NFL Postseason Picks

Yesterday I announced which teams I thought would make the playoffs for the AFC and NFC, but I did not predict how far each of the twelve teams would go. I decided it'd make more sense to leave the breakdowns separate from one another and then combine them in a different article later. Well later is now, and now has come for my playoff predictions.

	5	Chicago	28
						5	Chicago	24
	4	San Francisco	23
						1	NY Giants	17
						NFC
											5	Chicago	24
											2	Green Bay	30
	6	Atlanta	20								NFC Championship
						3	New Orleans	38
	3	New Orleans	30
						2	Green Bay	45
	Wild Card Playoffs
						Divisional Playoffs
																N2	Green Bay	26
																A2	Baltimore	30
	6	Buffalo	13													Super Bowl XLVII
						3	Denver	10
	3	Denver	20
						2	Baltimore	16
						AFC
											2	Baltimore	21
											1	New England	20
	5	Pittsburgh	14								AFC Championship
						4	Houston	27
	4	Houston	24
						1	New England	35

NFC

The NFC Wild Card Round will consist of two great match ups. You have a division battle with Atlanta going to the Superdome to face off against New Orleans while the other has Chicago making a return trip to San Fran after going their once in the regular season. I have the Niners beating the Bears at home in the regular season but I don't think they can contain Cutler, Forte, and Marshall twice in one season. The Bears will get revenge and move on to face the Giants. The Falcons will play better than they did in last year's Wild Card round but they will still ultimately lose to the mighty Saints on the road. New Orleans then moves on to face the Packers. The Packers will prevail as their offense will be too much for the Saints defense, but Drew Brees will keep the Saints in to the end. The Giants, on the other hand, will not prevail against the Bears. The Bears run game negates the excellent pass rush of the Giants, giving them the slight upper hand. Then the second divisional clash will happen with the Bears and Packers going at it. This game will be one for the ages with Aaron Rodgers & Co. leading the Pack to a six-point victory and their second Super Bowl trip in three years.

AFC

I do not find the AFC Wild Card games as appealing as the NFC, but they still should be good nonetheless. I have Peyton Manning the Broncos over the Bills in what should be a defensive struggle. Denver then advances to face Baltimore. The Steelers will again lose in the Wild Card round to a team with a lesser record than them. This time though it'll be against a team with both a good offense and defense. The Texans d should give Big Ben and Pittsburgh's suspect running game trouble while Schaub, Foster, and Johnson will have no problems leading the Texans offense up and down the field. Houston marches on to Foxboro to face New England. It'll be a rematch of the regular season and this time the Patriots will win a high scoring affair to move onto another AFC Championship game. The Ravens will also return to the AFC Championship game and get the rematch they so badly want against the Patriots. The Broncos will lose yet another defensive struggle as the Ravens offense is much better than Buffalo's. In a game that will be eerily similar to last season's, the Ravens will this time prevail with Flacco leading a game-winning drive to pull out the one-point victory over the Pats and stamp their ticket to the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVII - Green Bay Packers v. Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans

The Super Bowl will feature two teams that were somewhat wronged in last year's playoffs. The Packers were wronged but things that hadn't happened to them all year, like dropped passes and fumbles. The Ravens of course were wronged when Bill Cundiff missed a chip shot field goal that would have meant overtime versus the Patriots. Well this season I'm thinking things will go more according to plan for each team and both will wind up playing in the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the Pack, I have the Ravens winning. Aaron Rodgers will have a hard time getting into the end zone versus the tough Ravens d and I have them getting two touchdowns and several field goals. Meanwhile the Ravens offense led by Joe Flacco and Ray Rice will have a much easier time moving the ball against the Green Bay defenders. When it's all said and done, it'll be the Packers 26 and the Ravens 30. The Ravens will win their first Super Bowl since their only other appearance 12 years ago and the Pack will go home with what-ifs on their mind.

This ends my preseason NFL predictions. I would like to remind everyone that this just what I think will happen once the playoffs roll around. I took in to account regular season meetings, home-field advantage, and talent while making my picks. I also did not look at any expert picks from ESPN or any other major sports media outlet. If I copied an expert's pick or picks, it is a mere coincidence. I was not influenced by any other person while making my picks. I hope you enjoyed reading all my articles on the NFL over the last three days. Enjoy the Giants game and the rest of the night.

References

http://spotlightingsports.blogspot.com/2012/09/predicting-nfc-part-2-title-hopes.html
http://spotlightingsports.blogspot.com/2012/09/predicting-afc-part-2-contenders.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NFL_season#Bracket
http://www.nfl.com/standings/tiebreakingprocedures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NFL_season.