Tetairoa McMillan Breaks Out, Jaguars Shock Bills & More Wild Card Bold Predictions
All season long, we gave you our fantasy football bold predictions. Just because the fantasy season has ended for many doesn't mean we stop coming with our hot takes for the NFL Playoffs. These are our bold predictions for the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs.
Los Angeles Rams @ Carolina Panthers: Rookie Tetairoa McMillan Is The Top Fantasy Player In This Game
This game is set up for McMillan to have a breakout game on national television. The kind of game that skyrockets him up draft boards for 2026. We expect the Rams to win this game and not have to throw much in the second half, which will minimize the fantasy impact of the Rams' passing weapons, while their running backs will split carries. You have to attack the Rams on the outside with your wide receivers, which the Panthers will attempt to do throughout the game to keep pace or catch up.
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears: The Bears Have The Top Two Fantasy Running Backs In This Game
Green Bay will try to get Josh Jacobs going early, but he clearly isn't healthy enough to handle the workload, so he'll give way to Emanuel Wilson and, to a lesser degree, Chris Brooks. Chicago is going to run the ball down the Packers' throats with D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who they will dominate on the line of scrimmage.
Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence Is The Best Quarterback In A Jaguars' Win
The Jags are going to win this game, and Lawrence is going to pick apart the Bills' defense. On the other side of the ball, Josh Allen is going to struggle on the road in Jacksonville. His rushing upside won't be enough to outscore Lawrence in this game.
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles: Kendrick Bourne Is The Fantasy WR1 In This Game
We expect the Eagles to dominate on the ground in this game with Saquon Barkley, which will limit the production of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, as we have often seen in the past few seasons. For San Francisco, we don't expect Ricky Pearsall to play in this game, which will push Bourne up to being the clear WR2. Eagles' star cornerback Quinyon Mitchell will be locked on Jauan Jennings, which will lead to a ton of usage and production from Bourne.
Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots: Justin Herbert Has More Turnovers Than Touchdowns
Herbert is going to do what he usually tends to do in moments like this and fall apart. The Chargers as a whole always find new, creative ways to blow games, and Herbert is no exception. This is going to be a turnover fest for the overvalued quarterback, who has accomplished next to nothing as an NFL quarterback. However, he's big and has a strong arm, so at least he looks like the prototypical NFL quarterback. The Pats' defense is going to cause him all types of problems.
Houston Texans @ Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers' Offense Does Not Find The End Zone
The Texans' defense is going to dominate this game, and the Steelers' offense is going to have no answer for them. We are legitimately worried about Aaron Rodgers' health against that Houston pass rush. If the Steelers have any chance in this game, it will have to come off the back of the defense and special teams, because their offense is going to struggle mightily.
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-0e06b43c57ceb063781f337e307e72d4.png "Mark Morales-Smith")
Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.
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