Pigskin Picks NFL Super Wild Card Weekend

We've made it to the playoffs. Finishing up the regular season of Pigskin Picks with a 2-1 weekend. Bringing the over all record to 32-26. It's now time for things to get wild. Super Wild Card Weekend is here and I'm going to do all 6 games this weekend. Why not. It's fun. Let's see what the overall record looks like after we pick the final 13 games of the NFL season. As always Pigskin Picks is brought to you by Parx Casino and Sportsbook – this is how you win – must be 21 – gambling problem call 1-800-gambler.

Last Week's Record: 2-1. Overall Record: 32-26

Super Wild Card Weekend

Cleveland Browns @ Houston Texans CLE -2.5 (Saturday 4:30pm NBC)

A game featuring a Joe Flacco renaissance vs what could be the NFL's next big QB star, CJ Stroud. I'm surprised the Browns are favored in this one, but Vegas is loving Joe Flacco, and the Browns defense. I'm a big fan of CJ Stroud and former Eagle Demeco Ryans. Give me the rookie and Texans at home.

Pick - Houston

Miami Dolphins @ Kansas City Chiefs KC -4.5 (Saturday 8pm Peacock)

Let me get this out before I make a pick. I believe the NFL putting any playoff game on a streaming service that you have to pay for is a disgrace. Putting a game featuring Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Andy Reid, Tyreek Hill, and the Dolphins explosive offense in negative degree weather is even worse. We should be "shocked and chagrined, mortified and stupefied! This is outrageous!" -Jackie Chiles

The temperature at kickoff will be -3°. The wind chill is going to make it feel between -26° to -30°! The Dolphins are leaving a city that has a high of 79° today. That's a 100° difference is how it's going to feel! Probably a low scoring game that KC wins. It's just unfortunate for the already banged up Dolphins. They're high powered passing game has to play in that weather and get bounced early.

Pick - Kansas City

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills BUF -10 (Sunday 1pm CBS)

Scariest team playing during Super Wild Card Weekend is the Buffalo Bills. They won themselves the 2 seed during the final game of the NFL season, but they've been living on the edge for about 5 weeks now. Battle tested quarterback Josh Allen leads Buffalo past Pittsburgh, but 10 is a big number against a Mike Tomlin team.

Pick - Pittsburgh

Green Bay Packers @ Dallas Cowboys DAL -7.5 (Sunday 4:40pm FOX)

I wouldn't be shocked if Green Bay wins this game, but I'm not expecting it. It would be a crazy upset, but I wouldn't be completely shocked either. Green Bay is playing well, Jordan Love looks like a totally different quarterback from the beginning of the season to now. He's playing confidently and that offense comes into Dallas pretty hot. This could be a shootout in Dallas, but Dallas at home is a different animal. I'll take Dallas to cover the number, but not a pick with great confidence.

Pick - Dallas

Los Angeles Rams @ Detroit Lions DET - 3 (Sunday 8pm NBC)

Probably the best game of the weekend. The storylines: Detroit's first home playoff game in 30 years! Looking for only their 2nd playoff win since 1957! Former Lions QB Matt Stafford comes back to Detroit. It could be a Stafford revenge game, but could also be a Goff revenge game. The Rams traded Jared Goff for Stafford a few years ago. So many storylines! I think the Rams ruin the party in Detroit.

Pick -Los Angeles

Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers PHI -3 (Monday 8pm)

I don't know if the defense is going to stop Mike Evans and Chris Godwin from gashing the secondary, but maybe the offense can help. Jalen Hurts' finger is in rough shape. Will they take some weight off his shoulders and ram the ball down the Buccaneers throats? The Eagles have a great offensive line, but seem to totally ignore the run game during this bad stretch. How can anyone have any faith in the Eagles covering? I'll take the Buccaneers, but I hope my doubts regarding the Eagles winning are wrong.

Pick - Tampa Bay

Go Birds!

This past weekend, I spent many hours with youth football players that range from age 10 - 12 years old. My son is a youth player, and  I noticed at least six different NFL jerseys being worn by him and his teammates. This led me to wonder, who are kids' favorite NFL quarterbacks today?

I was reminiscing about which athletes kids looked up to when I was 10 years-old. It was simple. Your favorite player was typically one of the stars on your favorite (usually hometown) team. Occasionally, a universal big name like Joe Montana would jump into the mix. However, many of the big Montana fans I knew growing up in New Jersey were then San Francisco 49ers fans. This was usually due to their admiration of Montana. I don't see that to frequently be the case today.

It is not uncommon for kids to gravitate more towards specific players now as opposed to an overall team. There are two main reasons why I find this to be the modern way of fandom for youth today.

First is fantasy football. In fantasy football, you cheer for individual players. The team winning or losing doesn't matter, the player on your team putting up big numbers does. It's great for the NFL to have kids intently invested with so many games per week.

Second, players are digitally accessible. Meaning, you can engage differently with a player much more in our social media universe. Players share a glimpse into their lives and who they are off the field. The NFL as a league leaned into this a partnered with TikTok back in 2019 to give fans even more content.

It's a question with many answers. 30 years ago I would have said, "I love Phil Simms because he is the New York Giants' fearless leader." I asked 30 local youth athletes this as a follow-up question upon them naming their favorite NFL quarterback. Often the answer was related to the Quarterback's persona. Their style of play, their personality, and even their jersey number was mentioned.

So tallying up the 30 youth football players I asked, here are the kids' favorite NFL quarterbacks that are active today.

Hurts received 10% of the votes. A year ago, I don't believe his name would have been mentioned. However, Hurts skyrocketed last year and brought the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl. He showcased a fast style of play where he could run just as well as he throws. Kids love someone who takes the media world by storm. Furthermore, Hurts wears #1, and this has become an increasingly popular jersey number.

Being on the cover of Madden certainly helps. Allen's quaterback style is similar to Hurts' in that he too can use his legs. Seven kids named Allen (who is not a huge force on social media) their favorite because of his character. He plays ever game like it's his last. My neighbor said, "It feels like every game the is the Super Bowl when Allen is leading the Bills offense on a drive down the field." It's a fair point. Allen dives and scraps for every single yard, and the kids are seeing it and reacting to that.

"Joe Cool" is not his nickname, but it should be. Here's a great example of TikTok and shorts influencing youth player today. My son still watches the clip of Burrow throwing a spinning 50-yard, no-look pass perfectly down the sideline, from warmup last season. Burrow has an edge. He has confidence. Furthermore, he's as good as they come. Burrow is the modern quarterback who has the skill set of a historical, prototypical QB. His black, orange, and white jersey is also pretty Joe "cool." He received eight votes.

#15 got the most votes with 12, and is the clear #1 among the group of kids that I spoke to. Mahomes is a brand unto himself. He has his own style of play. He is innovative and his coach Andy Reid allows him to implement plays that people have never seen run before. "Mahomes is just in another league," my son said. "And he wins." His two Super Bowl rings also sit beside his two MVP awards. "We see that what Mahomes does, actually works," another youth player said. He has a valid point.