1. Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins
Pick: Ravens
Reason: These teams matched up earlier this season (week 7 to be exact), and the Ravens came out victorious, dominating the dolphins by a score of 27-13. Since that game, the Dolphins have quietly won 9 out of their last 10 games, lead by Jets castoff Chad Pennington, who capped off this season with the Comeback Player of the Year award. With that said, the maturation of Ravens QB Joe Flacco has helped lead the Ravens into the playoffs, winning 7 out of their last 9 themselves. Flacco and the Ravens offense has improved throughout the year, however, it's the Ravens defense that wins them this game. Pro bowlers Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and company are the 3rd ranked overall defense in the NFL, and rank in the top 5 in forced turnovers, scoring defense, and defensive touchdowns.
Final score: 17-13 Ravens
2. Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers
Pick: Chargers
Reason: This is my only upset pick of the wildcard round, and it makes me feel better than I'm choosing one of the hottest teams in football. They might have finished 8-8 and won a lowly AFC West Division, but the Chargers have won their last 4 games in rousing fashion, and they seem to be playing like they have a chip on their shoulder, especially Philip Rivers. RB LaDanian Tomlinson and TE Antonio Gates are both banged up. My prediction, Tomlinson plays, Gates doesn't, which hurts the Colts because they have not been able to stop the run this year. Yes, the Colts have MVP Peyton Manning under center, and a plethora of weapons on the offensive end, you can;t deny that. But when the Colts went to San Diego 6 weeks ago, they won on an OT field goal by Adam Vinatieri, but the Chargers weren't nearly playing as good football then as they are now.
Final Score: 28-24 San Diego
3. Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings
Pick: Eagles
Reason: Everybody who resembles an Eagles fans seems to be looking past the Vikings to a divisional matchup next week vs. the Giants. DO NOT DO THAT. In the NFC, no one finished better than the Vikings, winning 7 of their last 9 to win their division, and clinch a home game in the playoffs. Yes, the Eagles are on the road, playing a against a Vikings team coached by Brad Childress, who was an Eagles assistant under Andy Reid for 6 years, and knows the Eagles organization extremely well. The Vikings also have a stud running back, maybe you have heard of him, by the name of Adrian Peterson. The NFL's leader in rushing yards this year has gone over 100 yards 12 out of 16 games this season. The best part about that is, the Philadelphia Eagles defense have only had a runningback run for over 100 yards against them twice this year. Great Matchup there. On the opposite end, the Eagles offense has been playing with supreme amount of confidence. Led by the resurgence of QB Donavan Mcnabb, the Eagles offense has averaged over 33 points per game in their last five outings, even with that blunder of a performance week 16 against the Redskins. I'm just not sure the Vikings inconsistent pass defense can stop Philly from flying up and down the field.
Score: 27-17 Eagles
4. Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals
Pick: Atlanta
Reason: If I actually had money to bet, I would wager that this game was going to be a shootout. Both defense have defining weaknesses. For Arizona, their run defense has been much maligned this season. For Atlanta, their pass defense, while young, has been very inconsistent throughout the majority of the season. With that said, Atlanta's run defense is much better than Arizona's pass defense, as the Cardinals have given up 27 points per game this season, which is among the league's worst. Look for the NFL's second-leading rusher Michael Turner to have a big game for the Falcons, while the wide-receiver tandem of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin will also have a chance to explode, due to the fact that 2 of the 4 defensive starters for the Falcons are either rookies or second year players.
Final Score: 35-31 Atlanta
No comments:
Post a Comment