Kansas City Chiefs/Indianapolis Colts: three of the last five times Kansas City's made the playoffs, they've played Indianapolis, losing every time. They met during the season as well, the Colts winning 23 to 7 on Dec. 22nd. KC lost 5 of its last 7 games while Indy won 5 of its last 7. Both teams struggled when playing competitive opponents during that stretch. The Chiefs were 6 and 2 on the road while Indianapolis was 6 and 2 at home. Kansas City has Andy Reid at the helm whose won many a Wild Card game, but Indianapolis, having lost last year during the Wild Card round, should be more composed this year. The numbers suggest that the Chiefs are doomed but Baltimore finished the 2012 season poorly and played well throughout the playoffs. Can Kansas City pull-off the upset? I think they can. Picking the Chiefs.
New Orleans Saints/Philadelphia Eagles: New Orleans, New Orleans, New Orleans. They generally play well but are prone to self-destruction. The Eagles have a new coach and a quarterback who seems built for success, the two combining to defeat many a challenging opponent this season. The Saints have met Philadelphia twice in the playoffs, winning once, losing once. The Eagles struggled at home while New Orleans had difficulties winning on the road. Both teams respectably won tough games all season long, but the Saints managed to score 31 points against Carolina's formidable (2nd ranked) defence (they also lost to Carolina 17-13). The Eagles let in 141 more points than Carolina this season. Nick Foles has the opportunity to prove that he's the NFC's Joey Flacco. But to do that he has to outperform Drew Brees. Picking New Orleans.
San Diego Chargers/Cincinnati Bengals: this is a huge game. San Diego won 5 of their last 6, only falling at the hands of the Bengals (17-10). Cincinnati also won 5 of their last 6, only falling at the hands of the resurgent Steelers (30-20). While the Bengal's offence has been scoring with unfettered potency, their defence has held some of the league's best offences to lacklustre totals, the Chargers only scoring 10 against them, New England, 6. They've met once before in the playoffs, Cincinnati winning 27-7 in 1981. Cincinnati has home field advantage. Cincinnati has lost 4 Wild Card games in recent years. San Diego is playing at a much higher level than their record suggests. But the Chargers are 4-4 on the road while the Bengals are undefeated at home. Once again, I'm picking, the Bengals. In a close explosive game. Snow could effect the outcome.
San Francisco 49ers/Green Bay Packers: the Pack didn't play that well this year but still sneaked into the playoffs without Aaron Rodgers at the helm for a large chunk of the season. They've outplayed San Francisco the majority of the times they've met in the playoffs however, and the forecast is calling for temperatures of between 3 and -20˚F in Green Bay. The Pack's offence is comparable to San Francisco's but their defence is much much worse. They met in week one, the 49ers winning 34-28, and San Fran's only lost twice since week 3, to New Orleans and Carolina. The 49ers are 6 and 2 on the road, Green Bay, 4, 3 and 1 at home. But the Packers are playing this game at home in January and the temperature will be freezing. According to my knowledge, San Francisco has yet to play in the cold this season, unless it was cold in Washington on November 25th. Atlanta won in Green Bay in January in 2002 but they finished their season in Cleveland on Dec. 29th and played in Minnesota on Dec. 1st. Aaron Rodgers is back and ready to play. Advantage Green Bay. Picking the Pack.
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