Saturday
Game: Kansas City at New England
Prediction: Kansas City - I know odds would have it that the New England Patriots, led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, at Foxboro, following a bye week, is a near victory guarantee. However, I'm going against the odds on this one. When it comes to wins and losses, no team is hotter than the Kansas City Chiefs, who have reeled off 11 straight victories since starting the season 1-5, including a 30-0 thrashing on the road against Houston last week in the Wild Card round. New England may be healthier than they've been, but that's not saying a whole lot, and so long as the Pats' offensive line plays as they've been playing, Tom Brady won't be nearly as effective as he's been in past such situations. I'm going with the upset - the Chiefs on the road by 4.
Result: New England 27 Kansas City 20
Record: 0-1
Game: Green Bay at Arizona
Prediction: Arizona - Who was that Green Bay Packers team that steamrolled the Washington Redskins on the road 35-17 last weekend? I'm not sure, but am now fairly confident in saying the 'Skins weren't nearly as good as most had been claiming, meaning the NFC East was just THAT bad this year. Aaron Rodgers, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, was given time in the pocket against Washington last weekend, and that's going to be far from the case against the aggressive Arizona Cardinals front seven. Expect Rodgers to be on his butt more times than he'd like throughout this contest and for the rested Cardinals to light up the mediocre Packers defense. I'll go with Arizona by 10.
Result: Arizona 26 Green Bay 20 OT
Record: 1-1
Sunday
Game: Seattle at Carolina
Prediction: Seattle - Heading into the playoffs, Seattle was seen by many as the hottest team in the NFC, perhaps in all the NFL, and the ONE team nobody wanted to play. Heading to round two of the playoffs, they're lucky to still be a part of the postseason. It's not every day an NFL kicker misses a 27-yard-game-winning field goal. Not only that, but Seattle's big play of the game was a mishandled snap by Russell Wilson, which he turned into a miracle play to set up the Seahawks' only touchdown. Is it just me, or does this feel like one of those crazy destiny seasons, and I don't even believe in such things? Seattle got hot at the right time, got extremely lucky at the best time, and is getting healthier just in time to face the 15-1 Carolina Panthers, who beat the Seahawks earlier in the season with a late fourth quarter comeback, largely aided by their tight end, Greg Olsen. Seattle's improved quite significantly on both sides of the ball since then and I look for this playoff-experienced team to make the most of their fortunes last week, fix their mistakes from the team's first meeting, and to move on to the NFC Championship game for the third consecutive year with a 3 point win on the road.
Result: Carolina 31 Seattle 24
Record: 1-2
Game: Pittsburgh at Denver
Prediction: Pittsburgh - Last weekend was kind of crazy in the NFL. While I predicted the Super Bowl to feature Seattle and Pittsburgh, I'll be the first to say both teams are incredibly fortunate to be in the divisional round. Like Seattle last weekend, Pittsburgh appeared to have luck on their side in their 18-16 win against Cincinnati. Also, like with the Seahawks, I think Pittsburgh is going to make the most of their fortunes in a hard-fought victory in Denver. While the Steelers' defense has been up and down this season, they played better down the stretch, including in their win against the Bengals last weekend, and I trust Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense to score some points in this contest than I do Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense. I'll go with Pittsburgh by 4.
Result: Denver 23 Pittsburgh 16
Record: 1-3
Divisional Round Record: 1-3 (.250)
Playoff Record: 4-4 (.500)
Overall Record: 155-109 (.587)
Game: Kansas City at New England
Prediction: Kansas City - I know odds would have it that the New England Patriots, led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, at Foxboro, following a bye week, is a near victory guarantee. However, I'm going against the odds on this one. When it comes to wins and losses, no team is hotter than the Kansas City Chiefs, who have reeled off 11 straight victories since starting the season 1-5, including a 30-0 thrashing on the road against Houston last week in the Wild Card round. New England may be healthier than they've been, but that's not saying a whole lot, and so long as the Pats' offensive line plays as they've been playing, Tom Brady won't be nearly as effective as he's been in past such situations. I'm going with the upset - the Chiefs on the road by 4.
Result: New England 27 Kansas City 20
Record: 0-1
Game: Green Bay at Arizona
Prediction: Arizona - Who was that Green Bay Packers team that steamrolled the Washington Redskins on the road 35-17 last weekend? I'm not sure, but am now fairly confident in saying the 'Skins weren't nearly as good as most had been claiming, meaning the NFC East was just THAT bad this year. Aaron Rodgers, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, was given time in the pocket against Washington last weekend, and that's going to be far from the case against the aggressive Arizona Cardinals front seven. Expect Rodgers to be on his butt more times than he'd like throughout this contest and for the rested Cardinals to light up the mediocre Packers defense. I'll go with Arizona by 10.
Result: Arizona 26 Green Bay 20 OT
Record: 1-1
Sunday
Game: Seattle at Carolina
Prediction: Seattle - Heading into the playoffs, Seattle was seen by many as the hottest team in the NFC, perhaps in all the NFL, and the ONE team nobody wanted to play. Heading to round two of the playoffs, they're lucky to still be a part of the postseason. It's not every day an NFL kicker misses a 27-yard-game-winning field goal. Not only that, but Seattle's big play of the game was a mishandled snap by Russell Wilson, which he turned into a miracle play to set up the Seahawks' only touchdown. Is it just me, or does this feel like one of those crazy destiny seasons, and I don't even believe in such things? Seattle got hot at the right time, got extremely lucky at the best time, and is getting healthier just in time to face the 15-1 Carolina Panthers, who beat the Seahawks earlier in the season with a late fourth quarter comeback, largely aided by their tight end, Greg Olsen. Seattle's improved quite significantly on both sides of the ball since then and I look for this playoff-experienced team to make the most of their fortunes last week, fix their mistakes from the team's first meeting, and to move on to the NFC Championship game for the third consecutive year with a 3 point win on the road.
Result: Carolina 31 Seattle 24
Record: 1-2
Game: Pittsburgh at Denver
Prediction: Pittsburgh - Last weekend was kind of crazy in the NFL. While I predicted the Super Bowl to feature Seattle and Pittsburgh, I'll be the first to say both teams are incredibly fortunate to be in the divisional round. Like Seattle last weekend, Pittsburgh appeared to have luck on their side in their 18-16 win against Cincinnati. Also, like with the Seahawks, I think Pittsburgh is going to make the most of their fortunes in a hard-fought victory in Denver. While the Steelers' defense has been up and down this season, they played better down the stretch, including in their win against the Bengals last weekend, and I trust Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense to score some points in this contest than I do Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense. I'll go with Pittsburgh by 4.
Result: Denver 23 Pittsburgh 16
Record: 1-3
Divisional Round Record: 1-3 (.250)
Playoff Record: 4-4 (.500)
Overall Record: 155-109 (.587)
Comments
Post a Comment