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Hondo eyes playoff payoff
Hondo wrapped up the regular season with a disastrous 5-10-1 performance that caused him to finish below the .500 mark. For that he can point a finger directly at Cincinnati, which, with a cover in hand in Pittsburgh Sunday night, fumbled it away in true Bengwad style.
But that’s enough about 2014. Now that the ball has dropped and everyone has dropped the ball on his or her resolutions, it’s time to shift focus from hangovers to turnovers and make some wise investments in playoff pigskin futures.
Cardinals-Panthers: The knee-jerk play is the Panthers, who have won their last four, while the Cardinals have lost four of their last six. And granted, quarterback Ryan Lindley, a journeyman, ultimately will be responsible for Arizona having a rough journey, man. Nevertheless, the Cardinals play a manly enough defense to keep it within the hefty number against the Panthers’ plodding offense. Expect the Cats to nip ’em, 17-16.
Ravens-Steelers: In their last three games, the Ravens had to rally in the second half to beat the Jaguars, were beaten by the immortal Case Keenum and the Texans and needed a fourth-quarter comeback against the immortal Connor Shaw and the Browns to pull a wild card out of the deck. The Steelers, meanwhile, roll into the playoffs with four straight wins. Le’Veon Bell’s possible absence won’t keep the Ben Roethlisberger-to-Antonio Brown connection from getting the Steelers off to a fast start, which will make it an easy ride. After all, as everyone knows, it’s tough to play catchup at Heinz. Steelers, 23-19.
Bengals-Colts: They don’t call him “One-And-Done” Dalton for nothing. A fourth straight quick exit awaits in Indianapolis, where the Bengwads, who had the league’s least number of sacks appeal, will provide Andrew Luck plenty of time to scan and deliver to T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Coby Fleener. The Colts’ underrated defense may not blank the ’Wads as it did Oct. 19, but with A.J. Green still woozy, a 24th straight year of playoff futility awaits Cincinnati. Can’t argue with history; if you put your postseason cash on Dalton, you will be in the red. Colts, 31-23.
Lions-Cowboys: It’s a numbers game — the Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, while Matt Stafford, for his career, is 0-for-17 on the road against teams that finished with a winning record. And it looks like their number is up again, unless Ndamukong Suh and Dominic Raiola can turn Jerry’s Place into Stomper Room early on and get rid of some key Cowboys. Barring that, the Cowboys will roll as the playoff wheels come off Detroit again. Dallas 38-13.
BTW: Now that Suh has gotten over on the NFL by claiming his feet were numb and he didn’t realize he twice stepped on Aaron Rodgers’ ankle, he wants to appeal his $30,000 fine for kicking Matt Schaub on Thanksgiving in 2012. Suh now contends his foot was numb that day, too, and he merely was trying to warm it up in Schaub’s crotch.
Hondo eyes playoff payoff
Hondo wrapped up the regular season with a disastrous 5-10-1 performance that caused him to finish below the .500 mark. For that he can point a finger directly at Cincinnati, which, with a cover in hand in Pittsburgh Sunday night, fumbled it away in true Bengwad style.
But that’s enough about 2014. Now that the ball has dropped and everyone has dropped the ball on his or her resolutions, it’s time to shift focus from hangovers to turnovers and make some wise investments in playoff pigskin futures.
Cardinals-Panthers: The knee-jerk play is the Panthers, who have won their last four, while the Cardinals have lost four of their last six. And granted, quarterback Ryan Lindley, a journeyman, ultimately will be responsible for Arizona having a rough journey, man. Nevertheless, the Cardinals play a manly enough defense to keep it within the hefty number against the Panthers’ plodding offense. Expect the Cats to nip ’em, 17-16.
Ravens-Steelers: In their last three games, the Ravens had to rally in the second half to beat the Jaguars, were beaten by the immortal Case Keenum and the Texans and needed a fourth-quarter comeback against the immortal Connor Shaw and the Browns to pull a wild card out of the deck. The Steelers, meanwhile, roll into the playoffs with four straight wins. Le’Veon Bell’s possible absence won’t keep the Ben Roethlisberger-to-Antonio Brown connection from getting the Steelers off to a fast start, which will make it an easy ride. After all, as everyone knows, it’s tough to play catchup at Heinz. Steelers, 23-19.
Bengals-Colts: They don’t call him “One-And-Done” Dalton for nothing. A fourth straight quick exit awaits in Indianapolis, where the Bengwads, who had the league’s least number of sacks appeal, will provide Andrew Luck plenty of time to scan and deliver to T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Coby Fleener. The Colts’ underrated defense may not blank the ’Wads as it did Oct. 19, but with A.J. Green still woozy, a 24th straight year of playoff futility awaits Cincinnati. Can’t argue with history; if you put your postseason cash on Dalton, you will be in the red. Colts, 31-23.
Lions-Cowboys: It’s a numbers game — the Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, while Matt Stafford, for his career, is 0-for-17 on the road against teams that finished with a winning record. And it looks like their number is up again, unless Ndamukong Suh and Dominic Raiola can turn Jerry’s Place into Stomper Room early on and get rid of some key Cowboys. Barring that, the Cowboys will roll as the playoff wheels come off Detroit again. Dallas 38-13.
BTW: Now that Suh has gotten over on the NFL by claiming his feet were numb and he didn’t realize he twice stepped on Aaron Rodgers’ ankle, he wants to appeal his $30,000 fine for kicking Matt Schaub on Thanksgiving in 2012. Suh now contends his foot was numb that day, too, and he merely was trying to warm it up in Schaub’s crotch.
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