NFL Divisional Playoff Predictions

New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers 

The 49ers are in the playoffs for the first time in nine years, led by a resurgent Alex Smith, the 2005 #1 pick who many fans saw as a lost cause coming into the year. First-year coach John Harbaugh, however, did not. He gave Smith the ball and, so far this year, he's ran with it, leading the Niners to a first round bye in the playoffs and a date with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints who handily dealt with the Detroit Lions last week. Even though the 49ers have the bye, the Saints had the same record at 13-3, and just because the 49ers won the tiebreaker doesn’t make them the better team. Add to that the experience factor and the Saints also have the edge, having won the Super Bowl two years ago with much of the same roster. But there’s something about this 49ers team that won’t let me pick against them. People called them a fluke 5-6 weeks into the season and they kept on winning, quietly rising to the top. Their defense is ranked fourth in the NFL and they gave up just over 14 points/game in the regular season. They might be the underdog, but I think Smith and the 49ers Defense both play very well, leading them to the NFC Title game…  

49ers 28 

Saints 20  

Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots 

Will Tim Tebow prove the haters wrong one more time? Many people expected the Steelers to take care of the Broncos pretty easily last week, including the Steelers. Tebow took advantage of that overconfidence and put on a show, throwing for over 300 yards and leading the team to an overtime victory. But as good of a story as it's been, beating the New England Patriots will prove to be a much taller task. To win this game, the Broncos defense must be at its best. The team will also bank on the chance that the Patriots defense, the second worst in the NFL, will be a bit more rusty than usual. If both of these things happen, Tebow and the Broncos will have a legitimate shot to hand the Pats their fourth straight playoff loss. Let's be real, though... the Broncos might keep it close because of the Patriots bad defense, but Tom Brady is too good a Quarterback and Bill Belichick is too good of a coach to let the team take the 8-8 Broncos too lightly. Tebow might have a good game on the Pats D, but after tomorrow night, the clock will strike midnight and Tebow Time will end.  

Patriots 34

Broncos 28

New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers 

Many people are comparing this year's New York Giants team to the 2007 Super Bowl champs, a comparison I really don't agree with; the 2007 team was much better overall and unless you're a Giants fan or Skip Bayless, you should know better than to pick them over the best team in the NFL... Thats 's not to say the Giants won't contend--they only lost by three in their Week 12 matchup against the Packers--but the offense of the Packers is too good and while their defense is the worst in the NFL, they still went 15-1. Aaron Rodgers was the best quarterback in the NFL this year. The Giants defense, while good, wasn’t able to stop him two months ago and they won’t be able to stop him now. The only shot they have at winning is if their offensive game is flawless, something they haven’t done all year. Even in last week’s 24-2 rout of the Falcons, Atlanta made too many mistakes. Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks and the Giants defense played well, but Atlanta missed crucial opportunities to make the game competitive, something that the Packers will not do. I’ll give the Giants credit; they’ve gotten hot at the right time and people are actually believing that they can beat the Packers. The same Packers who, before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, won 19 straight games. Unlike the 2007 Patriots, not having to deal with the pressures of an undefeated season will also help tremendously and they will edge out the Giants to head to the NFC Championship.  

Packers 31 

Giants 27  

Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens 

The Texans, in the midst of their first ever playoff run, dismantled the Bengals last week and are coming into this weeks game against the Ravens with momentum that they hope will lead them to victory… but the Ravens are not the Bengals. Houston will not be able to score 31… much less 21 on their defense. The game will be a defensive battle and, coming off the bye week, the Ravens have the advantage. The Texans backed into the playoffs and defeated a very mediocre Cincinnati team, but they should get a dose of reality this week. Rookie T.J. Yates’ play has been very mediocre since replacing the injured Matt Schaub as Quarterback, and Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and the rest of the Ravens defense will humble him and the Texans come Sunday.

Ravens 17 

Texans 10