Posted January 06, 2018 at 05:15 AM | Updated January 06, 2018 at 05:16 AM
Foles Kamara Ben Belichick.jpg
By Matt Lombardo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The 2018 NFL Playoffs get underway with Wild Card weekend beginning Saturday, with the road to Super Bowl LII running through Philadelphia in the NFC, and New England in the AFC.
Plenty of questions remain after a wild 2017 NFL regular season, that will begin to be answered this weekend.
Will Tom Brady hoist his sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy? Will Ben Roethlisberger and the Patriots derail the Patriots? How far will the Eagles advance after locking up home-field advantage? Can anyone stop the high-powered Saints led by quarterback Drew Brees?
Here are game-by-game predictions for every NFL Playoff game, beginning with Saturday's Wild Card doubleheader all the way through the Super Bowl:
NFL: Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Matt Kartozian
NFC Wild Card: Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
When: 8:15 p.m. Saturday
The Rams host the defending NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons in the first playoff game in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Coliseum since 1978, and bring along with them the NFL's highest-scoring offense that boasts an MVP caliber running back in Todd Gurley, and top-10 quarterback Jared Goff. Quarterback Matt Ryan, wide receiver Julio Jones, and the Falcons are playing some of their best football of the season down the stretch, but the Rams are capable of winning in a multitude of ways, and they'll need to exploit just about all of them on Saturday night.
Prediction: Rams 30, Falcons 24
Saints Buccaneers Football
Jason Behnken
NFC Wild Card: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
Where: Mercedes Benz Superdome
When: 4:40 p.m. Sunday
Drew Brees and the high-powered Saints offense is built to make a Super Bowl run behind rookie running back Alvin Kamara who has rushed for 728 yards and eight touchdowns while adding 81 catches for 826 yards and five more scores while being complemented by bruising veteran Mark Ingram who rushed for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns. While Cam Newton is certainly capable of single-handedly taking over a game, the Panthers 65-34 in a pair of regular season losses to the Saints. Expect more of the same Sunday afternoon.
Prediction: Saints 41, Panthers 27