What a great bunch of entertaining games we had this past weekend!
Here is a recap:
NY Jets defeat Cincinnati 24-14.
Dallas defeats Philly 34-14.
Baltimore defeats New England 33-14.
And Arizona defeats Green Bay 51-45 in a thrilling overtime game that had everything from a recovered onside kick to multiple one-handed touchdown grabs in the endzone. It was simply one of the most entertaining games in NFL history.
Next up we have Arizona at New Orleans and Baltimore at Indianapolis on Saturday, followed by Dallas at Minnesota and NY Jets at San Diego on Sunday.
Game #1: Arizona at New Orleans.
What a heartbreaker of a game this will be for me. These are my two favorite teams. I wish they could have met in the NFC Championship Game so that at least one of them would be guaranteed to go to the Super Bowl. (Actually, I wish they would run the NFL playoffs as one big tournament with seeds 1-12.)
My pick here is New Orleans in a high-scoring game. I do not think it will be as high-scoring as Arizona's last, because I don't think lightning will strike twice so to speak. My prediction is that a well-rested New Orleans team is going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Arizona offensively. Arizona's secondary is going to have a real tough time keeping up with the Saints' wide receivers Marques Colston and Robert Meachem. Additionally, the Saints get back a healthy and super-aggressive Jeremy Shockey (Tight End) who had been nursing a bruised toe. The Saints were 0 - 3 without Shockey this year and the amount of presence he gives to their offense cannot be underestimated. And let's not forget about Reggie Bush!
On the other hand, Arizona also has a wide range of offensive weapons. Running backs Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower were quite effective against the Packers, combining for a total of 130 yards from scrimmage. Additionally, Kurt Warner will continue to spread the ball around to several different receivers, which will pose a problem for the New Orleans defense. But keep in mind that it took perfection from Warner to get past the Green Bay Packers.
My prediction: New Orleans 35, Arizona 27.
Game #2: Baltimore at Indianapolis
At first, I had entertained thoughts of the Ravens upsetting the Colts. Actually, I will be very pleased if this takes place. However, most of the Ravens points against the Patriots on Sunday came from Patriots' turnovers which put the Ravens deep in Patriots' territory. When the Ravens had to generate their own offense from their own territory, they were less successful.
On top of that, Joe Flacco was almost nonexistent as a passer on Sunday (his passer rating was a disastrous 10.0 out of a maximum possible 158.3). He was 4 for 10 for about 35 yards and with one interception (no passing touchdowns). This is probably due to his ongoing hip injury. In any case, because I do not believe that Indy will turn the ball over multiple times the way New England did, this could slow down the Ravens' ability to score since they seem to have a somewhat one-dimensional offense. But if Flacco is able to get on a roll passing-wise, look out.
Another factor in my selection of Indy is due to my lack of faith in the Ravens' coach John Harbaugh. For reasons it would take too long to explain, I just haven't had confidence in many of his decisions this year. I spent many Sundays yelling at my TV while watching the Ravens lose several games they should have won.
My Prediction: Indianapolis 30, Baltimore 17.
Game #3: Dallas at Minnesota
Most of the experts are going with Dallas here. Then again, about 70% of the experts went with Green Bay against Arizona. I believe that the quarterback matchup here will be similar to the one from the epic Arizona/Green Bay battle. A young quarterback on fire against the seasoned veteran. I believe Tono Romo will play well but I think he will make some mistakes and mess up a little bit here and there. I predict that Brett Favre will take a page from Kurt Warner's book and play some terrific football.
Of course, I could be wrong. Favre can be incredibly nutty at times - throwing the ball away carelessly or fumbling unnecessarily or lofting the ball downfield into triple coverage. In his playoff career he has thrown 39 touchdowns and 28 interceptions - not a particularly good ratio. However, during the regular season for 2009 he really cut down on his errors, landing 33 TD's and only 7 picks, for the best ratio of TD's to interceptions in the NFL. In the end, I have a hunch that Favre and the Vikings in general are going to make a concerted effort not to turn over the ball. I also predict a surprisingly strong game for the difficult-to-contain Adrian Peterson. And Minnesota is 8 and 0 at home in the dome this season. The Cowboys are playing excellent ball these days, but I'm sticking with the Vikings.
My Prediction: Minnesota 34, Dallas 24.
Game #4: NY Jets at San Diego
Tough call here, but I'm going with San Diego in a squeaker. I do not believe that rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez will be able to duplicate the phenomenal performance he had against Cincinnati. I also think that San Diego just has too many offensive weapons for the Jets to handle. Yes, the New York Jets is the number one ranked defense. But the Green Bay Packers were the number two rated defense and their defense got clobbered by Arizona. Once you get to the playoffs, the regular season rankings go right out the proverbial window. And Philip Rivers is one of the best and most accurate passers in the league, with a variety of great receivers to choose from.
The great thing about San Diego is that if their passing attack isn't quite working, they have very fresh and injury-free running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles, both of whom can be a nightmare to deal with if they find any sort of hole in the defense.
For their part, the Jets also have a fine offense. The explosive Shonn Greene and the solid, reliable Thomas Jones set the tone for the Jets' sound running game. And Dustin Keller (Tight End) and Jerricho Cotchery (Wide Receiver) combined for a total of 166 receiving yards against Cincinatti.
I should probably mention that I like both these teams, so I will be happy with whomever takes it. It doesn't really matter to me either way.
So, in the end, I am going with all four home teams - and therefore, all four top seeds. (I wonder if all four top seeds have ever advanced to the AFC and NFC championship round before.)
My Prediction: San Diego 30, New York Jets 24.