NFC Wildcard Weekend
(3) Philadelphia
Eagles over (6) New Orleans Saints: The Eagles have been playing extremely
well of late and that will continue tonight. Their running game and improved defense
will be too much for a Saints team that struggles away from home.
(5) San Francisco
49ers over (4) Green Bay Packers: The Packers sneaked into the playoffs
because the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears couldn’t take care of business
while Aaron Rodgers was out. Rodgers is back and will play well, but the
Packers will have a hard time stopping Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers’ offense.
AFC Wildcard Weekend
(4) Indianapolis
Colts over (5) Kansas City Chiefs: I think this is the toughest game to
predict because the teams are so evenly matched, but the Colts defeated the
Chiefs 23-7 in Arrowhead just two weeks ago. Now the game is in Indianapolis
and I believe the Colts will come out on top again.
(3) Cincinnati
Bengals over (6) San Diego Chargers: The Bengals are 8-0 at home this
season and defeated the Chargers in San Diego on December 1st,
17-10. Andy Dalton will play well at home as the Bengals roll in this one.
NFC Divisional Round
(1) Seattle Seahawks
over (5) San Francisco 49ers: The Seahawks and 49ers split their regular season
meetings with the Seahawks winning in dominant fashion at home. The Seahawks
lost just once at home this season, and I don’t see that happening again.
(2) Carolina Panthers
over (3) Philadelphia Eagles: I feel like the Panthers don’t get the
respect they deserve, but they have won 11 of their last 12 games with wins against
the 49ers, Patriots, and Saints. The Panthers defense will slow down the Eagles
offense, and Cam Newton will make enough plays to earn a home playoff win.
AFC Divisional Round
(1) Denver Broncos
over (4) Indianapolis Colts: This game won’t have any storylines, will it?
The Colts did defeat the Broncos 39-33 in Indianapolis earlier this year, but I
still think the Broncos are the better team. Peyton Manning will be on a
mission this postseason to prove he can win in “bad weather”, and his historic
season continues with a win over his former team.
(3) Cincinnati
Bengals over (2) New England Patriots: Part of the reason I’m picking the
Bengals is because I picked them to defeat the Patriots in my August
predictions. The other reason is that the Patriots have struggled in the
playoffs against good defenses in recent years, and Tom Brady will miss Rob
Gronkowski in this game. The Bengals defeat the Patriots for the second time
this season.
NFC Championship
(1) Seattle Seahawks
over (2) Carolina Panthers: Seattle defeated the Panthers in Carolina
during Week 1, 12-7. Not many people thought that was going to be a potential
NFC Championship preview back then, but the outcome will be similar. Seattle is
just too tough at home and Carolina isn’t experienced enough to pull off a win
this big in a hostile environment.
AFC Championship
(1) Denver Broncos
over (3) Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati’s playoff run will end in Denver
with Peyton Manning getting to his third Super Bowl. This will be a shootout
and I’ll side with Manning over Andy Dalton every time.
Super Bowl XLVIII
(1) Denver Broncos
over (1) Seattle Seahawks: I’m sticking with my August prediction and have
the Broncos beating the Seahawks in New York. Part of me wants to pick Seattle,
but I can’t go against Denver now.
-Eric Tichelbaut
Follow me on Twitter @etichel07
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