Dennis Fithian Predicts This Weekend's NFL Playoff Games
Sat., Jan. 07, 4:30 PM ET
Cincinnati - Houston
Line Texans -3
Houston came from nine down in Cinci in December with TJ Yates at quarterback but with Andre Johnson
still sidelined with a knee injury. The Texans clinched a playoff spot with that win but went on to lose their last three games. Bengals lost last week to the Ravens and needed losses by the Jets and Broncos to get in. Neither team is going any farther in the post season after this one but the home field and a bunch of field goals wins it for Houston.
Prediction Texans 26 Bengals 20
Sat., Jan. 07, 8:00 PM ET
Detroit - New Orleans
Line Saints -10.5
Detroit could have avoided this matchup with the hottest team in the league with a win over the Green Bay Backups. Now the Lions face a buzz saw in Drew Brees in the Superdome where the Saints haven't lost all year. Saints are averaging 42 points at home this year and beat the Lions in early December 31-17. Detroit will have two key players available this time around safety Louis Delmas and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Lions have the fire power offensively to stay with the Saints but will have to stop Brees who is the master at finding mismatches on the other side of the ball. Lion's fate was determined when they lost to the MVP's backup last week. They will keep it within single digits but the likely MVP runner up Brees will be too much.
Prediction Saints 38 Lions 31
Sun., Jan. 08, 1:00 PM ET
Atlanta - New York Giants
Line New York -3
Have to wonder which Giants team shows up on Sunday? The one who pounded the Cowboys to get into the post season or the G-Men squad which played their worst game of the year just two weeks earlier at home against the Redskins. Osi Umenyiora coming back from injury could be the difference for the Giants. Umenyiora along with Jason Pierre-Paul have the look, up front, that has New York in better position than their regular season defensive numbers might suggest. Still Matt Ryan has good balance being able to go to Michael Turner on the ground or Roddy White and Julio Jones through the air. A little bit more offense from the visitors will be the difference.
Prediction Falcons 30 Giants 28
Sun., Jan. 08, 4:30 PM ET
Pittsburgh - Denver
Pittsburgh -9
A banged up Steelers team won't have running back Rashard Mendenhall or safety Ryan Clark but they will have a banged up Ben Roethlisberger. An experienced quarterback plus the top ranked Steelers defense present huge problems for a struggling Broncos team which backed into the post season. Points will be very difficult to come by for both teams. Denver finds pay dirt once which should keep them within single digits in Mile High.
Prediction Steelers 17 Broncos 10
