The NFL playoffs have heated up as eight teams have been whittled down to four: the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks.
This weekend will host the title games, which will send one team from each conference, the NFC and the AFC, to the Superbowl at the Meadowlands in two weeks, one week after the Pro Bowl. This Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. the AFC Championship game between the Broncos and the Patriots will kick off, and at 6:30 p.m. Sunday night, the Seattle Seahawks will host the San Francisco 49ers.
In the NFC, 6 teams made the playoffs looking for a Superbowl ring, but now only two teams remain. The Seahawks are the early favorites with their incredible home field advantage. The spread on the game has Seattle by 3.5 points, but I don’t see this happening. Russell Wilson stepping up in big games and beating this stingy 49ers defense with his legs will be hard to accomplish for the second-year quarterback out of Wisconsin. The 49ers will keep Russell Wilson in the pocket, where he is not as effective as he is otherwise. The Seahawks don’t have a true leader on their football team, and it’s very likely this could hold them back. The 49ers have great playmakers on both sides of the ball, with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback and Patrick Willis on defense. Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch is a fantastic playmaker on offense, but seeing him rush for more than 100 yards against this ridiculously hard-hitting 49ers defense is questionable. The Seahawks and 49ers have played twice so far this season with one win for each team at home. Predicted Final Score: 49ers-34 Seahawks-28
On the AFC side, the Denver Broncos will host the New England Patriots with Hall of Fame quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. At Tom Brady’s age of 36 and Peyton just a year older, time is running out for both of these quarterbacks. The Broncos are a 4.5 point favorite as well in this game, but I see this game being decided by one or two points. Earlier this season on Sunday Night Football, the Patriots played the Broncos in New England and won 34-31 after losing by 24 points at halftime. Brady and the Patriots then scored 28 unanswered points and eventually led his team to a win. One thing was clear in this win- Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning, and it’s very possible to win again in Denver for Tom Terrific and the Patriots. After last week’s six rushing touchdown performance by the Patriots, this team is balanced enough to stop the bucking Broncos. Not many teams can say they made the AFC championship game with a receiving core like the Patriots had this season, which has been to say the least, pitiful. If Tom Brady had the weapons that Peyton has in Eric Decker, Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas, this game wouldn’t even be in question.
Predicted Final Score: Patriots-35 Broncos-34
Sources: bleacherreport.com
