Fantasy Football: 4 Bold Predictions for Wild Card Weekend

There's nothing quite like the NFL.

Football is one of the most intense, exciting sports on the planet. The source of the now-ubiquitous saying "Any Given Sunday," the NFL is a place where even struggling teams have a chance to topple the best in the league. Anything can happen when you play only 17 regular season games a year.

That uncertainty is a huge driver behind the excitement the NFL generates each and every season. What's more fun than watching something totally unexpected unfold before your eyes?

That's why, this year, we'll be bringing you four bold predictions to watch for in each week of the 2023-24 NFL season.

NFL Bold Predictions for Wild Card Weekend

The Bucs Will Beat the Eagles (+136)

Things have not been going so great for the Philadelphia Eagles down the stretch. Already coping with an injury to former first-round pick DeVonta Smith, star receiver A.J. Brown suffered a knee injury of his own in Week 18 while starting quarterback Jalen Hurts picked up an injury to the middle finger of his throwing hand. Even if these key players suit up on Monday there's not a guarantee they'll be at 100%.

But the Eagles' offensive injuries aren't the real reason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a better shot than you might think of taking this one down -- it's Philadelphia's defense.

To little surprise, it sure seems like giving defensive play-calling duties to former New England Patriots and Detroit Lions castoff Matt Patricia has been a mistake so far. Their defense has now played four games with Patricia calling the shots, resulting in a 1-3 record during that time.

Things started off alright, as the Eagles allowed 292 total yards to the Seattle Seahawks in Patricia's debut, but it quickly fell off from there. The team subsequently allowed an average of 385.7 yards per game over their final three games while playing against the New York Giants (twice) and the Arizona Cardinals -- two offenses whose defining characteristic for most of the year was an inability to move the ball. Whatever the Eagles have been doing lately, it isn't working.

Even the Washington Commanders allowed fewer fantasy points per game (36.3) to opposing wideouts than the Eagles did this year (37.1), meaning both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin should be able to get loose with ease on Sunday. That should keep the Bucs' offense moving at a healthy clip down the field and help them put points up on the board.

Finally, the Bucs' defense has -- once again -- been playing elite rushing defense this season, allowing the fifth-fewest total rushing yards (1,620) while limiting opposing rushers to a paltry 3.8 yards per carry. The Eagles' offense has been able to fall back on its strong rushing attack when the passing game has sputtered, but they may not be able to do so against this Bucs defense.

That could lead to more three-and-outs than we've expected to see from Philly over the past two seasons, resulting in an upset victory for the Bucs in the first round of the playoffs.

The Bills Will Shut Out the Steelers

We haven't seen too many shutouts in the playoffs over the years. We haven't seen any since the 2015 playoffs, when the Kansas City Chiefs dispatched the Houston Texans 30-0 in the Wild Card Round. But this weekend's matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers might just end with a donut on the scoreboard for the Steelers.

The Bills' defense went through a serious rough patch earlier in the year while adjusting to player injuries but rounded into shape down the stretch. Since Week 11, only Patrick Mahomes (264 passing yards) was able to complete more than 193 net passing yards against this iteration of Buffalo's defense, a stretch that included games against playoff quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Tua Tagovailoa.

Their run defense has been on point, too, allowing just 90.5 rushing yards per game to offenses not named the Eagles. They could end up being one of the better defenses in this season's playoffs.

The Steelers, on the other hand, are more like a surprise guest to the postseason than true contenders. It took a switch to third-stringer Mason Rudolph at quarterback for this offense to reach 30 or more points in a single game -- which, to their credit, they did twice in Rudolph's starts. They finished the regular season with the fifth-fewest points scored in the league (304).

It's been nice for Steelers fans that their offense has finally put points on the board, but they've been pulling that feat off in a manner that's bound to regress -- a 70-yard touchdown pass isn't exactly a reliable play call week-to-week. No quarterback in the league has benefitted more from his receivers' yards-after-the-catch abilities than Rudolph, whose 7.7 YAC per completion is a full yard more than YAC-champ Brock Purdy's league-high 6.7 YAC per completion rate.

Those deep shots have a much lower likelihood of connecting against playoff defenses and have been directly responsible for over 25% of the Steelers' points over the last three weeks. If the Bills take those away, the Steelers could struggle mightily to score.

If you share my concerns about the Steelers' offense in the playoffs, consider taking the under on this game's 36.5-point total at -112 odds or the under on the Steelers' 12.5 Total Points (+104) on FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Lions and Rams Will Combine for at Least 10 More Points Than Any Other Game

This weekend's tilt between the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions has the highest total (51.5 points) of any game, according to FanDuel Sportsbook's Wild Card Weekend Betting Odds -- and for good reason. While both of these offenses know how to find the end zone, neither of their defenses have done a particularly strong job keeping their opponents from doing the same.

Their defenses actually bear a striking resemblance to each other. They're both allowing their foes a 9.3-yard average depth of target on passing plays (second-deepest) in the league. Each have 41 sacks (ninth-fewest), and each given up about 5,700 scrimmage yards during the season (they rank 13th and 14th in most yards allowed).

Meanwhile, both offenses are currently humming, which means we should get to see an exciting quarterback duel between Matthew Stafford (formerly of the Lions) and Jared Goff (formerly of the Rams).

Great offenses playing against subpar defenses is a good way to ensure a healthy points total, but scoring 10 or more combined points than any other game this weekend takes a bit of star alignment. Fortunately, this weekend features several games between some of the league's top defenses, meaning scores could be lower than expected.

For example, the Kansas City Chiefs are taking on the Miami Dolphins. Both teams have made headlines for offensive reasons over the past several seasons, but both have been strong defensive teams this season. Their strong pass rushes (even with Miami's defensive line injuries) could suppress the total in this one.

And while the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys' 50.5-point total ranks second-highest of the weekend, the Packers' offense has relied on efficient production, which may not come against the Cowboys' elite pass rush.

So, while other strong offenses will have to contend with playoff-caliber defenses, the Rams and Lions should be able to score freely against one another, making theirs the highest-scoring game by at least 10 points.

The Packers Will Upset the Cowboys (+310)

This last bold prediction for Wild Card Weekend is more vibes-based than any of our other predictions so far.

The Cowboys have been hands-down the better team over the Packers this season, finishing the season ranked second-best and fifth-beston offense and defense, respectively, in numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics. While the Packers' offense finished the year as numberFire's seventh-ranked unit, their defense clocked in as the 11th-worst -- not exactly where you want to be if you're facing the Cowboys with the season on the line.

That said, Packers quarterback Jordan Love has been on a heater down the stretch. He has contributed 11 touchdowns with no interceptions over the team's last four games and is making plays out of structure not unlike a certain Packers quarterback of yore.

He's pulling off these feats -- ranking ninth-best in Pro Football Focus' passing grade under pressure in his first year as a starter -- despite playing with the youngest surrounding skill position group in the league.

The Packers' vibes are good heading into the playoffs in their first post-Aaron Rodgers season, while the Cowboys haven't made it past the Divisional Round since 1995. There's a lot of pressure on this Cowboys squad to make a deep run, and it feels like they might succumb to that pressure in the Wild Card Round.

You likely didn't come here for a vibe check, so let's look at some stats that could outline a path to victory for the Packers. Both the Packers and the Cowboys love to dominate the clock, which could drain scoring opportunities out of this contest. No team in the league averaged more time per drive than the Cowboys this year, whose average drive lasted 3 minutes and 11 seconds. The Packers weren't too far behind, averaging the seventh-most time per drive (2 minutes, 54 seconds).

The Packers in particular appear to enjoy draining the clock out of the game, and it's been a feature of their offense under head coach Matt LaFleur. Despite finishing with strong offensive metrics, they ran the second-fewest offensive drives in the league (174 total). The team that had the fewest drives? Dallas, with 169.

Both of these teams are going to be trying to control the clock, limiting their opponents' opportunities to put points on the board. That could play a suppressive role on the score of the game, keeping it within reach for an underdog like the Packers.

If you're betting on any of Saturday, January 13th's NFL playoff action, you can take advantage of FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL Playoffs No-Sweat Same Game Parlay. Check the promotions page for more information.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.