Cincy Jungle staff picks for Wild Card Weekend and open thread

Wild Card Weekend is here! One of the most exciting weekends in sports. This will be the start of many playoff narratives that could live on for years. Careers can be made or broken on performances here.

The AFC has a matchup between two young quarterbacks making their playoff debuts. The Los Angeles Chargers are heading to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence are looking to start their post season careers off on the right foot, and who wins will probably be on their shoulders. The Jaguars have a respectable defense that has come up big in moments that have needed it and kept this team in games. The Chargers have relied more on Herbert elevating them after injuries have decimated their roster that was supposed to be very much improved this offseason. The winner probably comes down to which of these quarterbacks can make the big plays and not played too scared of making the mistakes that could lose the game.

The Monday Night Football game will be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Dallas Cowboys. Quarterback Tom Brady is looking to become 8-0 against the Cowboys in his career as Dallas is looking to actually move on after some frustrating results to end their seasons recently.

We could be seeing the last of Brady in Tampa Bay as rumors swirl of him moving on this offseason. This roster has seen better days, and Brady doesn’t have time to stick around for a rebuild if he even has more football in him. The Cowboys and Dak Prescott were a game away from being the top seed in the NFC, but the Philadelphia Eagles won the division by having an even better season. So rather than having home field in the house that Jerry Jones built, they will have to become road warriors in order to reach the Super Bowl. The Bucs provide the first of the many challenges in their way.

Here is who our staff is taking this week, as well as our open thread for Saturday’s playoff games, so join the fun! You can also check out the odds for all of this weekend’s games courtesy of our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook.