NFL Divisonal Round Picks

Last Weeks Record 2-2 (Correct: Packers, Ravens  Incorrect: Bengals, Redskins)
Another exciting weekend of playoff football lays ahead with intriguing matchups all-around. Here are my picks for all four divisional round games this weekend.

Denver Broncos over Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens rallied behind Ray Lewis in the final home game of his career and picked up an inspired win against the Colts last week. The Ravens will no doubt be playing with a lot of emotion again this week to try bring Lewis a Super Bowl title in his final season. Unfortunately, I don't see it happening. Playing the Broncos in Denver is just a tall order and the Broncos were the hottest team in football when the regular season ended. Their defense is simply outstanding and Peyton Manning has the offense firing on all cylinders. To make matters worse for the Ravens, the Broncos blew them out in Baltimore just a few weeks ago. The Broncos stuffed Ray Rice and made Joe Flacco rush his throws, which is a surefire way to beat the Ravens. The Ravens do have emotion on their side, but every other aspect of the game favors the Broncos.

San Fransisco 49ers over Green Bay Packers: The Packers have experience and superior quarterback play on their side, but the 49ers ability to run the ball and their stellar defense makes me give the slight edge to the 49ers in this game. The Packers offensive line has struggled all season and the 49ers pass rush is deadly and should get to Aaron Rodgers all game long. The Packers also can very easily be run on and Frank Gore torched them in the season opener averaging seven yards a carry. The downside to the 49ers is quarterback Colin Kapernick's inexperience in playoff games, but I think he will be just fine. He showed a lot of poise and had a great game on the national stage just a few weeks ago against the Patriots on the road. Kapernick is a talented quarterback and I think he will tackle this challenge. I don't think the 49ers will sleep on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers elite receiving corps and will pull out a close victory.

Seattle Seahawks over Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan has been a trainwreck in the playoffs and with a tough and red-hot Seahawks team coming into town on Sunday, I don't expect that to change. The Seahawks have been up to any task of late and their cornerback tandem of Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are going to make it tough for Ryan to get the ball to star wideouts Roddy White and Julio Jones. On top of their great defense, The Seahawks offense has been flourishing of late. Russell Wilson didn't have the greatest game last week, but he's a skilled and mature quarterback so I'm sure he will bounce back. The Seahawks also have the gift of having monstrous running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch should have a field day against the decent Falcons run defense. If the Falcons want to be an elite team, they have to win big games and I don't expect Sunday to be their moment in the sun against a seemingly unstoppable at the moment Seahawks squad.

New England Patriots over Houston Texans: The Texans came out last week and proved they can still play at a high level with their victory over the Bengals. Their going to need their A-game if they want to go into New England and avenge the beatdown they took at the hands of the Patriots on Monday Night Football in early December. I do think the Patriots will end up winning this game. You really can't go against Tom Brady at home in the playoffs and having Rob Gronkowski back at full strength is a big asset for the Patriots. However, there is an interesting parallel between this and the 2010 season when the Jets eliminated the Patriots in the divisional round. The Jets got trounced by the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in an early December on Monday Night Football and went onto to beat the Patriots in the divisional round.  Not saying history will repeat itself, but it's just something to take into consideration. I'm not expecting another shellacking, but I do believe the Patriots will knock off the Texans once again.