Saturday, January 4
Kansas City Chiefs(5) at Indianapolis Colts(4), 3:35 p.m. CT on NBC
New Orleans Saints(6) at Philadelphia Eagles(3), 7 p.m. on NBC
Sunday, January 5
San Diego Chargers(6) at Cincinnati Bengals(3), 12:05 p.m. on CBS
San Francisco 49ers(5) at Green Bay Packers(4), 3:40 p.m. on FOX
Below is a more visual bracket, courtesy of Fansided
Prediction Time!
Chiefs at Colts:
This one can also be called "Battle of the Bipolars". The Chiefs started off 9-0 (hooray!) but lost five of their last seven to finish 11-5. Granted, the division was impossible to win with Peyton Manning and the Broncos dominating, but I can't figure out who will show up. Enter the Colts, who boast wins on the road against San Francisco (last year's Super Bowl runner-up) and at home against the Seahawks. They also beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead a couple weeks ago pretty handily. But then again, they also got tossed around by the Cardinals (lost 40-11) and the Rams (28-8). Andrew Luck is definitely my favorite of the "new crop" of quarterbacks, and he's ALSO done more with less. With Reggie Wayne being out for the year and Trent Richardson ho-hum, Luck and the Colts ARE a four seed at...11-5! I think the dome field advantage (see what I did there?) works for the Colts and they pull out this victory. Take away Jamaal Charles, or at least his big plays, and I think the Chiefs are in trouble. I like the Colts. Colts 31, Chiefs 13
Saints at Eagles
Now this one, THIS one could be fun. The upstart Eagles, under the reign of first-year coach Chip Kelly, outlasted Jerry Jones' Fighting Kyle Ortons to clinch the NFC East at 10-6. The Saints are the six seed at 11-5. Here's who I think wins and why. Spoiler alert: It's not that complicated. The New Orleans Saints are 8-0...at home. In New Orleans. On the road: 3-5, with the three wins being Tampa Bay, Chicago and Atlanta. A very "meh" set of road wins. The Eagles are coming off a couple of very good wins, putting up 54 points at home to Chicago and beating the Cowboys 24-22 to seal the NFL Playoffs deal. The Eagles score just under 27 points at home (just over 30 if you take out their home losses on October 20 and 27 to the Cowboys and Giants). Drew Brees has plenty of weapons around him, but Philly, in the winter, and with a hostile crowd doesn't bode well. As someone who had Brees on his fantasy football playoff team this year, it was horrendous seeing his points drop when on the road. I like the Eagles. Eagles 27, Saints 21
Chargers at Bengals
The Chargers are the Chargers, whom I don't particularly like. But thanks to a botched no-call on a missed Kansas City field goal last Sunday, THE CHARGERS ARE IN! (and the Steelers are out)
This game is another example of the home/road differential that might rear its head. The Bengals have a whopping ZERO losses at home. A perfect 8-0 for Marvin Lewis' team. With A.J. Green, Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, I don't see the Chargers being able to keep up. Oh, the Bengals have BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Giovani Bernard as well? Yeah ok, point made. Bengals 24, Chargers 20
49ers at Packers
We've seen this game before! Well at least kind of. Last year San Francisco beat Green Bay 45-31 in the playoffs. This year in week one, The 49ers won once again to the tune of 34-28. Both games were played in San Francisco. Now I watched the Packers game against the Bears this past weekend and Aaron Rodgers...looked pretty alright... http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3782191/packwin.gif
Rodgers gets to strut back into Lambeau Field on Sunday and I expect a shootout. Both defenses are probably going to get their fair share of hits on the opposing quarterback. But I still think we'll see a few 40 or 50 yard plays because of increased blitzes and athletic wideouts. Plus...Vernon Davis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jy7TZ7mTAQ!! This is as close to a toss up as I think there will be in the Wild Card round. I think Rodgers makes the most of having Randall Cobb back (as he did against the Bears with two touchdowns), who is now in the fold with Jordy Nelson and James Jones. Eddie Lacy is pretty hard to tackle too. Packers 34, 49ers 31
So there's the Wild Card round, but here's a VERY quick snapshot of how I think the rest of the playoffs will go...
AFC
Colts at Broncos: Ugggggh the expected "Do I have to pick a winner?" game. Luck ended the Broncos unbeaten start to the season. Peyton Manning shattered the records (after repairing his shattered neck). I honestly can't decide with a gut feeling, other than this will be probably the most watched game before the Super Bowl. Can I got with the upset? Andrew Luck matches Manning throw for throw because he's no chump. Bring on the next challenge. Indianapolis 28, Denver 24
Bengals at Patriots: Ohhhhh sneaky good game. The Bengals won this matchup the first time around, at home, 13-6. Tom Brady has done such a good job with essentially no tight ends and a bunch of draft pick no-names as receivers. And yet his team is 12-4 with home field advantage! On this stage however, I think we see the inexperience come back to bite New England. Bengals 24, Patriots 20
NFC
Packers at Seahawks: If there's a team built to win in Seattle in the playoffs, I don't think it's the Packers. Rodgers has swag, but the Seattle secondary INVENTED swag. Seattle 27, Green Bay 17
Eagles at Panthers: Ron Rivera should be Coach of the Year. Chip Kelly should be Rookie Coach of the Year...wait, that doesn't exist!? This is another sneaky good game because of all the speedsters on the field. I think this Panthers defense is outstanding, however, and boasts my personal favorite name in the NFL: Captain Munnerlyn! Carolina 30, Eagles 20
AFC Championshp
Colts at Bengals: Battle of the young quarterbacks. Just like it was meant to be. Week 14 saw Luck and company lose to Andy Dalton...and company, 42-28 (in Cincinnati). Let's just say I'd vote for Andrew Luck if he ever decided to run for president. Indy 23, Bengals 20
NFC Championship
Panthers at Seahawks: Rematch of week one. Won by the Seahawks on the road, 12-7. Defenses that are both tough, speedy and have great chemistry with one another (The teammates do. Luke Kechly won't be dining with Richard Sherman anytime soon). I've never been to CenturyLink Field butttt I hear it gets pretty loud. Seattle 17, Carolina 6
Super Bowl
Regardless of what you think of my predictions, they're just that. If you don't agree with something or have questions as to why I picked who I did, let's talk! Anyway...
Colts vs. Bengals
The ushering in of a new champion and a new tier of quarterbacks. As a kid who has spent all 19 of his years in the great state of Iowa, I hope there's a foot of snow for Super Bowl XLIII (48) being held on February 2 in New Jersey. I realize this is probably the matchup that NOBODY had, but it's the one I think will happen. Indianapolis has the leader both in Luck and Chuck Pagano, plus a team full of guys who play for each other. Selfless. Seattle has a more than intimidating defense, Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch and Pete Carroll (which DOES count for something). This game can't end in a tie, so here you go.. Colts 24, Seattle 23
Contact me by following me on Twitter (@super_mario64), friending me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BallinItalian) or emailing me at thesupermario64@gmail.com!
No comments:
Post a Comment