Divisional Playoff Picks

The Wild Card round of the Playoffs didn't start off very well, but ended in dramatic fashion as the Broncos finished off the reigning AFC Champion Steelers in overtime. This weekend has a lot of promise, as all 8 teams playing have won their respective divisions. There's a few rematches from the regular season, but you can throw that out of the picture because there is nothing like playoff football. So here are my picks for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.

Saints at 49ers: I love the way Drew Brees is playing right now, but this defense is no cake walk. The 49er run defense poses a huge threat to the Saints, who have ran the ball with great efficiency in the past month. It will be a tough battle, but in my mind it all comes down to quarterback play. I have 0 trust in Alex Smith to perform well this afternoon, so I have to go with my boy Drew Brees. Saints 28, 49ers 13


Broncos at Patriots: If you haven't read already, I have a large man crush on Tim Tebow. I think he will play a great game, but in all honesty, Tom Brady and company are going to go crazy against a Broncos defense that hasn't played well as of late. New England will need to control the pass rush of the Broncos, but having Tom Brady behind center should do the trick. This could be a blowout, but for football's sake, let's hope for a good game. Patriots 31, Broncos 20


Texans at Ravens: This will be my wild card pick, but I'm so unsure about this game. I keep going back and forth even though the Texans are without their top two quarterbacks. I love the Ravens defense in this one, but the Texans must stick with their strength. Expect to see a whole lot of Arian Foster, with a ton of screen passes going his way as well. I don't trust Flacco to send this team to the next round, so I've got the Texans. Texans 13, Ravens 10


Giants at Packers: The New York Football Giants are playing better than they have all season, reminiscent of their Superbowl run four years ago. It will be a lot tougher to go through Green Bay this year, as Lambeau Field will rocking and rolling with a 15-1 team on the field. Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning both are battle tested, but I expect the Packers to handle the Giants in a shootout. Packers 41, Giants 35