If the playoffs are anything like the regular season, we’ve
got quite an unpredictable postseason ahead of us. Denver and Seattle are the top dogs
in their respective conferences, but with two #4 seeds and a #6 seed winning
the last three Super Bowls, this could be anyone’s title. Here’s how I see things playing out.
AFC
1) Denver
Broncos
2) New England Patriots
3) Cincinnati
Bengals
4) Indianapolis
Colts
5) Kansas City
Chiefs
6) San Diego
Chargers
Wild Card Round
Chiefs @ Colts
Saturday, 4:35 (NBC)
This is first round matchup in which I am the least
certain. These teams met in Arrowhead
just two weeks ago with the visiting Colts putting a stomping to the host
Chiefs. I’m not sure that outcome will
have much of an impact one, but a trend remained true – KC doesn’t beat good
teams. They won 11 games this year but
were a futile 1-5 against teams still playing football. After a 9-0 start, they finished the year on
a 2-5 slide which isn’t the way you want to be heading into the playoffs.
Indy hasn’t been the same team without Reggie Wayne, and
when they lose, they lose big. Cincinnati , Arizona , and St. Louis beat them by a
combined 120-47 score. Ouch. Their running game is an enigma with the
limited Donald Brown and disappointing Trent Richardson combining for less than
1,000 yards rushing. Stating the
obvious, the Colts will go as far as Andrew Luck can take them.
I’m not breaking news here, but expect to see a lot of
Jamaal Charles left and Jamaal Charles right.
The Colts have one of the worst rush defenses in football, and Charles
is one of the game’s top offensive weapons.
I’m not an Alex Smith guy, but you can’t count on him to lose the game. The Colts will have to win it. I think Andrew Luck feasts on a beatable
Chiefs secondary and gets big plays from TY Hilton and Griff Whalen and puts KC
in a hole too big to climb out of with a limited passing game. That dome still gets loud. The Chiefs’ turnaround season ends abruptly,
while Luck gets his first playoff win as a pro.
Colts 27
Chiefs 23
Chargers @ Bengals
Sunday, 1:05 (CBS)
Contrary to the other AFC matchup, this is the first round game
in which I’m most confident in picking the winner. This one also pits teams that faced each
other late in the season. Cincinnati won 17-10 at San Diego in week 13 in what turned out to be
the Chargers last loss of the season.
From there they finished 4-0, including a solid whooping of the Broncos
in Denver . San Diego also
won at Philadelphia and Kansas
City this year, so they won’t be overwhelmed in Cincinnati .
The Bengals finish the year on as good of a run as just
about anyone, winning 5 of their last 6 and scoring 41, 42, 42, and 34 in four
of those wins. That said, it’s still
hard to buy into Andy Dalton. One game
he looks more than serviceable, and the next he’s throwing multiple
interceptions in crucial situations.
What makes it easier to buy into Dalton
is the weapons he has on offense. AJ
Green is one of the best receivers in the game, and Marvin Jones has really
come on, solidifying his place as the #2 receiver. Rookie Giovani Bernard can beat you as a
runner or receiver.
Bengals 34
Chargers 30
NFC
1) Seattle
Seahawks
2) Carolina
Panthers
3) Philadelphia
Eagles
4) Green Bay
Packers
5) San Francisco
49ers
6) New Orleans
Saints
Wild Card Round
49ers @ Packers
Sunday, 4:30 (FOX)
He’s baaaaaaaack!
Aaron Rodgers delivered a fatal body blow to the Bears last week,
connecting with Randall Cobb for the game winner with less than a minute to go,
sending the Packers to the playoffs; something that seemed like a pipe dream
when Rodgers broke his collarbone in a week 9 home loss to the Bears. Green
Bay hasn’t fared well against San Fran in recent
years, losing this year’s opener and twice in ’12. Will the fourth time be the charm for the
Packers?
Rodgers came out obviously rusty last week, throwing
interceptions on his first two drives.
He got into gear after that; matching scores with Jay Cutler and
company, including that do-or-die three-fourth down conversion game winning
drive. Offensively, the Packers look as
good as anyone right now, and yes, I’m including the Broncos in that
conversation. Rodgers is the best talent
at the position, and Eddie Lacy (who should win the Offensive ROY) is exactly
what they’ve been looking for at running back.
In a game that figures to feature sub-0 weather against a defense like San Francisco ’s, there
won’t be a bigger moment for Lacy to put a stamp on what figures to be a Rookie
of the Year season. Jordy Nelson is a
target magnet, and Randall Cobb is a difference maker. Green
Bay must establish the run and get vertical with
Nelson.
Where Green Bay
still struggles is on the defensive side of the ball, and not having Clay
Matthews in this one is going to really hurt them. Colin Kaepernick got hot when Michael
Crabtree got healthy, and the Niners finished the regular season strong by
winning their last 6 games. The biggest
stars shine brightest in the playoffs, and Anquan Boldin is still a star. Look for him and those vice grip hands of his
to be the biggest playmaker on the football field Sunday. I’d love to see Rodgers and the Packers pull
out a home W, but it’s their defense that’s keeping me from picking them
here. I think Rodgers outplays
Kaepernick, but the Packers defense won’t get off the field early and often
enough to keep their season alive.
49ers 30
Packers 27
Saints @ Eagles
Saturday, 8:10 (NBC)
Something tells me this one won’t be on any “Defensive
How-To” videos. Philadelphia enters the postseason as the
potential “no one wants to face them” team.
Chip Kelly’s crew is red hot, winning 7 of their last 8 games, including
last week’s division clincher at Dallas . New
Orleans on the other hand can’t be happy about having
to go on the road, especially to what projects to be a cold and wet Philly
field. They have no one to blame but
themselves, having lost 3 of their last 5, including ugly beatings at Seattle and St. Louis and a
division-giveaway at Carolina .
Nick Foles not only saved my fantasy football season, but he
rescued the Eagles as well and has become Kelly’s franchise QB. With an astonishing 27-2 TD-INT ratio in his
11 starts, Foles may have given Mr. Manning a run for his MVP money if he had
played a full 16 games. Things are going
good for the Eagles if LeSean McCoy isn’t always the first player
mentioned. This year’s league leading
rusher is usually the most exciting player on the field, and Shady is going to
be a nightmare for a Saints defense that struggles against the run.
Rob Ryan turned around last year’s league worst defense, but
they’re without Kenny Vaccaro who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in week
16 against the Panthers. That’s going to
be a huge loss in my opinion, given what the underrated Jason Avant brings to
the Eagles passing game. The Saints project
to be especially thin in pass coverage, and that’s not good against an Eagles
passing game that features DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Avant, and Brent Celek
who’s 15.7 ypg was 2nd in the league at TE behind Vernon Davis. As with the Packers, the Saints are going to
have to show me something before I can pick them with confidence. Will New Orleans
finally beat a good team on the road, or will the most intriguing playoff team
advance to Carolina
and try to do something the Saints couldn’t?
Pierre Thomas will miss this one, and I think that’s a bigger loss than
it appears on the surface. Not that the
Saints want to play ground and pound, but Thomas was their best chance of
keeping Philly honest defensively.
Eagles 27
Saints 17
Remaining Playoffs
Divisional Round
Bengals @ Patriots
Colts @ Broncos
Eagles @ Panthers
49ers @ Seahawks
As well as the Niners look right now, I can’t pick them to
beat Seattle on
the road. They were no match for the
Seahawks in week 2 and needed some good fortune to beat them at home in week
14. That said, if any NFC team is to
keep Seattle
out of the Super Bowl, I think it’s the Niners.
Seahawks by 13.
Conference Championships
Bengals @ Broncos
It’s close throughout as the Bengals match scores with the
Broncos, but Dalton makes a mistake late to send
Denver to Jersey . Broncos by 6.
Eagles @ Seahawks
Chip Kelly’s rookie run comes to an end as Marshawn Lynch has
a big game against a usually-stout Eagles rush defense. Seahawks by 17.
Super Bowl XLVIII
Broncos v. Seahawks
I had the Patriots beating the Packers in my preseason
picks, and while they’re both still alive, I’d be surprised to see either one
in New Jersey . If weather projections are correct, this one
is going to be cold and white. Everyone
knows that hasn’t been good news for Peyton in the past. Conversely, you’ve got to think the Seahawks
would like to have a game that’s more slug-it-out than sling-it-around.
Seahawks 23
Broncos 17
MVP – Marshawn Lynch
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