NFL Super Wild-Card Weekend picks: Colts take out Bills, Rams upend Seahawks, Washington pressures Brady
Will Brinson's picks for Super Wild-Card Weekend 2021

The NFL playoffs have arrived and with them apparently so has Super Wild-Card Weekend. That's the name the NFL is giving this weekend, which is great, because it features three games each day and caused several people (ahem) to cancel their children's birthday parties for work. Such is life in a football full pandemic. Make sure and watch me/us stream on Twitch before the game (12-1 p.m. ET) on the CBS Sports HQ channel. Please do it so my son won't hate me forever. Your livestream could save a life or something.
Check that out and make sure to listen to our Pick Six Podcast best bets show for everything you need to know about this weekend's games.
No. 7 Indianapolis (11-5) at No. 2 Buffalo (13-3)
Saturday, 1:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
Incredible opening game for the 2021 NFL Playoffs and it happens to be on CBS. Lucky us! This matchup is fascinating from an X's and O's perspective, because the Colts biggest strength on offense matches up with the Bills biggest weakness on defense. The Colts love to pound the football in the run game, while the Bills are a touch undersized up front. Jonathan Taylor was a monster down the stretch, running for 741 yards in his final six games. Buffalo is bottom 10 in the NFL in terms of five- (31st) and 10-yard (25th) runs allowed during neutral game scripts according to Rich Hribar of Sharp Football. In other words, if the Colts don't end up trailing by double digits early, they can probably do what they want to do on offense in terms of their game plan. Of course, A famous Mike Tyson phrase probably applies here: the Bills have been the best team in football over the last month or so. They sent a MESSAGE to the Patriots and Dolphins despite already clinching the division in Week 15. Indy got fat and happy down the stretch on some questionable teams and Buffalo doesn't have a bad loss, so this feels a little shaky, but I'm going to take the Colts in a big-time upset spot. Matt Eberflus can vault his name to the top of every coaching wish list if he cooks up something to slow down Josh Allen and Co. here. If for some reason DeForest Buckner doesn't play, I'm out on this bet, by the way.
The Pick: Colts 24, Bills 21
Best Bets: Colts +6.5 (prefer +7 duh)
No. 6 L.A. Rams (10-6) at No. 3 Seattle (12-4)
Saturday, 4:40 p.m. ET (Fox)
Can someone explain this spread to me?? The Seattle Seahawks, captained by Russell Wilson, are going up against the Los Angeles Rams, who are missing their quarterback and trotting out John Wolford and the Seahawks are just 3.5-point favorites? This is RANCID. (It's possible Jared Goff, who is listed as questionable plays. Is he definitely an upgrade?) I'm really interested to see how the Rams approach this game on offense. Obviously they won't open things up, but I wonder if Sean McVay will install some read-option concepts with Wolford and Cam Akers in the backfield to try and throw the Seahawks defense off from the get go. The total here is wildly submerged at 42, but it might not be low enough, honestly. The Rams know they won't be putting up a huge number on offense in this matchup -- the Seahawks defense has been much better down the stretch (albeit against weak competition) and Los Angeles only mustered 34 points total in the regular season.
The Seahawks weren't lobbing out big scores either, though. They scored a total of 36 points against the Rams in the regular season. We're just going to see Pete Carroll run the ball a TON -- unless he completely changes his approach in the postseason -- and that's going to lead to a lot of punts and the clock melting.
Against my better judgment I'm taking the Rams to win this game outright, but the under is the play I prefer more than anything. Also, if Wolford plays, they can't set his prop on rushing yards high enough for me not to take the over. R.J. White mentioned on the Pick Six Podcast he likes Russell Wilson under 1.5 pass touchdowns and I tend to like that as well, especially since it's plus money.
The Pick: Rams 19, Seahawks 17
Best Bet: Under 42, Over John Wolford rushing yards
No. 5 Tampa Bay (11-5) at No. 4 Washington (7-9)
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)
Like the Seahawks-Rams game, this is a spot where if the favorite will make some modifications, they could roll. But do you believe the Buccaneers will totally bail on Bruce Arians' offense and just starting throwing underneath to Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin all of a sudden after throwing vertically more than anyone else in the NFL? If they do that, it would severely mitigate the pressure Washington can put on Tom Brady. Do that and suddenly this turns into a blowout with the Bucs feeding Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette in the second half. But the Bucs struggled against good defensive lines this year. In their five losses against good defensive teams (all of whom made the postseason), the Bucs scored 23, 19, 3, 24 and 24 points. That has to give you pause with this matchup, even if Brady is rolling into the postseason as one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL. Tampa scored over 90 points over the last two weeks but I don't think they're doing it here. Give me the under and Washington.
The Pick: Buccaneers 24, Washington 17
Best Bet: Under 45
No. 5 Baltimore (11-5) at No. 4 Tennessee (11-5)
Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN)
This is the Lamar Jackson playoff game to end the narrative. We've forgotten this often happens with NFL quarterbacks. They struggle early on in their playoff careers and then break through when everyone is really starting to count them out. Lamar playing the Titans again after last year's debacle won't help the narrative as it ramps up. I love the Ravens here. I think they come out firing, I think they convert in the red zone, I think Lamar gets loose with his legs and finds Marquise Brown down the field and I think J.K. Dobbins gets loose as well. This Titans defense is not last year's Titans defense. You can put up points on them, and I'm not sure forcing Lamar to throw to the hashes will work like it did last year. Tennessee isn't ever left for dead -- they came back down 10 in the fourth quarter against Baltimore this year -- but the Ravens will actually lean on the ground game with a lead this time around, forcing Tennessee to get away from Derrick Henry.
The Pick: Ravens 38, Titans 31
Best Bet: Ravens -3, Over 54.5, Marquise Brown over receiving yards (48.5), Lamar Jackson over pass TD (1.5), Lamar over rush yards (anything up to 85)
No. 7 Chicago (8-8) at No. 2 New Orleans (12-4)
Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET (CBS/Nickelodeon/Amazon Prime)
This is easily the most difficult game to handicap on the wild-card slate. Do you trust the Bears? Of course not! They were the biggest rollercoaster in football, starting out 5-1 before cratering to 5-7 with six straight losses and then rallying to win three of their last four games to finish 8-8. What a ride it was and I would *guess* that it culminates in New Orleans. It feels like maybe the Bears are a live dog here at first glance, and 10 points certainly feels like a bit much, but the Saints aren't just a better overall team, they're also getting healthier at the right and have way fewer weaknesses. The Bears listed Roquan Smith as questionable on Friday, meaning he might not be able to play on Sunday. Alvin Kamara appears to be a full go (based on his tweets and the timing of his COVID situation) and that's a problem for the Bears because Roquan is the guy who would be covering the dynamic running back. I know a single injury alone shouldn't shift the way you feel about a game, but I'm so concerned about how Sean Payton will attack this Bears defense with Kamara if Roquan is missing that I'm going to take the Saints laying double digits here. I also think this game is going to stay under because both defenses are above average (even sans Roquan) and neither offense is necessarily explosive.
The Pick: Saints 28, Bears 17
Best Bet: Alvin Kamara receiving yards (37.5)/receptions (4.5) over
No. 6 Cleveland (11-5) at No. 3 Pittsburgh (12-4)
Sunday, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)
Another game that confuses me. COVID hits the Browns, Kevin Stefanski is ruled out, they lose Joel Bitonio, the line goes off the board with the Steelers favored by five points and naturally it re-opens at ... Steelers -6? Was the COVID stuff already baked in??? Are the head coach of an NFL team and a Pro Bowl lineman really only worth one or two points to the spread? That seems crazy to me. And there's buy back in some spots on the Browns. I love Pittsburgh here. Ben Roethlisberger got to rest after finding something against Indianapolis a few weeks back and I just don't think Cleveland's going to move the ball very well with the limited personnel they have and a total lack of practice until Friday afternoon. Maybe I'm wrong and Nick Chubb is ripping off big gainers. If they get him and Kareem Hunt going early and can get downhill on the Steelers from the get go, this could be a different game. It's the ultimate "no one believes in us" game because no one is backing the Browns here. But if the Steelers get a lead and Baker Mayfield has to throw a ton against this defensive front? It could be curtains for an incredible Browns season.
The Pick: Steelers 24, Browns 10
Best Bet: Steelers -6
















