2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Wild Card Round

(NFC no. 6) New York Giants at (NFC no. 3) Minnesota Vikings

The New York Giants made the unpopular decision to rest their key players in Week 18 against the Eagles, but in hindsight, Brian Daboll made the correct executive decision there. The idea of playing starters in a meaningless Week 18 game was ridiculously bad and we saw that unfold with the Los Angeles Chargers, who lost a game in Denver where their starters played most of the afternoon.

While Mike Williams of the Chargers was carted off the field with a back injury, the Giants got their backups some reps and will plan on going to Minneapolis with a chance to play spoiler to a thrilling season for the Minnesota Vikings.

This matchup is very intriguing considering a lot of people just don’t buy the Vikings’ success this year, despite the fact they had 13 wins. Part of the reason people are thinking the Vikings’ 2022 season was a bit of fool’s gold? They had a -3 point differential in their 17 games. That’s pretty crazy when you think about the fact that the team won 13 games in total, even though 11 of them were one-score games.

The Giants have had their share of close calls this year as well, but you could look at the bright side of things and say that the difference for these two teams that were non-playoff squads in 2021 is coaching. Certainly, having better coaching can help you execute properly in close games.

These two teams have very different strengths and weaknesses, but they played each other close back on Christmas Eve with the Vikings winning 27-24. Can the Vikings make that kind of lightning strike twice in the same season? I’m going with an upset pick here.

Prediction: Giants win 24-23