NFL Picks - Divisional Round

Saturday

Baltimore @ New England

It's time for round two of the NFL playoffs and boy do we have some interesting match-ups in the AFC. Interesting, but also a bit predictable (COUGH ... Go back and check my preseason picks ... COUGH ... Ignore half of the NFC ... BURP ... Whoops, I thought that would be a cough). There's plenty of postseason history between these two squadrons recently, with this being the fourth time the Ravens have made a January trip to Foxborough in the past six seasons. Up until this point Baltimore is 2-1 in those games, so we shouldn't be shocked if they are able to pull off the upset on the road. Then again, I'd be less shocked if the Patriots won. Then again, I'd be even less shocked if I had worn rubber gloves that day that the power lines went down; I might have been able to save those people too. I expect a close game that the home team finds a way to win.

Patriots 24-20

Carolina @ Seattle

When asked about his team's three consecutive losses to the Seahawks in the last three seasons Cam Newton said that he's not worried because both teams are different now. Well he's right, the Seahawks' defense is better than they were when they held the Panthers to 9 points in October. And this game is being played in Seattle, which cannot be said about any of the past three contests. In other words, Newton better hope that this game is similar, because if it's different it probably means things will be much worse for him.

Seahawks 23-6 

Sunday

Dallas @ Green Bay

It's the match-up America wanted. And from the looks of it it's the match-up the NFL wanted as well. The Cowboys showed great determination last week in their comeback victory over Detroit. Nothing was going to stop them, not even an announced pass interference call. But so what if Dallas needed all the help it could get? They were at home, a place where they're a mediocre team. Now they get to go on the road where they're undefeated. Unfortunately for them the game is in Lambeau Field where no road team has won this season. The Packers have been dominant at home, especially on offense, scoring an average of 39.8 points per game. The cold weather and playoff atmosphere should bring that total down a bit, but I'm guessing they'll still score enough to get the win.

Packers 30-23

Indianapolis @ Denver

In his rookie season Andrew Luck made it to the playoffs and lost in the first round. In his second season he got to the divisional round and lost. So now in his third year it would only make sense for him to get to the conference championship. However, Peyton Manning (former Colts QB, look it up) and the Broncos stand in his way. Denver is undefeated at home this season and 24-3 in the Manning era. But included in those three L's is a playoff loss in the divisional round, so an upset here is not out of the question. The one thing I keep coming back to is Andrew Luck's tendency to turn the ball over; he's given it away 9 times in four playoff games. Committing turnovers on the road is hard to overcome, especially in the postseason. This might explain why Luck has yet to win a road playoff game. I don't think this will be his first.

Broncos 34-24