Last week's record: 3-1 (Correct: Rams, Patriots, Saints Incorrect: Colts)
Overall record: 4-4
New Orleans Saints over Los Angeles Rams: Both of these offenses have lost a bit of explosiveness since their Week 9 shootout that ended with the Rams being handed their first loss of the season. With splash plays likely to be less prominent this time around, this game should come down to the quarterbacks, defenses and coaching staffs-all of which lean in favor of the Saints. Drew Brees tends to be an efficient, clock-draining machine at the Superdome, Sean Payton has a gift for coming up with varied gameplans that confuse vulnerable defenses and even with the loss of defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins to a torn Achilles, they have the personnel upfront to slow down the prolific rushing attack that the Rams need to establish in order to make Jared Goff comfortable as a passer.
New England Patriots over Kansas City Chiefs: The 2018 Chiefs defied their tragic recent history with a strong, gusty performance in a 31-13 victory over the Colts last weekend. However, this game is a whole different beast as they have to square off against the NFL's boogeyman that just won't die- no matter "grim" things look prior to the start of the playoffs. Despite being tasked with entering a notoriously loud stadium that's hosting the most important game in its 47-year history during a season where they've played uncharacteristically ugly football away from Foxboro (their 3-5 road record is their worst since 2009), the Patriots still have the edge in this matchup. Patrick Mahomes and co. have the dynamism and creativity to score every time they have the ball, but the shakiness of their defense and Andy Reid's perpetual clock management misfortune is going to make it very difficult for them to take out a battle-tested veteran team that has delivered on this stage far more times than they've faltered. The Patriots won a shootout at Gillette Stadium when these two teams met in the regular season and unless Tom Brady puts up the type of inefficient, multi-INT dud you seldom see from him (especially during this time of year), I expect them to do the exact same thing at Arrowhead on Sunday night.
Showing posts with label NFL conference championship predictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL conference championship predictions. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2019
Saturday, January 21, 2017
NFL Conference Championship Picks
Divisional Round Record: 2-2 (Correct: Patriots, Packers Incorrect: Seahawks, Chiefs)
Overall Record: 5-3
Green Bay Packers over Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons and Packers are basically mirror images of each other. They both have elite quarterbacks that are seemingly untouchable right now, a barrage of players at the skill positions that are capable of making game-breaking plays at any moment and below-average defenses that are susceptible to getting torched by high-end offenses.
You can make a strong argument for both sides in this borderline surefire shootout, but I have to give the edge to the Packers. The uncertainty surrounding Julio Jones' health is a big reason for a concern given the inconsistency of the rest of the Falcons receiving corps and even without a fully-healthy Jordy Nelson in the mix, I think Aaron Rodgers can get enough out of this offense to lead the Packers to their first Super Bowl appearance since their championship run in 2010.
New England Patriots over Pittsburgh Steelers: The Patriots are coming off their worst playoff performance since the 2013 AFC Championship Game against the Texans last Saturday and yet they still managed to win by 18 points. There's no way they'll be that sloppy again this week against a high-powered Steelers offense that can actually make you pay when you turn the ball over 4 times in a game. Brady and the coaching staff are going to come out pissed-off from the opening whistle with a bunch of clock-draining drives to prevent the Killer B's (Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown) from having a chance to turn this into the type of high-scoring affair that favors their strengths as a team. Anything other than another hard-fought yet still spirit-crushing loss for Mike Tomlin's squad in Foxboro (his only win at Gillette Stadium came in 2008 when Matt Cassel was under center) would be a pretty huge shock.
Overall Record: 5-3
Green Bay Packers over Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons and Packers are basically mirror images of each other. They both have elite quarterbacks that are seemingly untouchable right now, a barrage of players at the skill positions that are capable of making game-breaking plays at any moment and below-average defenses that are susceptible to getting torched by high-end offenses.
You can make a strong argument for both sides in this borderline surefire shootout, but I have to give the edge to the Packers. The uncertainty surrounding Julio Jones' health is a big reason for a concern given the inconsistency of the rest of the Falcons receiving corps and even without a fully-healthy Jordy Nelson in the mix, I think Aaron Rodgers can get enough out of this offense to lead the Packers to their first Super Bowl appearance since their championship run in 2010.
New England Patriots over Pittsburgh Steelers: The Patriots are coming off their worst playoff performance since the 2013 AFC Championship Game against the Texans last Saturday and yet they still managed to win by 18 points. There's no way they'll be that sloppy again this week against a high-powered Steelers offense that can actually make you pay when you turn the ball over 4 times in a game. Brady and the coaching staff are going to come out pissed-off from the opening whistle with a bunch of clock-draining drives to prevent the Killer B's (Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown) from having a chance to turn this into the type of high-scoring affair that favors their strengths as a team. Anything other than another hard-fought yet still spirit-crushing loss for Mike Tomlin's squad in Foxboro (his only win at Gillette Stadium came in 2008 when Matt Cassel was under center) would be a pretty huge shock.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
NFL Conference Championship Picks
Last week's record: 2-2 (Correct: Cardinals, Broncos Incorrect: Chiefs, Seahawks)
Overall record: 5-3
New England Patriots over Denver Broncos: The potential final installment of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning is without question the least intriguing matchup out of the 17 times these future Hall-of-Famers have squared off since 2001. In case you've been living under a rock for the past year, Tom Terrific is still playing at a very high level at age 37 while Manning continues to look more decrepit and frail by the week. Manning's physical limitations have turned this once potent Broncos offense into one of the most ineffective units in the NFL and that inability to generate much offense will more than likely cost them another trip to the Super Bowl. The fact that Denver is one of the few places in the NFL where struggles (he's 0-2 in the playoffs and 2-6 overall at Mile High Stadium) is a completely legitimate cause for concern for the Patriots, but he won't need to be great to take out this Broncos squad. If Brady can generate two or three drives where the Patriots get the ball into the endzone, it will be enough to sink the Broncos and their porous offense. Any hope of the Broncos winning this game will lie completely on the shoulders of their top-ranked defense. The Broncos ability to get to the quarterback and force turnovers was the primary reason they were able to win 12 games this year and they're going to need step up yet again if they want to deify the odds and get to Super Bowl 50. Brady's absurdly fast release and their reluctance to run the ball/throw deep downfield makes the Patriots one of the most turnover-averse offenses in the NFL, but if anyone is capable of forcing Brady to get off his game, it's this defense. The skill of the Broncos defense should be enough to keep it close, but their inability to match the absurd offensive production of the Patriots will prevent them from making their second Super Bowl in three years.
Carolina Panthers over Arizona Cardinals: All week long I had the Cardinals locked in as my pick. I believed their more weapon-packed offense and substantially better health would push them over the edge in an almost dead-even matchup with the Panthers. However, with the massive amounts of snow that just hit the Charlotte-area and projected game-time temperature just above freezing, I believe the balance has shifted into the Panthers favor. The Cardinals have almost zero experience playing in the cold and the Panthers rush-heavy offense is much better suited for extreme weather conditions than the Cardinals field-spreading, aerial-driven attack. Their abundance of talent at just about every position on the field and the brilliance of their head Bruce Arians t-who has proven time and time again how well he handles adversity-gives the Cardinals a serious shot of going into Charlotte and winning, I just don't have enough faith in their ability to play in bad weather to give them the nod in this game.
Overall record: 5-3
New England Patriots over Denver Broncos: The potential final installment of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning is without question the least intriguing matchup out of the 17 times these future Hall-of-Famers have squared off since 2001. In case you've been living under a rock for the past year, Tom Terrific is still playing at a very high level at age 37 while Manning continues to look more decrepit and frail by the week. Manning's physical limitations have turned this once potent Broncos offense into one of the most ineffective units in the NFL and that inability to generate much offense will more than likely cost them another trip to the Super Bowl. The fact that Denver is one of the few places in the NFL where struggles (he's 0-2 in the playoffs and 2-6 overall at Mile High Stadium) is a completely legitimate cause for concern for the Patriots, but he won't need to be great to take out this Broncos squad. If Brady can generate two or three drives where the Patriots get the ball into the endzone, it will be enough to sink the Broncos and their porous offense. Any hope of the Broncos winning this game will lie completely on the shoulders of their top-ranked defense. The Broncos ability to get to the quarterback and force turnovers was the primary reason they were able to win 12 games this year and they're going to need step up yet again if they want to deify the odds and get to Super Bowl 50. Brady's absurdly fast release and their reluctance to run the ball/throw deep downfield makes the Patriots one of the most turnover-averse offenses in the NFL, but if anyone is capable of forcing Brady to get off his game, it's this defense. The skill of the Broncos defense should be enough to keep it close, but their inability to match the absurd offensive production of the Patriots will prevent them from making their second Super Bowl in three years.
Carolina Panthers over Arizona Cardinals: All week long I had the Cardinals locked in as my pick. I believed their more weapon-packed offense and substantially better health would push them over the edge in an almost dead-even matchup with the Panthers. However, with the massive amounts of snow that just hit the Charlotte-area and projected game-time temperature just above freezing, I believe the balance has shifted into the Panthers favor. The Cardinals have almost zero experience playing in the cold and the Panthers rush-heavy offense is much better suited for extreme weather conditions than the Cardinals field-spreading, aerial-driven attack. Their abundance of talent at just about every position on the field and the brilliance of their head Bruce Arians t-who has proven time and time again how well he handles adversity-gives the Cardinals a serious shot of going into Charlotte and winning, I just don't have enough faith in their ability to play in bad weather to give them the nod in this game.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
NFL Conference Championship Predictions
Last Week's Record: 2-2 (Correct: Seahawks, Packers Incorrect: Ravens, Broncos)
Overall Record: 6-2
Seattle Seahawks over Green Bay Packers: This is the matchup pretty much everyone expected for the NFC Championship game. The Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers have been the two best teams in the NFC by a pretty wide margin for a majority of the season. These squads met all the way back in Week 1 at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks throttled the Packers 36-16. I'd be surprised if this second showdown at CenturyLink Field went anything like the first one. The Packers are just too damn good of a team to get blown out again. This game is going to come down to the Packers offense's ability to move the ball and put up points on this stout Seahawks defense. The Seahawks are not a team you can afford to fall behind against. Their defense is built to maintain a lead once they get it, so the Packers are going to need to put up points early and prevent Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch from making big plays if they want to pick up the victory. Even when not 100%, Aaron Rodgers is the type of quarterback that could exploit this defense and their defense is certainly capable of creating problems for the Seahawks offense, they're just going to have to play with more consistency and finesse than they did against the Cowboys last week to do so. Even though the Packers have an undeniable hungry to avenge their early season loss and possess an absolutely loaded offense, I just can't pick against the Seahawks right now. Their defense has been flat-out horrifying of late, allowing under 10 points game over the last month and a half of the season and Wilson is playing arguably the best football of his career right now. With the way they're playing right now, they're going to be an incredibly tough out, regardless of how talented their opponent is. The Packers should push the Seahawks to the brink, but if the Seahawks keep up their high level of play on both sides of the ball, they should be able to make it back to the Super Bowl for a second straight year.
New England Patriots over Indianapolis Colts: The New England Patriots showed their resilience last week, rallying from two 14-point deficits to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in a nail-biting thriller of a game. This week probably won't have nearly as much drama as the Indianapolis Colts head into Gillette Stadium for the AFC conference championship game. Andrew Luck has been absolutely awful against the Patriots (6 TD's, 8 INT's, 53.9 CMPL%, 68.8 QBR in 3 career meetings) in his young career so far and I don't expect that to change today. If this game plays out like the rest of the Patriots/Colts meetings in the Luck era, you can expect the following to happen: Luck will throw multiple ugly INT's, some random running back on the Patriots will run for 150+ yards, Tom Brady will put up decent but not great numbers and throw a couple of effortless TD's, and every one of the 2-3 Colts touchdowns will involve someone on the Patriots D getting absolutely torched in coverage. Don't get me wrong, the Colts are a pretty good football team with a lot of promise for the future, they just don't have the skills right now to take out established juggernauts like the Patriots, especially on their home turf. Unless Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the entire defense becomes collectively incapacitated before kickoff, I fully expect the Patriots to lay down an absolute beatdown on the Colts and cruise to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2011.
Overall Record: 6-2
Seattle Seahawks over Green Bay Packers: This is the matchup pretty much everyone expected for the NFC Championship game. The Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers have been the two best teams in the NFC by a pretty wide margin for a majority of the season. These squads met all the way back in Week 1 at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks throttled the Packers 36-16. I'd be surprised if this second showdown at CenturyLink Field went anything like the first one. The Packers are just too damn good of a team to get blown out again. This game is going to come down to the Packers offense's ability to move the ball and put up points on this stout Seahawks defense. The Seahawks are not a team you can afford to fall behind against. Their defense is built to maintain a lead once they get it, so the Packers are going to need to put up points early and prevent Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch from making big plays if they want to pick up the victory. Even when not 100%, Aaron Rodgers is the type of quarterback that could exploit this defense and their defense is certainly capable of creating problems for the Seahawks offense, they're just going to have to play with more consistency and finesse than they did against the Cowboys last week to do so. Even though the Packers have an undeniable hungry to avenge their early season loss and possess an absolutely loaded offense, I just can't pick against the Seahawks right now. Their defense has been flat-out horrifying of late, allowing under 10 points game over the last month and a half of the season and Wilson is playing arguably the best football of his career right now. With the way they're playing right now, they're going to be an incredibly tough out, regardless of how talented their opponent is. The Packers should push the Seahawks to the brink, but if the Seahawks keep up their high level of play on both sides of the ball, they should be able to make it back to the Super Bowl for a second straight year.
New England Patriots over Indianapolis Colts: The New England Patriots showed their resilience last week, rallying from two 14-point deficits to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in a nail-biting thriller of a game. This week probably won't have nearly as much drama as the Indianapolis Colts head into Gillette Stadium for the AFC conference championship game. Andrew Luck has been absolutely awful against the Patriots (6 TD's, 8 INT's, 53.9 CMPL%, 68.8 QBR in 3 career meetings) in his young career so far and I don't expect that to change today. If this game plays out like the rest of the Patriots/Colts meetings in the Luck era, you can expect the following to happen: Luck will throw multiple ugly INT's, some random running back on the Patriots will run for 150+ yards, Tom Brady will put up decent but not great numbers and throw a couple of effortless TD's, and every one of the 2-3 Colts touchdowns will involve someone on the Patriots D getting absolutely torched in coverage. Don't get me wrong, the Colts are a pretty good football team with a lot of promise for the future, they just don't have the skills right now to take out established juggernauts like the Patriots, especially on their home turf. Unless Brady, Rob Gronkowski and the entire defense becomes collectively incapacitated before kickoff, I fully expect the Patriots to lay down an absolute beatdown on the Colts and cruise to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)