NFL wild-card picks: As playoffs start, do Cowboys or Bucs advance?

It’s about to get real.

The NFL’s 2022 regular season is over, giving way to what the league likes to call ‘Super Wild Card Weekend.’ And the hype is justified … to a degree.

Saturday night’s game appears to feature two up-and-coming teams, typified by what appears to be a pair of budding superstar quarterbacks, as the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Jacksonville Jaguars. Per Tipico Sportsbook, it projects as one of the tightest games of the week, the Bolts favored by 2½ points.

However the marquee game of the wild-card round will happen Monday night, when Tom Brady and the (sub-.500) NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys, America’s Team also a 2½-point favorite on the road – despite being 1-4 on grass this season and 0-7 all-time against TB12.

Let’s gooooooo.

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(And shoutout to the USA TODAY Sports expert who finished tied for second this season picking games when stacked up with hundreds of other media members who cover the NFL for a living.)

(Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook)

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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.