NFL Weekend Preview: Divisional Weekend

Well, after a decent regular season of picking games, I went 1-3 last weekend. Not impressive, but I won't throw in the towel simply because I'm incompetent. Hopefully I'll stumble in to a few more wins this weekend. The divisional round weekend is perhaps my favorite weekend of football all year. It's almost always good games as the Elite 8 sort out the Championship Game participants. Hopefully we'll get an overtime game, as I'd love to get a chance to see the new rules in action...plus overtime football is super exciting.

Ravens at Steelers: This match up is historically more like an MMA match than a football game. No matter who wins, they're going to have to survive a rumble to do so. The last four times these teams have met, the road team won and the games were all decided by 3 points. I’ll stick with that trend. Ravens 20 Steelers 17 in OT

Packers at Falcons: It feels like the entire world has decided that the Packers can’t lose this game. So I’ll zig where everyone else zags. Plus, I picked against the Packers last week, and they won, and they're the team I want to win it all, so perhaps this is a good move for the superstitious. Falcons 26 Packers 23

Seahawks at Bears: I think the Bears are going to win easily, but I'm hoping I'm wrong. Although a Bears-Packers match up for the NFC Championship would rock, having a team that is still under .500 heading into this game making the NFC Championship would absurdly wonderful. Odd but true: The only way the Seahawks can finish the season with a winning record is if they win the Super Bowl. Hey, stranger things have happened, plus the Seahawks DID beat the Bears in the Windy City this year once already. So perhaps??? Nah, I can't do it. Bears 33 Seahawks 20

Jets at Patriots: The Jets got smoked last time these two met to the tune of 45-3. Dan Lebatard had a stat this week on his radio show that said that eighteen times a team has had a playoff rematch with another team that they had defeated by thirty points or more in the regular season. Those teams have an 18-0 record in the rematch. Of course, I can remember a recent time when the Patriots were a huge favorite and an 18-0 record was involved, and that one didn't turn out in their favor. Since I can't root for a comet to hit Foxborough on Sunday wiping out both teams, as that would likely cause another ice age or something, I'll hold my nose and cheer for the Jets, even though I think the Pats are going to smoke them. Patriots 35 Jets 10

Wildcard Weekend: 1-3
Regular Season: 161-95
Playoffs: 1-3
Year to Date: 162-98

Championship Weekend Forecast:

Turn out the lights, the party's (almost) over.


I have heard that when the holidays end, may people go into a bit of a slump. All the waiting and anticipation for Christmas to come, all the preparations and the excitement over spending time with friends and family, all the Christmas trees and bright lights and presents and then, BAM. January. No more lights, no more excitement, no more carols, no more days off of work, no more reindeer, it all ends suddenly and all that is left is a long winter with little excitement in the near future. Depressing.

I do not experience this post holiday lull to this degree, sure I enjoy Christmas, but I don’t get so up for it that December 26th becomes a major bummer. I pretty much just get on with life, thankful for the Christmas that has passed. However, I am not without empathy for those with the post Christmas blues, as I experience my own version of this phenomenon at the beginning of February…the post Super Bowl blues.

You see, since mid-August, I have been feasting upon NFL football. It’s my favorite sport, and I spend a ridiculous amount of time thinking, reading, and watching football. Right now, we are in the midst of a great stretch, the playoffs, where every game is significant and the best teams are playing at their highest level with the most on the line. It is truly glorious. (It would be even better if my Broncos were part of the festivities, but like I said, the BEST teams are playing which precludes their participation.) But, as exciting and glorious as the playoffs are, the sad fact remains that as I write this, there are only three games remaining in the NFL season, and after this weekend, nothing but the Super Bowl. So, in this time of glory, I am already melancholy knowing that the long dark offseason awaits. The day after the Super Bowl is my December 26th. The offseason is so long and sad…let us enjoy the NFL while it is still around. In that spirit, here are my Championship Sunday predictions…

The NFC Championship game:
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals

Come on, I enjoy practical jokes as much as anybody, but hasn’t this whole, “The Arizona Cardinals are hosting the NFC Championship Game” charade gone on long enough? Let’s go ahead and get the New York Giants and do this thing right, eh? Wait? Seriously? The NFL is actually sanctioning this? Really? Okay, if you say so, I guess we’ll go with that…

I am going to write that out again because it’s been almost a week, and I still don’t completely believe it. Not only are the Arizona Cardinals IN the NFC Championship game, (Which by itself would be weird enough) but they are playing host. This thing is just goofy enough, that I am ready to fully embrace it. That’s right! I am throwing my support behind the NFC West Champion Arizona Cardinals. I sincerely hope that they win the whole thing. I want Larry Fitzgerald to go in the first two rounds of all fantasy drafts next year, I want Kurt Warner in the Hall of Fame, heck, I even love the color red. I’m on board the Cardinals train, now. I love AZ.

I am definitely more in support of this reformed train wreck from the desert than the Iggles for one simple reason. Philadelphia fans. I have met a lot of fans from opposing teams in my decades of going to Broncos games, but no single group of fans has ever been more obnoxious than the Philly fans when my brother and I went to a regular season Broncos-Eagles game in 2005. We are just walking to our seats, not talking any smack as I bear no ill will to the Eagles and a few of these nimrods run over to us and start yelling at us, questioning our manhood, and randomly berating us because we dared not have the same favorite team as them. Then at our seats, there were several Eagles fans nearby who were obnoxious throughout the entire game. They were mocking us, even as their team was falling behind by 28 points. The Eagles scored three quick touchdowns to make it 28-21, and the abuse was hot and heavy, even though they were still trailing. That was one of my most satisfying Broncos games, ever, though. Because after it briefly got close, the Broncos exploded and ended up winning 49-21. Finally, after having their team beaten into submission, at the end of the game they left quietly. That happy image of obnoxious people leaving the game sad still brings a smile to my face to this day. That is why I am rooting against Philly. Not because I hate the Eagles, I just want their fans to be unhappy because they were that insufferable.

That said, do I expect Arizona to win? No. No, I do not. Philadelphia has been riding a hot streak remarkably similar to the Giants last year, and I fully expect them to win, because I am not sure the world is ready for a Super Bowl in which the Arizona Cardinals are prominently involved. Plus, the Cardinals have been ridiculously fortunate thus far in the playoffs they have forced nine turnovers in the past two games. I don’t anticipate that they will continue to average four and a half takeaways against the Eagles. Because, unfortunately for the Cardinals, Jake Delhomme will not be involved in this contest for the Eagles. They played earlier this season and the Eagles dominated 48-20. Granted it was a Thanksgiving night game, and the Cards had a very short week and then had to travel to play the Eagles making it very difficult, and they are at home this time, but I don’t think they have what it takes. I think that the Cards keep it closer, but don’t do enough to win. Creating a situation in which a team that tied the Bengals represents the NFC in the Super Bowl. Weird season, eh?

Make mine, Philadelphia 31 Arizona 21


The AFC Championship Game:
Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

This game is generally considered to be the better game of the weekend, but I question that. We are looking at two teams with suffocating defenses and competent but hardly amazing offenses. If you like low scoring, defensive battles, this will be right up your alley. If you don’t like games with the potential for a final score of 6-3, perhaps this won’t be your favorite game ever. It has the potential to be a classic or a snooze fest. I’m hoping for the former.

I like the Steelers in this game because I think they are peaking right now. They looked like a force of nature against the Chargers. The only thing that scares me is that Pittsburgh is due for a stinker game, as they haven’t laid an egg for too long, and they have a history of wetting the bed in Championship games at home that they should have won. Could I see that happening this time? Sure, because the Ravens are a quality squad and they have already played two ridiculously close games this year which the Steelers won late both times.

The reason I am not picking the Steelers to fall apart at home is because of how the Ravens played last weekend. The Titans are a very similar team to the Steelers, and the Ravens were dominated last week by Tennessee. The Titans killed themselves with several turnovers in the red zone, and just enough boneheaded plays that they managed to lose a game by all rights they should have won. Plus, if the referees had called a delay of game penalty when they should have, I’m not sure that Baltimore is even playing this weekend. A team can get all the breaks like the Cardinals getting nine turnovers or the Ravens getting ALL the breaks, but after awhile, these breaks tend to even out. You can only be lucky for so long, and I feel like the luck runs out on the banks of the three rivers for the Ravens.

I am calling it, Pittsburgh 16 Baltimore 13

Weekend Forecast:

The divisional playoff round is upon us, and with it a slate of three pretty good games, and one game that I imagine will not be as good. Get your popcorn ready, as these game will all be better than anything that Terrell Owens did all year.


Ravens at Titans – This game showcases two teams who greatly resemble each other. Both feature hard hitting defenses and offenses that do just enough to win. The Ravens are coming off of a convincing victory over the Dolphins who looked overmatched and smothered by the suffocating Ravens D. Ed Reed showed why he has to be considered the best safety in the NFL, and after scoring the first field goal on a turnover early in the game, it didn’t look like Miami had a shot in that game the rest of the way scoring only one more touchdown the rest of the way. The Titans may have peaked too early this year, as around week 12, they looked like a juggernaut, but they have come back to the pack a bit over the final month of the season. They basically didn’t even try in the season finale against the Colts, a game in which they lost 23-0. So they may be a bit rusty, and are over a month removed from playing their best football. Although Kerry Collins has been solid all year, he is still Kerry Collins, and as such, I don’t trust him to be able to play mistake free against one of the stronger defenses in the league. Granted, Joe Flacco is just a rookie, and the history of rookie QB’s in the playoffs isn’t stellar, but I think that he will do enough to let his defense win it for him. I see a low scoring, close game in which the Ravens do enough to move on to the AFC Championship game. My prediction? Baltimore 16 Tennessee 7

Cardinals at Panthers – This is the game I feel most confident about, which means that I am probably most likely to be wrong about it. I had a dream earlier this week that the Cardinals play the Giants and although the details of that dream are substantially weird, that matchup could take place if the Cards and Giants win this weekend. I don’t think that the Cardinals are going to take care of business on the road in the playoffs. Arizona is 0-5 in the Eastern time zone this season, getting blown out in many of those games. Despite being able to put it together enough to take care of Atlanta last weekend at home, I feel the Panthers on the road are a much stiffer test. To me, the Panthers are the team most likely to win it all this offseason. I’m standing by my prediction from when there were only a few weeks left in the regular season that they will be the team to lift the Lombardi trophy. I say they pass their first postseason test with flying colors this weekend by throttling the Cardinals. Carolina 34 Arizona 10

Eagles at Giants – What a slate of games we have set for this Sunday! The great thing about playoff football is the high intensity, high quality football that we are treated to, the bad part of it is that as of the moment of this writing, there are only seven NFL games left this season. Savor each one, as the offseason lasts a loooooooong time. This game should be a great one, as the Eagles have raised their game in the final month and they needed every break to make the playoffs, as they BARELY got in. I mean, when you need the Raiders to win a road game to get in, and it happens…you must living right. Conversely, for much of the season, the Giants were considered the class of the NFL, and they fell off the pace some in the final weeks. I keep going back and forth on this game, as I can easily see a case for the Iggles continuing their hot streak and the Giants have cooled from their earlier season hot streak and without Plaxico Burress they are not nearly as scary, but I have to say I think the G-Men find a way this game. Will I be surprised if the Eagles win? No, but I am picking the Giants in a close and entertaining game. New York 27 Philadelphia 24

Chargers at Steelers – As a Broncos fan, this is the game I am most interested in this weekend, because if I can’t cheer for my team after their epic collapse, I can get a measure of satisfaction from seeing the Chargers lose. I keep lamenting the fact that the Broncos would be in if the Chiefs would have just been able to recover an onside kick, but then I remember that I would have had to endure watching them lose here in Denver to the Colts by four hundred points, which would have been even more embarrassing than losing a three game lead with three to play. I am obviously rooting against the Chargers and for the Steelers in this game. One: I really dislike the Chargers now due to the incredibly boorish Phil Rivers. Two: I picked the Steelers to get to the Super Bowl, so they need to win this game to make that happen, obviously. I am going to put aside my personal feelings about this game when I make my pick, and I’m going to go ahead and predict….a Steelers victory. The Steelers defense is ridiculous. Not in a Denver Broncos, giving up 448 points kind of way, but rather in a “Dear God, hide the women and children, it’s the Steelers D” kind of way. They are simply awesome. They gave up less than half of what Denver did this year, which is extremely impressive. I am a little worried about Rothlisberger’s condition for the game, I hope he can play as I feel he gives the Steelers their best chance for a win, but fortunately, Pittsburgh has a solid backup in Byron Leftwich who could also get it done, if need be. Ladainian Tomlinson being out should help, as Darren Sproles is solid, but I think that the Steelers can contain him easier than they could a healthy LT. The previous game this season between these two was a weird affair, ending in the NFL’s first ever 11-10 final score. I feel a few more points may be scored this game, but I think that Pittsburgh cools off the Bolts and sends them home unhappy. Pittsburgh 21 San Diego 17