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Technically, Week 18 brought us the first NFL football in 2025, but with so many games either meaningless and/or uncompetitive, it almost seems like we took a week off. Well, it’s the playoffs now, and we are so back! There is a great slate of games ahead of us, so, without further ado, let’s jump right into the ClutchPoints NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds column.
The Denver Broncos took care of the backup Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday to clinch their win-and-in playoff berth. On the NFC side, the Detroit Lions whooped the Minnesota Vikings to get a much-needed bye heading into the postseason. Other than that, not much changed other than a few minor shifts in seeding.
That means on NFL Wild Card Weekend 2025, we get two AFC matchups on Saturday, with the No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers traveling to the No. 4 Houston Texans (4:30 pm ET, CBS, Paramount+) and then the No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (8 pm ET, Amazon Prime Video)
On Sunday, we wrap up the AFC with the No. 7 Denver Broncos visiting the No. 2 Buffalo Bills (1 pm ET, CBS, Paramount+) before jumping into the NFC with No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (4:30 pm ET, FOX, FOX Deportes) and No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8 pm ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo) Sunday afternoon and evening.
On Monday, we finish the NFL Wild Card Weekend slate with the No. 5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (8 pm ET, ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+).
We knew Week 18 was going to be tough, and it was. On the picking winners side, we went a respectable 10-6. However, in these wonky games against the spread, we were a not-so-good 7-8-1. That’s OK, though, because those numbers bring us to 170-102 picking winners and 137-131-4 ATS on the season, and real, competitive NFL football games are back for Wild Card Weekend.
With that, let’s get right into the NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds.
Previous Weeks: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18
Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the NFL odds.
Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5) at Houston Texans
We kick off NFL Wild Card Weekend with the most uninteresting game of the bunch (as the league usually does). The Texans are simply a fraudulent playoff team. Credit to the league this season that they are probably the only fraudulent playoff team, but they are not good nonetheless.
The Texans got in because the AFC South is the worst division by far in the conference and arguably the worst in the league (as the NFC South says, “Hold my beer”). You need look no further than the 31-2 Christmas Day beatdown at home by the Ravens to see what happens when Houston plays a good team.
On the flip side, the Chargers are still the Chargers until they prove otherwise, which they seem to be doing under Jim Harbaugh.
Justin Herbert and company still have to prove that they can win big games when they matter most, but luckily, they get a soft landing in the 2024 NFL Playoffs with the Texans. And with this game, Harbaugh and Herbert will continue to wipe the decades-long stink off the franchise by winning the first playoff game since 2018.
Pick: Chargers 28-21
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-9.5)
This is the biggest spread of the weekend here in the ClutchPoints NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds column, and in a vacuum, the Ravens should make light work of the struggling Steelers, a team that comes in on a four-game losing streak and a 2-5 record in their last seven.
However, this is an AFC North divisional battle, and those games are always tougher than your average playoff game. Familiarity breeds contempt and it means that these teams know each other incredibly well. There will be no wrinkles, no intimidation, and now easy walk for either team.
When either of these teams are more than a field goal favorite, the underdog has almost always covered in recent years. Mike Tomlin and Jim Harbaugh simply know each other too well and are too evenly matched for one to get a big leg up on the other, no matter who is on the field.
In Week 11, the Steelers beat the Ravens 18-16. In Week 16, Baltimore prevailed 34-17, but Pittsburgh was right there for most of the game. The two squads were deadlocked at 17 with five minutes left in the third quarter before the wheels fell off for Russell Wilson and his teammates.
The Ravens are absolutely the better team, so they will win here, but the Steelers won’t go down without a fight.
Pick: Ravens 20-17
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills (-8.5)
The range of outcomes for the Bills this season span the gamut from a Super Bowl win to losing in the first round to the Broncos. What will determine where on that spectrum Buffalo lands is one thing and one thing only: Josh Allen.
It’s not high-level football analysis to say that the 2024 Bills go as Allen goes. He is the MVP of the league and at his best, he is the single best football player in the NFL (sorry Lamar Jackson fans).
Sure, James Cook’s running and Joe Brady’s play-calling and the defense making or not making a timely stop and Sean McDermott’s late-game decision-making will all play a role in the playoffs, but these are ultimately all issues that will either complement or hinder Allen in his pursuit of greatness.
As for the Broncos, they are a team with an incredible defense, a brilliant coach, and a bright future with the likes of Patrick Surtain, Sean Payton, and Bo Nix on board. This season, though, they don’t have the horses to compete with Allen and the Bills.
Stop back a year from now and this NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds column may have a different outcome if these two teams play in early 2026, but for now, it’s the Bills by a billion.
Pick: Bills 35-16
Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
While the next round of the AFC playoffs will likely go chalk, with the Chiefs vs. Chargers and Bills vs. Ravens, the NFL feels much more up in the air.
The Eagles are a better team all around than the Packers, although it seems closer this year than ever. Both squads rely on veteran offseason additions a running back in Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley and both teams have much-improved defenses from last year.
The biggest advantage in this game may be at the quarterback position, as Jalen Hurts is better and more accomplished than Jordan Love at this point of his career. That said, Hurts just cleared concussion protocol on Friday after missing almost all of the last three games.
The talent around Hurts will likely guide him to victory, but it may be closer than most think and the Packers can definitely pull off the upset if the Eagles QB struggles. So, that means we’ll split the difference here in the NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds column and take an Eagles win and a Packer cover.
Pick: Eagles 24-23
Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)
This may be the hardest game to pick in the NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds column. On the one side, you have an uninspiring NFC South champ in the Buccaneers, and on the other there is a rookie quarterback.
Jayden Daniels is an incredible rookie quarterback, but he is still a rookie on the playoffs, and that rarely ends well. Still, the Commanders have made a habit of shocking the world all year, so maybe they won’t stop now.
While the head (and the Vegas odds) say to take the Bucs, the heart and a lack of belief in Tampa Bay to come up big when it matters most leads us to the biggest upset alert on the board as the NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds column will take the Commanders to win straight up.
Pick: Commanders 19-18
Minnesota Vikings (-1.5) at Los Angeles Rams
With wildfires still raging in Southern California, this game will move to Arizona under tragic circumstances. While football is nowhere near the most important thing that surrounds this game, the NFL is a show that must go on, and go on it will as we all keep the people of SoCal in our thoughts.
On the football side, the Vikings got exposed a little last week by the Lions, and Sam Darnold looked like the average (at best) QB he has been throughout his first six years in the league. Can the Rams do the same?
In a word, no.
The Rams are interesting because they have a young and upcoming roster for the most part with an old QB in Matthew Stafford. Unfortunately, LA just doesn’t have the horses on defense to do what the Lions did to the Vikings in Week 18.
Minnesota may be a little more fraudulent than they seemd this year as the playoffs go on, but for the purposes of the NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, predictions, and odds column, we’ll take them as easy winners.
Pick: Vikings 27-20
