Pick ‘Em: Breaking Down The AFC Wild Card Round

Yesterday, we blessed you with our predictions for the victors in this weekend’s NFC Wild Card playoff games. Today, contributing editor John DeSio breaks down the AFC match-ups, and finally picks a home team to win a game.

Baltimore Ravens (11-5) @ Miami Dolphins (11-5)
As a longtime suffering Jets fan, it is bittersweet to see the much-hated Miami Dolphins in the playoffs while Gang Green sits home. Sure, I’ve always hated the Dolphins, but I never had a bad thing to say about Chad Pennington. Did he have a noodle arm? Sure he did. But he never threw interceptions, played smart and was rarely the reason we lost games. We can’t exactly same the same for Brett the Jet, can we?
The Ravens are indeed a formidable foe, with a strong defense and a rookie QB in Joe Flacco who has worked out much better in his first year than anyone could have possibly imagined. The Ravens are the hot pick here, but I get the feeling everyone is sleeping on Chad. At least one home team is gonna win this weekend, so why not the Dolphins? Pick: Miami
Indianapolis Colts (12-4) @ San Diego Chargers (8-8)
Hmm. The Colts have won nine in a row, and QB Peyton Manning is probably this year’s MVP. The Chargers snuck into the playoffs thanks to the ineptitude of the Denver Broncos. This is an easy pick here. If you had to pick a QB you could trust on the road not too many names would come up before Manning. And no smart football fan would ever place their eggs in the Norv Turner basket, especially not at playoff time. Pick: Indianapolis
Image [AP]