For the third straight postseason, Philadelphia Eagles fans have no choice but to watch other teams compete in the playoffs, if they want to continue watching NFL football, that is. For those of you who need "financially motivated" reasons to watch, you can see our NFL wild-card round playoff picks here.
- MORE ON THE EAGLES
- Should the Eagles try to extend Jordan Matthews' contract?
- Carson Wentz's 10 best plays of 2016, in gif form
- VP of Player Personnel Joe Douglas will set the Eagles' draft board
- Eagles stay or go: Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz
My favorite pick of the week is the Seahawks (-7.5), who host the Lions on Saturday night. Detroit is limping to the finish line, after having lost their last three games and missing out on an NFC North crown to the Packers in the final game of the season. Their punishment for their late-season slide is that they have to play in Seattle in the first round of the playoffs instead of hosting a home game.
The Lions were 3-5 on the road this season, while the Seahawks were 7-1 at home.
I hereby declare Seattle to be Smooth Jimmy's Lock of the Week.
This week's guest picker
Houston Texans (-4) over Raiders
It’s going to be very difficult for rookie quarterback Connor Cook to go into Houston and beat the league's top defense (Total Defense). With the return of premier running back, Lamar Miller, the Texans will have all of their weapons back on offense. The only question is whether Brock Osweiler is ready. A player who has been under a ton of scrutiny this year, he must step up in this playoff game. But he won't have a big impact on this game. The Texans will win -- and cover -- because 1) they’re at home, 2) they're facing a rookie quarterback, and 3) they’re the top-ranked defense -- even playing without J.J. Watt for the majority of the season. I believe they will dominate in this matchup.