Questions to answer for NFL playoff Wild Card round

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With the end of another NFL regular season, we have seen more than a few questions answered, but several more asked as we begin to narrow things down further. Fourteen teams are still active in the hunt for the Super Bowl, but six more will see their season end this coming weekend, and bettors arriving to place wagers fresh from ukonlinecasinoslist.com will already have some ideas as to who those teams will be. However, the league always has the capacity to deliver a shock here and there, so it’s worth thinking about these games in the light of the most recent information.

There is a lot to be intrigued by in the upcoming round of fixtures. In each of the games set for the first weekend of the playoffs, the competing teams will be reacquainting themselves after having already faced off at least once this season. So there will be plenty of revenge subplots as well as a lot more besides to keep the rumor mill ticking over ahead of the first kickoff on Saturday. And it’s the “besides” that we are going to focus on here because there is a lot of it to get through…

Who will start under center for Miami?

There are three quarterbacks who could potentially take the first dropback for Miami as they face divisional rival Buffalo, with whom they split the regular season head-to-head. It’s possible that starter Tua Tagovailoa could have cleared the concussion protocol and be ready to reopen hostilities after two slugfests with Josh Allen. Alternatively, Teddy Bridgewater could have recovered from a broken finger and stepped in if Tua remains on the sideline. If neither veteran is available, Skylar Thompson will have to try to follow up a painfully hard-earned first career win at home to the Jets by facing a team that will be less forgiving of his evident rawness – and which has a mission to win for Damar Hamlin.

Can Seattle keep their surprise season going?

After a winless preseason and three defeats in their first five regular season games, few people would have given the Seahawks the barest chance of making it to the postseason. However, they rode a relatively generous schedule and a critic-defying season from QB Geno Smith to the point where a win over the already eliminated champion LA Rams was enough to secure them the final slot Sunday. Now, they have to try and do what they couldn’t across two attempts in the regular season – defeat the San Francisco 49ers, who are now second seeds in the NFC. The Niners will be comfortable favorites, but that tag hasn’t always mattered this season.

Will Tom Brady keep the flame alive?

Finishing the season 8-9 and still winning the NFC South because the entire division was just that mediocre? That’s the living definition of backing into the playoffs. Both Washington and Detroit finished with better records than the Buccaneers, and yet Tom Brady is once again playing in the postseason. You wouldn’t back against him going some way to appearing in yet another Super Bowl, especially as that divisional title guarantees the Bucs home advantage over the Cowboys, who won four games more than they did. In their regular season meeting, Tampa won 19-3, so the Cowboys will need to dig deep if they are to give Brady a reason to consider another retirement.