The first weekend of the NFL playoffs brought just one surprise! The Denver Broncos defeated the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers! The other 3 games on Wild Card weekend were no surprise as the Giants roughed up the Falcons, the Saints kept their offensive train going, and the Houston Texans won their first playoff game in franchise history!
The first weekend, even though only one of the games was competitive, it was a fun weekend and a great warm up for divisional weekend! In the next few paragraphs, I’ll be forecasting the rest of the NFL playoffs through the Super Bowl.
In the AFC, the No. 1 seed New England Patriots will take on the surprising new Denver Broncos. The Broncos have been a great story and Tim Tebow is exciting to watch and incredibly popular. He deserves all the attention, as he lifted his Broncos out of the dull environment created by his predecessor and has inspired his team to play at a higher level and win when all seems lost. He has gotten better as the season has gone on. He now scrambles and keeps his eyes on the field, and little by little he becomes more precise. His confidence will continue to grow as he firmly takes control of the starting job for the future. He will have a full preseason to prepare for and will surely improve as he moves into the next season! Now for the reality check! The Broncos face the shady Patriots defense, but they also face one of the best offenses in the game, and Tom Brady will torch the Broncos’ secondary and the Patriots will end Tebow’s Super Bowl run! I don’t expect this to close. The Broncos have to put pressure on Brady, and both tight ends are in for big days. The New England Patriots will advance to the AFC Championship Game!
In the other AFC divisional game, the Baltimore Ravens will host the Houston Texans. The Texans have grown this year. They won the division for the first time. They reached the playoffs for the first time. They won a playoff game for the first time, and now they will drop out of the race against the Ravens. The Ravens are a bit of a mystery themselves! They play very well at home and have lost to some mediocre opponents on the road. Joe Flacco is a good quarterback and, despite all the unwarranted hits he’s taken, he’s going to play well in this game. The runner matchup is outstanding. Arian Foster and Ray Rice will have good games, but the difference in this one will be Joe Flacco versus Taylor Yates, and while Yates has been impressive for a young rookie, Flacco prevails and the Ravens advance to the AFC Championship.
In the NFC, we have two good matchups coming up on divisional weekend. The Green Bay Packers host the NY Giants and the San Francisco 49ers host the Saints.
The Packers are obviously on a roll and Aaron Rodgers is playing as well as anyone in the history of his position. He is an amazing athlete with a fast launch, great climbing ability, strong and precise arm. What else do you need? Maybe just receivers, blocking, running game, game plan and special teams. The good news for all die-hard Packer fans is that the Pack has it all. The only suspect part of this team is the defense. The defense has struggled at times this season and will have its hands full with Peyton’s little brother. The Giants have found themselves in recent weeks and they will play hard and probably keep this game close. Eli has been terrific in the fourth quarter this year, and if his defense can pressure Rodgers enough, or get a few hits, they might have a chance to pull it off down the line. That being said, it won’t be enough and the Packers will advance to the NFC Championship. A very good run for the Giants and Tom Coughlin comes to an end. This Giants team is not on par with the 2007 team. It’s nice to draw some parallels, but that’s about it, just nice.
In the west, the Niners will host the Saints. Are you kidding? The Niners are in the playoffs! The Niners are the No. 2 seed, and while they played in a suspect division, they are real. Alex Smith has played well this season and has gotten better as the season has gone on. Drew Brees is amazing! How can the Niners compete? How can the Niners stop the Who Da Saints? The Niners have a great defense! They have arguably the best middle linebacker in the game, and possibly defensive rookie of the year. Is this the defense that can stop the machine that is the Saints? It’s possible. The Saints’ problem is that they don’t play indoors. They’re playing outside on the grass, and if it were me, I’d induce rain and slow down the track, and slow down the Saints. The Niners have great defense and a solid offense. The only concern for me is the red zone violation. They kick too many field goals, and that won’t cut it against the Saints. If the Niners can be efficient in the Red Zone, they can take out the Saints. If they’re kicking field goals, the Saints advance, and that’s the outcome I’d predict. Saints win a good game and advance to face the Packers in the NFC Championship.
On Championship weekend, we will have two great rematches. The Saints and Packers opened the season on Thursday night, and the Ravens beat the Patriots in New England two years ago in the playoffs.
We’ll start with the AFC. Ray Rice is outstanding! Joe Flacco can definitely play! The Ravens defense is always good and can pressure any QB. The Patriots have no defense. They can’t stop the pass and they can’t pressure the QB. They allow opposing teams to run up and down the field with big plays. How can they beat any good team! It looks like it’s all building up to be a Ravens win and the Ravens go to the Super Bowl! Come closer though, my friend. Look, over here, at the Ravens on the road! They were a flawless 8-0 at home this season, but a lackluster 4-4 away from home. Yes, but they play in a tough division and have a tough schedule. Yeah, but they lost to some powerful teams along the way, right? Let’s take a look. they lost to Tennessee on their first road trip, but that’s okay. They beat up the Rams, who looked great at the time, but the Rams were terrible this year, so that doesn’t matter. They lost to Jacksonville and then beat Pittsburgh. How do you lose to the Jags and then beat the Steelers? Then they lost to the Seahawks, from the weak NFC West. They beat Cleveland, but who hasn’t? They lost again, to the Chargers by 20 points! Then they made the playoffs by beating the Bengals, but I don’t place much importance on that win. The Bengals couldn’t stay within 3 touchdowns of the Texans! The Bengals are a good story, but not that great, and with a rookie QB. Tom Brady isn’t a rookie and the Ravens aren’t very good on the road. The Patriots’ defense will be very busy with Rice and Flacco, but they’ll avenge their embarrassing loss two years ago and advance to the Super Bowl!
In the NFC, the Saints and the Packers will meet. Two incredible offenses in what should be a fantastic shootout! The Saints are another team that sometimes isn’t as good on the road, and if the Packers come into this game, what will the temperature be? 15 – 25 degrees? This should be a cold game and that won’t make the Saints happy. The Saints are a fun team and they are definitely a great team, but if the weather is cold, they will struggle. They fight on the grass anyway. They will definitely fight in Tundra! I love Darren Sproles, and the Saints will seek their own revenge, but the weather and the Packers will be too much. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t care if he’s cold, and the Packers love it! The Saints will say they love it, but let’s be real. It’s an indoor team that struggles on natural grass and if it’s lucky enough to get past the Niners on natural grass, it won’t be two weeks in a row. The Packers will prevail and advance to the Super Bowl!
So, the Super Bowl is ready! The New England Patriots will take on the Green Bay Packers in what should be an incredibly exciting game featuring two of the best offenses in the league and two of the worst defenses in the league. Who said defense wins championships? Not this year. I won’t venture to truly believe that I’ll be right, so I won’t bother to predict the outcome of the Super Bowl. I will wait until after the Championship games have been played. I’ll remind everyone if I’m right, but I’ll be back at the end of January for a full review of the Super Bowl matchup!
Enjoy the playoffs everyone!
