by Hunter Moore ’15
Journalism Student

Warrior staffer Hunter Moore makes his picks for this week’s NFL Playoff action.

Redskins vs. Seahawks

The Redskins are coming into this with tons of momentum after defeating the Cowboys last week 28-18 and clinching their first division crown since 1999.  Rookies Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris have combined to carry (no pun intended) the Redskins to the Number 1 rushing offense in the NFL. However, although the Redskins are constantly improving the Seahawks are just too athletic and quick on the defensive side of the ball to compete with. Their 3-5 record on the road gets thrown out the window in this game, Seahawks win 34-27.

Ravens vs. Colts

The Ravens have been dealing with the injury bug all season and have lost 4 of their last 5 games. If this game was a week ago I would have predicted the Colts to win thanks to the outstanding performance by rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, but this week the story has completely changed with the recent news of Ray Lewis retiring at the end of the season. The Ravens have much more to play for and another week of rest for injured stars Lewis and Terrell Suggs give the Ravens a huge facelift on defense. Ravens win 24-21 in overtime.

Packers vs. Vikings

Last week the Vikings overwhelmed former MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and pulled out a close victory in overtime, clinching their spot in the playoffs on the final play of their regular season. The Vikings have Adrian Peterson coming back from injury to the best season of his career and he has thrown himself into the MVP discussion after becoming just the fifth running back in league history to rush for over 2000 yards. 409 of those yards have come against the Packers in their two regular season meetings, and the Packers have recently struggled in home playoff games. They didn’t adjust to Peterson last week, and one more week isn’t enough time to solve the Rubix Cube that is this rushing attack. Vikings win 23-21.

Texans vs. Bengals

The Texans started the season as one of the hottest teams in the league, but have dropped off in recent weeks dropping games to the Vikings (23-6) and Colts (28-16). Second-year quarterback Andy Dalton and standout wide receiver A.J. Green bring a strong passing game to the table which will go a long way against a mediocre Texans secondary. Bengals pull out a close victory 28-21.

Photo Credit: sportsillustrated.com