Johnny Venezia’s Weekly Taste: Wild Card Saturday Edition

PLAYOFF FOOTBALL. Most of us have to be just ecstatic that we have the NFL tournament kicking off this weekend with a lot of strong matchups.

The new and improved post season features two more games than years past thanks to a restructured playoff seeding, which added a 7th team from each conference as well as only two teams in the league getting a first-round bye as opposed to four. Football junkies, like myself, can now continue to binge in front of the tv for almost 12 hours screaming at people that have no idea I’m doing so. What fun! There are three interesting games this afternoon on the Saturday edition of the Weekly Taste.

Check out the full Weekly Taste Saturday and Sunday Morning on @JohnnyVTV FYI. I have been monitoring the lines and injury reports all week… Time for the best NFL Wild Card Weekend bets and tips. Let’s get it!

Weekly Taste – Best NFL Wild Card Bets and Tips:

Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills (-6.5) | How legit are the Buffalo Bills?

Welp, I was on the Miami Dolphin train a week ago when they traveled to the aforementioned Bills and got bent over a barrel and showed the 50 states. Total domination from the second quarter on. A few weeks ago, I had mentioned how good teams don’t play down to their competition or allow themselves to become complacent. Buffalo proved that they are a good team. Tremendous strides from third year QB Josh Allen not only have Buffalo in strong position to make a deep playoff run, but him in the MVP conversation as well. Saturday, they face a tough Colts defense top 10 overall and in points allowed per game.There is a lot of pressure on Buffalo to follow up a 13-win regular season to prove their legitimacy. As red hot as they are, the post season is a different animal.

Indy was a preseason pick of mine to be in the playoffs. The addition of QB Philip Rivers over from the Chargers has seemed to work out just fine. The major concern for me is not how good their opponent has played, but what kind of preparations they have made to neutralize this cold Western New York weather. Rivers is just 1-5 all time in games with the weather at 32 degrees and below (fact check me on that). Luckily, he is not asked to do the same things he once was in
San Diego for all those years. This is a ground and pound team with the occasional big play. If they want to pull off a huge upset, running back Jonathan Taylor needs to have a close follow up to last week when he dashed for over 250 yards on the ground and two tuddys.

To be completely honest, there is something missing with Buffalo for me. They are a contender for sure, but I’m not sold on them being a Super Bowl team just yet. It’s certainly hard to go against a team playing as well as they are.

PREDICTION: Bills cover the home 6.5 and under at 52.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Washington Football Team (+7.5) | Is it officially “Tom Brady time”?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an overall successful regular season run ending at 11-5 and the number 5 seed. Tom Brady is the most accomplished and decorated Quarterback in NFL history. Having to suit up for a new team in 2020 after 20 years with the New England Patriots certainly didn’t come without a few hiccups. However, the Bucs are primed to make a run with a loaded roster. My preseason Super Bowl winner was Tampa, so no backing off now. However, I will say I am genuinely concerned for Saturday Night’s matchup with Washington.

The absolutely DISGUSTING defense of the WFT has given most offenses fits this season. The scary part is they have gotten a lot stronger as the season has progressed. Presumed DROY stud Chase Young called out Tom Brady this week, which usually hasn’t been the smartest from players in the past but emboldens the grit and attitude from this young defense. Most of Tampa’s losses this year have come from teams that can get after the passer with just the front four. The big variable is if QB Alex Smith plays because at the moment he is a big question mark, which means back up Taylor Heinicke would draw the start.

With a hobbled offense, Young and company will need a major day to pull off the huge upset. That being said, the lines will dramatically change if Smith is ruled out, which will influence my pick here. At the end of the day though, it’s hard to bet against Brady.

PREDICTION: Bucs win and cover the road 7.5.

JohnnyVTV currently sits 65-67 on the season. For all NFL betting plays, follow @JohnnyVTV and @InTheZoneIO on Instagram.