Who’s facing the most pressure to win on NFL Wild Card Weekend?

Pressure pushing down on me, Pressing down on you …

NFL Wild Card Weekend begins the month long march to crown a Super Bowl winner. The pressure of playing in these games is immense. It’s win or go home. Legacies are defined by what happens this time of the year, starting this weekend. I’ll detail which players and teams have the most pressure to win this Wild Card weekend

Philip Rivers – Fair or unfairly, we judge quarterbacks by two things: Super Bowl wins and stats. They aren’t weighed evenly. For example, Eli Manning’s Hall of Fame chances rest on his two Super Bowl victories and not so much on his stats. Rivers, famously of the same draft class as Manning, has to rely on his stats at the moment to help his Hall of Fame bid.

Adding a Super Bowl championship solidifies his career resume, and Rivers knows this. He knows his window is closing as his age continues to climb. He played his worst game of the season in the Chargers’ most important contest in Week 16 against the Ravens. If he loses in the first round this season, it will be another black mark on his stellar Hall of Fame-worthy career.

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys – This one speaks for itself right? Since 1996 the Cowboys have played in 10 playoff games, winning only two. They’ve been extremely underwhelming in these postseason opportunities, including their last playoff loss to the Packers at home after going 13-3 in the 2016 season. This season, they won the NFC East again because of their defense and ground game.

Prescott has played well since Amari Cooper came along, but the Cowboys are built on those two things — rushing and defense. If either one of those fails on Saturday night, the team will look towards Dak to win the game for them. So, can he do it? We’ll find out.

There’s a big dropoff after those two.

Bill O’Brien — O’Brien has been the Texans coach for five seasons now, and this is his third trip into the postseason. He’s 1-2 in the playoffs with his single victory against the Derek Carr-less Raiders in 2016. The other games haven’t gone so well. In 2015 they lost to the Chiefs 30-0 at home. They were put out of the playoffs by the Pats in 2016 to the tune of 34-16. Now, they are playing a division opponent at home after winning the division. The window for the Texans is still wide open with a young quarterback, stud wide receiver, and some great defensive pieces.

Now I’m stretching a bit …

Lamar Jackson – We know he’s played well within this system, but the offense hasn’t played all that great at times during this winning stretch. They’ve had 23 red zone opportunities with Jackson under center and only 10 touchdowns. Since Week 11, they are 27th in points per possession in the red zone.

I think most of us who doubt the long-term success of this offense point to those red zone issues and ask how Jackson will respond if his team is behind at all. If the Chargers are up by 10 in the fourth quarter, can he bring his team back when they can’t run the ball? It’s unfair to expect Jackson to be elite in his first playoff game, as he hasn’t even started for half a season. So I’m stretching a bit to add him to this list.

Chicago Bears – They are playing with house money at the moment as they feel a year ahead of schedule. However, they are playing a home game against a backup quarterback. Yes, that backup QB is Nick Foles, who’s now 6-0 in must-win games — three last season and three this season. However, he is still the backup.

The Eagles come into Chicago to face an excellent defense, and the Bears are six-point favorites, the highest by far this weekend. They should win this game.

OK, now I’m just making up things.

Philadelphia Eagles – I know things didn’t go their way this season, but they won the championship last season. They were beat up this year, and their offense didn’t thrive or even look the same as last season. They were missing a handful of defensive backs and it got ugly at times. However, they are back in the dance with a shot at repeating.

Seattle Seahawks – There’s pressure on Wilson to win? I guess. No idea. They are supposed to be rebuilding this season .

Indianapolis Colts – There’s legit no pressure on this team. They are way ahead of schedule.