. I think they will. Packers-Cardinals free pick: Packers -1
• Click here for great deals on Packers-Cardinals Tickets

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