Wild Card Round
AFC
(7) Cincinnati Bengals @ (2) Denver Broncos
Cincinnati getting back into the playoffs would feel right, but the Broncos are an overwhelming team when playing at home. The Bengals offense wouldn't be able to handle the high-flying Broncos pass rush in this contest.
(6) New England Patriots @ (3) Buffalo Bills
New England is still going to be a competent team, but Buffalo has advanced past the Wild Card Round for years now. For the Bills, we're to the point where they probably just want to fast-forward into the Divisional Round.
(5) Jacksonville Jaguars @ (4) Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore is going to be a juggernaut with a healthier team, and Minter does feel like someone who is going to find instant success as a head coach. The Ravens fend off the Jaguars in our playoff predictions, as the Jags roster just is not quite there yet.
NFC
(7) San Francisco 49ers @ (2) Detroit Lions
San Francisco, under Kyle Shanahan, have been stellar in the playoffs, but the Lions boast some of the most talent in the NFL. This could be a year for Detroit to get back on track a bit, as the Lions high-powered offense would be too much for the Niners defense to handle.
(6) Green Bay Packers @ (3) Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay and Dallas would surely make for a fun playoff game, but the Cowboys truly have more things going for them right now, as new defensive coordinator Christian Parker is a Vic Fangio disciple and is going to have this unit good enough to help out the offense and get Dallas deep into the postseason.
(5) Seattle Seahawks @ (4) New Orleans Saints
This is one of those matchups where you could argue that the NFL Playoff seeding format rules are simply not good. The Saints would host the Seahawks in our predictions, but while the Saints are building something notable, this team would get throttled by Seattle's defense and would simply get overwhelmed. Seattle would win this game by halftime.