Wild Card Picks – Syndication Server

Wild Card picks: Who experts and pundits are taking in Bucs vs. Eagles

See how experts and pundits picked Tampa Bay’s upcoming Wild Card showdown against Philadelphia in Raymond James Stadium:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing playoff football, and they’ll host a matchup that appears quite controversial among football fans, experts and pundits alike,

The Bucs finished the year 9-8 as a division winner, boasting the worst record of any playoff team in either conference. Despite this, though, they’ve won five of their last six and their opponents, the Philadelphia Eagles, have lost five of their last six. The Eagles are coming in with more injuries than Tampa Bay, but despite that, BetMGM has them favored over the Bucs by three points.

Here are how the internet’s experts and pundits picked this upcoming game, with Tampa Bay hosting as home underdogs:

98% of experts are picking the 49ers over the Seahawks for Wild Card game

There’s no shame in bein’ beaten by the best.

Pick whatever unlikely playoff team cliche you want – the Seahawks are either playing with house money, or they have nothing to lose, or they are feeling really loose, and so on – they are all true in this case. Pretty much everybody and their mother are picking the 49ers to win today’s Wild Card matchup in Santa Clara.

How many exactly? According to NFL pick watch, 98% of the experts are predicting a Niners win. The only experts we could find who have picked a Seattle upset are Frank Raines and Stan Taylor of Field Gulls fame and Betting News Public.

The most-likely scenario for an upset will involve the Seahawks getting consistent pressure on rookie quarterback Brock Purdy and forcing him into some turnovers. They’ll also need Geno Smith to avoid mistakes and find some way to contain Christian McCaffrey, who’s back to top-five RB form after missing most of the previous two seasons due to injury.

Most of all, Pete Carroll and his staff have to recognize that they’re outmatched and adjust the gameplan accordingly. If ever there was a time to pull out bold trick plays and make aggressive decisions on fourth down, this is it.

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Who are the experts predicting to win in Chargers vs. Jaguars?

Find out who national pundits are favoring in the matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Los Angeles Chargers are 2-point favorites over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Round. The over/under is 47.5 points, per Tipico Sportsbook.

That means oddsmakers are taking bets on whether the two teams will combine to score more than or fewer than 47.5 points.

My score prediction for the game is a 27-24 win for the Chargers, with a total of 51 points. So if I were putting money behind my prediction, I’d bet the over.

As for expert predictions, they are split, with the Jaguars slightly favored. Over at NFL Pick Watch, which compiles the list of expert picks, 51% are picking Jacksonville to win.

The showdown between the Chargers and Jaguars is arguably the most evenly matched.

Saturday’s game will begin at 5:15 p.m. PT and will be televised on NBC.