Super Bowl tournament is set
The NFL playoffs are set and there were a couple of surprises on Sunday in the AFC field.
The day began with Denver and the New York Jets needing just to win to make the playoffs. The Jets took care of business, beating down the hapless Oakland Raiders. But the Broncos, in one of the most shocking developments of the day, blew a 13-0 lead at home and lost in overtime to San Francisco, 26-23.
That game, combined with Cincinnati’s loss to Pittsburgh and Tennessee’s loss to New England, sent the Kansas City Chiefs to the playoffs. The Chiefs beat Jacksonville, 35-30.
The Broncos choke job completed a shocking fall from grace for the team, led by alleged genius Mike Shanahan. Denver started the season 7-2. Then, in the midst of a four-game losing streak, Shanahan changed quarterbacks, benching Jake Plummer in favor of rookie Jay Cutler. The Broncos went 2-3 in Cutler’s five games as a starter.
Two of the NFC’s playoff teams laid major eggs in the season’s final week. Dallas suffered a humiliating loss to Detroit - especially humiliating because the Lions could have secured the first pick in the draft with a loss. Chicago was hammered by Green Bay on Sunday night with quarterback Rex Grossman throwing three interceptions and earning a Blutarsky-like quarterback rating of 0.0.
The playoffs start next weekend with Indianapolis hosting Kansas City and Dallas hosting Seattle in the Saturday games. The Giants go to Philadelphia and the Jets travel to New England.
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AFC Playoffs - Stop the Presses - The Broncos are OUT
Nevermind those predictions - the Broncos just lost to the 49ers, incredibly, and that means that the Chiefs are going into the AFC playoffs as the sixth seed. The Chiefs will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts, so look out for an upset there - Larry Johnson and the Chiefs could be the Colts’ worst nightmare.
Regardless, the BIG story here is that the Broncos are headed home. The 49ers came into Denver and shocked the Broncos in OT, winning on a FG. Frank Gore also won the NFC rushing title with 153 yards, and the 49ers appear to be the weekend’s big spoiler in the NFL. They certainly spoiled New Year’s Eve in Colorado.
So there you have it, Chiefs fans - get your NFL playoff tickets now, as your team is active next week.
Super Bowl Prediction
We’ll continue to save you time in front of the television and just go ahead and tell you how the Super Bowl will turn out. That way, you can enjoy your party and pay attention to other things, like the commercials. The game will feature the Chargers and their overall balance against the Saints and their powerful offense. We’ll break down each facet of the game and come to a result.
Offensive Edge - Saints
Even though the Chargers have the best player in the game in LaDainian Tomlinson, the Saints have more weapons and can beat teams running, throwing or both. They have more firepower, and there’s a reason they’re at the top of the league’s offensive rankings as of this writing.
Defensive Edge - Chargers
The Saints’ defense is decent, ranking 11th in the league, but the Chargers have several players who can change a game, including Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman, who has to be accounted for on every play. NT Jamal Williams can single-handedly stall a running game, and the Chargers can easily win a game on the heels of their defense.
Special Teams Edge - Saints
Both teams’ special teams units are solid, but the presence of the electrifying Reggie Bush gives the Saints an edge. If special teams make the difference in the game, Bush very well could be responsible.
Coaching Edge - Even
This is an interesting match-up, as Sean Payton is one of the bright young minds in the game and Marty Schottenheimer is a veteran of hundreds of battles. These two will basically cancel each other out.
Overall, this could be a classic Super Bowl, and it says here that the Chargers will win a close, hard-fought game given their strong advantage on defense. The Chargers will be the next world champions, beating the Saints 24-20. If you’d like to see this first-hand, get to StubHub.com and grab your Super Bowl tickets.
AFC Playoff Prediction Number Three
The AFC will come down to the top two seeds, and the Ravens will head into San Diego with a lot of confidence by virtue of their early-season win over the Chargers. This game will resemble a rugby match at times, as each of these teams is known for bringing it in the physical sense every time they take the field.
In a low-scoring game, the Chargers get their revenge, although it’ll come down to the last minute, and the final score will be something along the lines of 13-10, as neither of these teams will give an inch. That sets up an unbelievable Super Bowl, as the Chargers will head to Miami to face their old QB in Drew Brees and San Diego native Reggie Bush.
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AFC Playoff Prediction Number Two
Moving further into the AFC playoffs, we see that the divisional round match-ups feature two very interesting contests, as the Jets fly out to San Diego and the Patriots head to Baltimore. Each of these games will be rugged and physical, as all of these teams are of high-quality and capable of beating anyone on any given day.
In the first game, the Patriots will give the Ravens a brave fight, but their overall lack of WR-generated offense will doom the Pats to another disappointing offseason, as the Ravens will brutalize the Pats’ running game, neutralize their TE’s and do just enough on offense to win.
The Jets will head into a very hostile environment in San Diego, and Chargers fans and players remember the last time these two teams met in the playoffs - the Jets won, and Marty Schottenheimer took a lot of heat for the way he managed the game. Given that and the energy from the fans, the Chargers will roll, winning 34-17.
That sets up a Chargers-Ravens matchup, which could be legendary in nature. If you’d like to see any of these games live, go to StubHub.com and choose from any number of playoff tickets.
AFC Playoff Prediction Number One
Unless something incredible happens today, the AFC playoff field has all but been determined. As such, we’ll take a look at how the games should play out next weekend as the Jets travel to Indianapolis and the Broncos head to New England. Each of these games should be very competitive.
The game in Indianapolis could be a surprise. The Jets can run the ball, and Eric Mangini has already shown a tendency to mercilessly attack opponents’ weaknesses. Therefore, expect the Jets to run the ball right down the Colt’s throats and for a New England-type Jets defense to confuse Peyton Manning. The Jets will win in the first upset in the AFC.
The other game will not feature any surprises. The Patriots remember who knocked them out of the playoffs last season, and they’re playing in Foxboro, where the Pats are almost impossible to beat. The New England defense will rattle rookie QB Jay Cutler, and the Patriots will advance.
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NFC Playoff Prediction Number Three
Continuing with our fearless predictions, the NFC will come down to the surprising Eagles and the feel-good story of the NFL this season, the New Orleans Saints. The Superdome will be as loud as any venue in the history of the NFL for this game, as the city of New Orleans will be in a frenzy over a potential Super Bowl appearance by their beloved Saints.
This game will feature the top two offenses in the NFL, and it’ll be a high-scoring affair. However, the emotion present in the building, and in the entire Gulf Coast region, will carry the day for the Saints, as they’ll have too many weapons for the Eagles to be able to contain. It’ll be a close game, but in the end, the Saints will advance to the Super Bowl with a 31-27 win.
New Orleans will go crazy for Super Bowl tickets, so get to StubHub.com now to claim your seats.
NFC Playoff Prediction Number Two
We’ll continue to save you some time by telling you how the divisional round of the playoffs in the NFC will play out. After securing victories in the Wild Card round, the Eagles will head to New Orleans and the Cowboys will roll into Chicago for two intriguing games.
The first game will feature the Cowboys facing the Saints, who boast of the top-ranked offense in the NFL. The Cowboys have been inconsistent on defense, and they’ll have way too much trouble containing all of the Saints’ weapons. Not to mention, can you imagine the atmosphere in the Superdome that day? New Orleans will be rocking like never before, and the Saints will move on to the NFC Championship.
The other game will pit the Eagles against the Bears. This will be a defensive struggle, as Eagles DC Jim Johnson will no doubt have a few tricks up his sleeve to confuse Bears QB Rex Grossman. The issue will be whether the Eagles can score enough to win. This will be a game where the first team to 17 points should advance. In an upset, the Eagles stun the Bears, 17-13.
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NFC Playoff Prediction Number One
Now that the NFC field has been all-but determined, save for a few unlikely scenarios that would change the seeding, it’s time to look ahead to see how the NFC playoffs could shake out. Using the seeding chart from NFL.com, we’re going to assume that the Eagles will wind up with the #3 seed.
Next weekend’s games, then, would feature the Giants traveling to Philadelphia to face the Eagles and the Cowboys heading to Seattle. Each of these match-ups is intriguing for different reasons, and each could result in an upset, but odds makers will no doubt see that as an unlikely scenario.
For the Giants to beat the Eagles, they’ll need another enormous game from Tiki Barber, as it’s become somewhat apparent that as Barber goes, so go the Giants. However, the Eagles will be ready for him after seeing the film from his domination of the Redskins last night, and they’ll likely gang up on him and dare Eli Manning to beat them. It says here that he won’t be able to do so, and that the Eagles will advance to the divisional round.
The Cowboys would have a real chance to surprise the Seahawks. For several reasons, including injuries, the Seahawks have had an inconsistent season, as have the Cowboys. This is also a great coaching match-up, as Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren have both enjoyed tremendous success. If Parcells is smart enough, and he is, to not place the burden of winning on Tony Romo, the Cowboys have the running game to win. Don’t be surprised to see this happen.
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It Looks Like the Giants Will Round Out the NFC Field
In a somewhat unexpected twist, the Giants showed up and played well in Washington Saturday night, and barring an incredible set of circumstances, they grabbed the final Wild Card spot in the NFC playoff field. The Giants were led by an unbelievable performance by RB Tiki Barber, who ran for 234 yards on only 23 carries, which more than made up for Eli Manning’s 101 yards passing.
The Packers can still snag that last spot from the Giants, but basically, several games need to fall the right way for the Packers assuming they can beat the Bears in Chicago, and many of those results would be extremely unlikely, to say the least. Stranger things have happened, but it’s time for fans to start including the Giants in the playoff field at 8-8.
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