Oh, yes, I will talk about playoffs! It’s that time of year! The playoffs are about to begin and here are my predictions as to how the playoffs will play out.
Wild Card
Colts at Ravens: COLTS. Here is my upset . . . I
think the Colts go into Baltimore and Andrew Luck has a HUGE game against an
underperforming Ravens defense. Luck is
definitely the X-Factor in this game though.
If Luck has a performance like he did against New England earlier this
year, the Ravens should win easily.
Keyword being “should,” though, since the Ravens have played at a sub-par
level the last quarter of the season.
Bengals at Texans: TEXANS. While the Bengals are on a roll and the
Texans have definitely faltered in the last quarter of the season, I think the
Texans have what it takes to win this game.
They will need to control the game, though. Getting Arian Foster going early and taking
the pressure off Schaub is a MUST. If
this game becomes a shootout, I think the Bengals will pull it out. The key to a Bengals victory will definitely be
aggressiveness. If the Bengals play
conservatively, I think the Texans D, led by J.J. Watt, will cause havoc for the
Bengals all day. Bengals need to stretch
the Texans secondary with A.J. Green which can open up opportunities underneath for Gresham
and maybe even a running attack with Green-Ellis.
Seahawks at Redskins: SEAHAWKS. I love this
matchup! Russell Wilson vs. RGIII. The showdown of the rookie QBs. I honestly feel like Seattle is the
more balanced team heading into this matchup and definitely has the superior
defense. Because of this balance, I am
picking Seattle as my Dark Horse throughout the playoffs. If the Redskins want to win this one, they
will have to get Alfred Morris going in order to prevent the Seahawks from
being able to focus solely on RGIII.
Granted, RGIII is hard enough to deal with just on his own, but add in
Morris and the Redskins are a very difficult team to beat. In the end, I feel that Seattle’s defense
will keep the high-powered Redskins offense at bay and their offense will
do enough to get the job done under Russell Wilson’s leadership.
Vikings at Packers: PACKERS. There is only one way
the Vikings have a chance in this one.
It’s actually the only way they’ve had a chance in any game all
year. Adrian Peterson needs to have a
monster game. The Packers offense is
firing on all cylinders and if the Vikings can’t control the clock with
Peterson, this could be a long one for them.
Aaron Rodgers is poised for another Super Bowl run. His veteran leadership throughout the
difficult times of the regular season has definitely inspired the Packers and
will lead them far into the playoffs.
Divisional Round
Texans at
Patriots: PATRIOTS. The Texans will be coming off a big win in
front of their home crowd, but will have to travel to New England where they
were routed last time. Foster will again
be the key for the Texans. In the
previous matchup, the Texans got down early and couldn’t run with Foster nearly
as much as they would’ve liked. If the
Texans can’t get Foster going, then this game will not bode well for them. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense exploited
the Texans defense to perfection in their last matchup, and with Brady’s
playoff experience I could definitely see this one getting ugly for Houston
again.
Colts at Broncos: BRONCOS. This will be an
intriguing matchup. The past of the
Colts playing against the future of the Colts.
Manning vs. Luck. Everyone wants
to see this matchup. Unfortunately, the
dream season for the Colts ends here.
After their 2-3 start, the Broncos have been the most consistent team in
the league, and this consistency will lead them far in the playoffs. Manning has shown himself to be just as good,
if not better, than he was on the Colts, and his leadership and skill will propel
the Broncos to victory. The Broncos
have won the games they were supposed to win after the 2-3 start and really haven’t
had an off-game and are, in my opinion, the team to beat in the AFC. For the Colts, once again, will rely solely
on Andrew Luck. He, like Peyton before
him, is the lifeforce of this team. I
think the game will be close, but, in the end, Manning will win.
Seahawks at Falcons: SEAHAWKS. Yep. I’m picking it. The Falcons are one and done . . .
again. Here’s why: As I’ve stated earlier, Seattle is the most
balanced team in the league with a super impressive defense. Matt Ryan, while he has been really good for
the majority of the season, has had some truly awful games (I would know, I had him
on my fantasy team). I’ve actually been
really shocked that the Falcons haven’t been able to get Michael Turner going
more. I feel that he is one of the biggest
weapons on that team. Get him going and
then add in Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, and Julio Jones and this is a very
difficult offense to stop. However, they
are going up against one of the best defenses in the NFL, and I think the
Seahawks offense will play smart, conservative football and will leave the
Georgia Dome victorious.
Packers at 49ers: PACKERS. In my opinion, the 49ers have been up and
down since they switched to Kaepernick. Green
Bay boasts one of the best offenses in the league with Rodgers and his
receiving corps, and the 49ers have looked a little shaky. Granted, I think this will be a great game,
but the 49ers still have that bitter taste in their mouth after getting
trounced by Seattle 42-13. The 49ers
also got up by a lot against New England but allowed them to come back. This defense, by giving up this many points,
isn’t really playing like the 49ers defense of last year. Green Bay is on a roll and will
continue. I predict the Packers will win
by 7-10 points.
Championship Round
Patriots
at Broncos: BRONCOS. I really don’t see how this matchup won’t
occur this postseason. These two teams
are by FAR the best teams in the AFC.
Really, this one could go either way.
I’m a big fan of what the Broncos have been able to accomplish this year
with really just the addition of Peyton Manning. The Patriots are in the usual spot: win their division and be a strong contender
in the playoffs. Brady will really want
this one since his years remaining in the NFL are starting to fade away. This will be an epic game, but I don’t think
the Patriots defense is good enough this year to handle Manning and the
high-powered Broncos offense, unless Belichick can devise some scheme to
completely fool Peyton Manning. If he
can do that, then the Patriots will win this game. So the X-Factor in this game, in my opinion,
is definitely the Patriots defense.
Seahawks
at Packers: PACKERS. This one will be close. As I mentioned earlier, the Seahawks are my
dark horse pick this playoffs and they will not go down without a fight in this
one. However, the Packers are out for
revenge after the infamous “Inaccurate Reception,” and that will be enough to
give them the edge they need. Aaron
Rodgers will tear up the Seattle’s excellent defense, and the Seahawks will be
playing from behind the whole game. I
think Seattle will keep it close, but they won’t be able to match the offensive
firepower of the Packers. Aaron Rodgers
will be playing in his second Super Bowl in three years.
Super Bowl
Broncos
at Packers: BRONCOS. A rematch of Super Bowl XXXII. John Elway’s hand-picked QB, Peyton Manning,
versus the successor to Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers. This will be an awesome Super Bowl. This will be an offensive shootout between
two of the best offenses in the league.
Manning and Rodgers will score touchdown after touchdown, and I think
the last team with the ball will win.
Either that, or the defense that can make the big play will decide the
game. Looking past the QBs (which is
definitely the most intriguing aspect of this matchup) the
running game of Denver is vastly superior than that of Green Bay, which will
give Denver the edge in clock management.
In the end, Manning and the Broncos will be able to outperform Rodgers
and the Packers just enough to come out with the win, and Manning will win MVP and
tie Eli for Super Bowl victories.
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