The 2015-2016 NFL playoffs have arrived and we begin with some interesting matchups in the Wild Card weekend series. The weekend will lead off with the Chiefs traveling to Houston to take on the Texans and closing with the Redskins hosting the Packers at 4:40 p.m. on Sunday. Analysts are saying that fans should not sleep on the Texans and Redskins, as the two division leaders are some of the hottest teams entering the playoffs. With my friends Joseph and Robinson, we are going to present our picks for each game this weekend, in addition to background analysis and reasoning.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans (Saturday, January 9, 2016 @ 4:35 P.M.)

Consensus for Chiefs over Texans

Both teams are extremely sound on defense as each club brings its top ranked units into Houston. While the Texans have home field advantage, they still struggle on offense. The Chiefs are not exactly fantastic on offense either, but quarterback Alex Smith runs a complex scheme well enough and does not turn the ball over that often. Ball security and stout defense will push the Chiefs past the Texans on into the divisional round. Expect the Texans to remain competitive with defensive end J.J. Watt anchoring their defense, but the Chiefs will manage a decisive victory.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Saturday, January 9, 2016 @ 8:15 P.M.)

Joseph: Steelers over Bengals
Robinson: Bengals over Steelers
Zach: Steelers over Bengals

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is out, which has been a detriment to the Cincinnati offense. While McCarron has shown signs of life, the offense has stalled under his command. The Steelers played McCarron earlier in the year and the defense faired well against him. The Steelers have struggled against top tier quarterbacks and receivers with an awful secondary, so a lot of their attention will most likely go towards limiting AJ Green. The Bengals are at home and are looking for revenge against Pittsburgh. The Steelers are not as hot as they were a few weeks ago after barely achieving a playoff berth, but neither are the Bengals. Offenses will be relied on heavily in this matchup and Pittsburgh owns the better of the two. The Steelers are riding on the shoulders of Ben Roethlisberger. How far can the veteran QB carry them?

Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, January 10, 2016 @ 1:05 P.M.)

Consensus for Seahawks over Vikings

The Seahawks annihilated the Vikings back in the middle of the season, but that was then and this now. The Vikings figured it out at the end of the campaign and capped of their 2015-2016 regular season by surprising the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau to take the NFC North division crown. Teddy Bridgewater has matured in his second year, but the Seahawks have fielded a top three defense in each of the past four seasons. The Vikings were missing quite a bit of talent in their last meeting against the Seahawks (Linval Joseph, Harrison Smith), which led to Russell Wilson’s field day. Wilson has continued his ascension in the quarterback power rankings after an impressive fourth season. He is really shed the game manager label with the losses of running backs Marshawn Lynch and Thomas Rawls. It is supposed to snow heavily in Minnesota on Sunday, so the ground & pound schemes could be used frequently. It will be fun to see a rematch between Adrian Peterson and the tough Seattle running defense.

Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Redskins (Sunday, January 10, 2016 @ 4:40 P.M.)

Consensus for Redskins over Packers

That’s right. We believe the Redskins will defeat the playoff experienced Packers. The Packers are not the same team this year for a few reasons. The loss of wide receiver Jordy Nelson has devastated the Packers offense. Aaron Rodgers has not looked like himself all year and the offensive line has contributed to Rodgers’s down year. The Redskins defense is heating up and they possess a good pass rush with rookie Preston Smith and Ryan Kerrigan. The Redskins only have one loss at home this season and quarterback Kirk Cousins looks to keep it that way. Cousins has found his comfort zone in Jay Gruden’s system and has not looked back since his first “YOU LIKE THAT?!” postgame rant.

DFS Picks:

Houston: RB Alfred Blue, WR DeAndre Hopkins, Texans D/ST
Kansas City: RB Spencer Ware, TE Travis Kelce, Chiefs D/ST
Cincinnati: WR AJ Green, TE Tyler Eifert
Pittsburgh: QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR’s Antonio Brown & Martavis Bryant, Steelers D/ST
Minnesota: None
Seattle: QB Russell Wilson, WR Doug Baldwin, Seahawks D/ST, RB Christine Michael
Washington: QB Kirk Cousins, TE Jordan Reed, WR’s Pierre Garcon & DeSean Jackson, Redskins D/ST
Green Bay: RB Eddie Lacy, WR James Jones, QB Aaron Rodgers

Top scorer(s) at each position:

QB – Kirk Cousins
RB – Christine Michael, Spencer Ware
WR – Antonio Brown, AJ Green, DeAndre Hopkins
TE – Jordan Reed, Tyler Eifert
D/ST – Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City