Divisional Round Predictions

It is upon us. One of the best weekends in all of sports is here and their are some great match-ups happening. The Ravens and Jets are fresh off road wins and hope to carry over that success this weekend. The Cowboys are red hot right now, will Minnesota's talent be too much for Dallas to handle? Can the Cardinals defense stop the Saints offense? Can the Saints defense stop the Cardinals offense? There are a ton of questions heading into this round, let's take these games one by one.

Cardinals at Saints

This game has the potential of being an all-time high scorer. As good as Kurt Warner was last weekend, throwing for 5 touchdown passes, that's how bad the Cardinals defense was in blowing a 21 point second half lead. The secondary of the Cardinals was gashed all day in allowing 45 points to the Packers. Bring in the Saints. With their plethora of weapons being greater than that of Green Bay it's hard to imagine Arizona's defense stiffening up this week. But wait, the Saints defense hasn't exactly played like the 85' Bears this year. They are a vulnerable bunch that ranked 25th in total defense during the regular season. They ranked 20th in points per game allowing 21.3. That bodes well for an Arizona offense that seems to hit its stride once the postseason rolls around. The biggest battle in this game will be between Kurt Warner and Drew Brees. Whoever can score the most points in this game will win. I know how that sounded but it's true. Defense will be at a minimum, a lot of pressure will be on these quarterbacks to perform. Anquan Boldin should play this week and that is huge for the Cardinals, who always seem to get hot this time of year. On the other hand the Saints lost their last three games of regular season, two of which they were clearly trying to win including a home loss to the Bucs in which they blew a 17-0 lead. There are concerns in New Orleans about how this team has played of late. Can they rebound and earn a spot in the conference championship game or will Arizona continue their run of postseason success. I like the second option. Cardinals 38, Saints 34.

Ravens at Colts

In a shocking game last week the Ravens got on the Patriots early and often en route to a 33-14 pounding of the New England Patriots. A game in which Tom Brady threw more interceptions (3) than touchdown passes (2), and the Patriots were held to 196 total yards. The Ravens defense played well echoing the powerhouse they had a few years ago. But in come the Colts with NFL MVP Peyton Manning and company. This Indianapolis team began the season 14-0 before resting starters and taking it easy over the final two weeks of the season to finish 14-2. I have never seen a quarterback take control of a game and breakdown defenses with such consistency. Let's not forget about the weapons he has to throw to. Reggie Wayne has replaced Marvin Harrison as Manning's go to receiver and has answered the call. Dallas Clark continues to be a top tight end and Austin Collie has stepped in well for the injured Anthony Gonzalez. Baltimore on the other hand does things a lot differently. They love to run the ball, handing it off to Ray Rice and Willis McGahee who racked up 221 yards rushing against New England. But they need Joe Flacco to play better. Flacco had only 4 completions last week for 34 yards. That will not get it done against this Indianapolis team. Colts 28, Ravens 17.

Cowboys at Vikings

Brett Favre is back in the playoffs for the first time since the NFC Championship game two years ago in which he threw an overtime interception to the Giants Corey Webster setting up a game winning field goal and sending Favre into another offseason of questions. He was with the Packers then and after a short stop with the Jets he is now in a Vikings uniform looking for one more run at a championship. Favre has had a resurrection this season, playing like the Favre of old. The array of weapons he has at his disposal is scary for opposing defenses and he has played mistake free for the most part and has lead the Vikings to an undefeated home record this year. Bring in the Cowboys, clearly the NFL's hottest team right now. Bring in Tony Romo who is playing at an all time high and who was an efficient 23/35 last week with a QB rating of 104.9. Bring in the rushing attack of Felix Jones, Marion Barber, and Tashard Choice. And finally, bring in that Cowboys defense that has played like the 85' Bears of late. Anthony Spencer and Demarcus Ware are abusing opposing offensive lines and making things miserable for opposing quarterbacks. The linebackers led by Bradie James and Keith Brookings are playing the best they have all season and the secondary has been all over receivers with Mike Jenkins blooming this year into one of the best corners in the NFL. The Cowboys are too hot right now and the Vikings struggled down the stretch. The magical run continues for Dallas, Cowboys 31, Vikings 21.

Jets at Chargers

I have been waiting to write about this game all week. Ever since I knew that these two teams were going to be playing I knew exactly who I though would win this game, and I can't even wait until the end of this write-up to declare my pick. The Jets will win the game. People aren't going to understand why I'm so confident in a mediocre 9-7 team going cross country to face a team that went 13-3 and is on an 11 game winning streak. Why would I pick the Jets who got a gift to even be in the postseason to go the AFC Championship game when they have to play a Chargers team that boasts the leagues 5th best passing offense with weapons like Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates? I'll tell you why...I love the match-ups. I love the match-ups. I love the match-ups. I can't stress this enough. Let's start with the Jets on the offensive side of the ball. New York has the best rushing attack in the league averaging 172 rushing yards a game while the Chargers have the 20th ranked rush defense. Shone Green and Thomas Jones will be running up and down the field all day allowing the Jets to control time of possession and allow Sanchez to make comfortable throws. On the other side of the ball the Jets have the best defense in the league and will be able to hold Rivers and the San Diego offense to a minimum. Miraculously this Jets team will be part of the final two in the AFC. Rex Ryan stays cocky. Jets 21, Chargers 17.

There you have it. Looks like Jets at Colts and Cardinals at Cowboys for championship weekend. Just enjoy this weekend coming up because its truly the best.