Atlanta at Arizona
At first glance this game seems like an easy one to pick. Atlanta has been one of the more consistent teams in the league this year, and their offense has been close to unstoppable. Arizona, conversely, struggled mightily in the second half of the season, and managed only three wins outside of their division. They are the most one-dimensional team in the league, and their high-powered passing attack will have to face John Abraham this week.
I'll admit, I'm not ready to predict that the Cardinals will win this game. But this could be a very close. Atlanta's defense is really bad. Yes, they can get after the quarterback sometimes, but they give up a lot of yards, and sometimes have had to rely on teams coughing up the ball to end drives. Kurt Warner has played plenty of playoffs games, and Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are ready to go. I think the Cardinals need to continue to give the ball to Edgerrin James, who has come back to life a little the last couple weeks.
Still, Atlanta can control the ball in this game, and assuming Matt Ryan doesn't fall apart, a turnover-free game should be enough for Atlanta to take this one. Falcons 34-28.
Indianapolis at San Diego
The Colts are the best team without a bye in these playoffs. But, they'll be playing on the road probably all the way through. I think this game has the biggest chance of being a blow-out. I see the Colts taking their time moving up and down the field, and their defense bending-but-not-breaking. It is hard not to go with Peyton Manning. Colts 27-13.
Baltimore at Miami
I love watching the Ravens play, and this should be a good match-up for their style of play. If there is one team that won't get flustered by the wild cat offense, it is the Ravens. That said, Miami is another team that has been pretty consistent all year, and always comes ready to play. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown are not going to find much room against the Ravens defense, and Chad Pennington's floaty-but-accurate passes better be even sharper.
Baltimore struggled earlier this year against good teams because they weren't finishing games. They seem to have learned how to do that now. Ask Dallas. I see their running backs pounding the Dolphins defense. Ravens 20-13.
Philadelphia at Minnesota
The Vikings are one of the few teams in the NFL anymore that seems to have a legitimate home-field advantage. When the fans show up, the Metrodome is loud. The key to this game will be whether one or the other jumps out to a big lead. The Vikings haven't really fallen that far behind at all this year, but they play tight when behind. The Eagles have simply been awful when they are losing.
If Tarvaris Jackson can stay on his feet and find his check-downs, the Vikings might really surprise people on Sunday. The weirdest thing about this game is that the Eagles have become the "dark horse" of this year's playoffs. Every year one team gets a bunch of attention at the last minute, and everybody starts picking them. I'm not sure the Eagles deserve it. If their run-defense has a huge day, they will win. Otherwise, this is a toss-up. Vikings 24-21.
Hypothetical Playoff Predictions that will change with the outcome of this weekend's games
If all of my above picks are right (no chance), here is how I see the rest of the playoffs going:
AFC
The Ravens victory would force them to travel to Tennessee, and the Colts would take on Pittsburgh. I think that would set up a Steelers-Titans rematch in the AFC Championship, and the Steelers would win.
NFC
The six-seed Eagles would completely change the NFC if they got into the second round, but I don't think they will. So, I see Atlanta losing to New York, and Minnesota losing to Carolina. Then the Panthers would go to New York and win that rematch.
I guess at this point predicting the Steelers to beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl seems as safe as possible. That will change in about 48 hours.
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