John Berger
Senior Editor
All things considered, this was a very entertaining and interesting NFL regular season. Three rookie starting quarterbacks are in the playoffs, and the last week of the year on the NFC side was pretty suspenseful as five teams were competing for two playoff spots. Hopefully, this will all lead to an equally entertaining post-season, full of drama. The Broncos locked up the number one seed in the AFC this past weekend, which makes them very tough to beat. The Texans, very formidable all year long, have all of a sudden appeared very vulnerable, having lost three of their last four games. The Packers lost against the Vikings to slide them out of the second seed, and into the third spot. It turns out that the awful call that lost them the game against the Seahawks ended up costing them the second seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. With that all said, here are my predictions for this weekend:
Saturday
Cincinnati AT Houston-
This game is essentially a rematch of last year’s wildcard playoff game. Last year, the Bengals travelled to Houston to take on the Texans on the opening Saturday at 4:30 P.M. This year, they’ll meet at the exact same time a year to the day, in the same venue. The Texans won last year’s game 31-10, shutting out the Bengals in the second half. Like I said above, the Texans are reeling a bit, and they’ve limped towards the playoffs. I still like them to win this game. They still have the third most efficient defense in the league, and Matt Schaub, Arian Foster and Andre Johnson comprise arguably the best offensive trio in the league. Their recent struggles not withstanding, Houston is too good to lose a home playoff game to the Bengals, a team that is only 2-2 against playoff teams.
Final Score: Texans: 27-Bengals: 17
Minnesota AT Green Bay-
As a Packers fan, this game worries me. Adrian Peterson is 1.A or 1.B in everyone’s MVP ballot, along with Peyton Manning. The Vikings beat the Packers this past weekend, and that shot of confidence can really help a team when they meet only six days later. The key in this game is about who can jump out to an early lead, especially a two score lead. It sounds cliche, but it’s true. Peterson has put up absurd numbers this year, rushing for 2,097 yards on 6.0 yards per carry. Nobody else in the league was even close to him as far as running backs go. As far as this Saturday is concerned, if the Packers get out to a quick two score lead, they’ll neutralize Peterson’s effectiveness and force Viking’s quarterback Christian Ponder, the weak link of the team, to beat them. Conversely, if the Vikings get out to an early lead, they’ll be able to up Peterson’s carries even more, and that’s dangerous for the Packers. I think the Packers will end up winning this one, but it’s far from a sure thing.
Final Score: Packers: 31-Vikings: 28
Sunday
Indianapolis AT Baltimore-
Rookie Andrew Luck will lead the Colts into Baltimore this Sunday to take on the Ravens. The Colts have been an inspirational story all year long. Their Coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia in late September, but he was able to return to the sidelines this past weekend for the team’s final regular season game. The Colts won two games all of last year, and lost their superstar, franchise quarterback, Peyton Manning in the offseason. All Luck has done in his first year is lead the team to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance. For Baltimore, Ray Lewis recently announced that he is going to retire after the season is over. Lewis has been the Ravens’ leader for over a decade now, and it will be interesting to see how he responds after being out for most of the season with a triceps injury. I think the Colts and Andrew Luck are good, but I can’t bank on a rookie quarterback winning a road playoff game.
Final Score: Ravens: 24-Colts: 17
Seattle AT Washington-
This game features a pair of dynamic, rookie quarterbacks. Robert Griffin III was the second overall pick in last year’s draft, and he’s shown that it was worth it for the Redskins to give up multiple picks to get him. On the other side, Russell Wilson was a third round pick who was doubted from the moment he was drafted. He won the starting job in the preseason and has been really, really good over the last few weeks as the Seahawks have caught fire and ended up being the most efficient team in the league. Seattle has not won a road playoff game since 1983. If this game was in Seattle, I would undoubtedly pick the Seahawks. Being that the game is in DC, I think the Redskins will come out on top. Alfred Morris was second in the league in rushing in the regular season, and he’s played particularly well as of late. RG3 has been hurt a little bit, but he’ll still do enough to get the win.
Final Score: Redskins: 28-Seahawks: 24
