NFL playoff picks and predictions 2016: Seahawks, Chiefs heavily favored in wild card matchups

The NFL regular season is over, and just 12 teams remain in their quest for a Super Bowl title. The playoffs start in earnest with the Wild Card round this weekend, featuring four exciting matchups.

The first game of Wild Card weekend pits the Kansas City Chiefs against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Both teams are enjoying unlikely playoff runs after poor starts to the season. The Chiefs started 1-5 and were basically written off when Jamaal Charles tore his ACL, but they rattled off 10 straight wins to seal the No. 5 seed. Houston was in a similar predicament, starting 2-5, losing Arian Foster for the year and going through four quarterbacks. Despite those setbacks, the Texans rallied to win the AFC South at 9-7.

Kansas City boasts one of the league's fiercest defenses and will be getting Justin Houston back this week. The Texans also have a strong defense, anchored by the pass-rushing combo of J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus. Points could be at a premium in this game, which all of our human experts predict Kansas City to win. The OddsShark computer is the only one picking the Texans.

The next game on Saturday is an AFC North showdown, with the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers meeting for the third time this season. The teams split their regular season series, but under vastly different circumstances. Andy Dalton broke his thumb in the Week 14 rematch and AJ McCarron was thrown into the fire as the Steelers cruised to a 33-20 win. McCarron has since gone 2-1 as the starter, guiding the Bengals to the AFC North title. The Steelers could be without DeAngelo Williams this week, but the Ben Roethlisberger/Antonio Brown connection could simply be too much to overcome. Our panel is split evenly, 4-4, on this game.

Sunday's early game is a regular season rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings won their first division title since 2009, finally breaking the Green Bay Packers' long reign. The Seahawks had a rough 2-4 start to the year but dominated down the stretch and are expected to get Marshawn Lynch back this week. When these teams met in Week 13, Seattle ran Minnesota off the field, 38-7. The Seahawks are a unanimous pick to get their second win over the Vikings this year.

There's another split game in the late Sunday game between the Green Bay Packers and Washington. Green Bay is limping into the postseason with a 4-6 finish after starting the season 6-0. The offense has taken several steps back and Aaron Rodgers isn't looking like his usual self. Meanwhile, Washington is riding high on a four-game winning streak, winning the NFC East in Week 16 (which is an accomplishment in the NFC East this year). Kirk Cousins defied all expectations, breaking several franchise passing records this season. Will he keep his mojo going and get Washington its first playoff win since 2005? Four of our writers think so, while the other four pick Green Bay.