NFL Playoffs Round 2 Predictions

Ravens at Steelers

The Ravens were the only team that truly impressed me last week.  Take that momentum and add some extra inspiration from Ed Reed after the disappearance of his brother, Brian Reed, and I think the Ravens will be ready to give the Steelers a run for the money. The last four meetings between these two teams have been decided by a field goal, and I do not expect this game to be any different.  Although I believe that the Steelers have the advantage at QB, I believe that the Ravens' RB tandem of Ray Rice and Willis McGahee is better than Steelers' RB Rashard Mendenhall.  Both defenses are loaded at all positions with Pro Bowl players.  Both teams are so evenly matched that there is no way to make an objective decision one way or another, so I'm simply going with my gut here and am gonna say that the Ravens will pull out a narrow victory.

Ravens 20  Steelers 17


Jets at Patriots

This game will be so full of trash talk that Cortland Finnegan would like a saint.  Frankly, I do not expect the Jets to even be able to stick within 10 points of the Patriots.  No, I am not on the Tom Brady bandwagon, but I do think that the Patriots' run game with Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead is much better than the effort that the Colts attacked the Jets' defense with.  By combining their run game with Tom Brady's determination to not throw any interceptions and Wes Welker, the Patriots will most likely be turnover free in the game while Matt Sanchez's lack of accuracy will lead to multiple turnovers.  Therefore, in a much more high scoring game than the other AFC game, I believe the Patriots will shut up Rex Ryan's Jets. He will probably enjoy the big foot that will be shoved in his mouth, just ask his wife.

Patriots 38 Jets 16


Seahawks at Bears

After the Seahawks shocked the world by beating the Saints last week, it would be very easy to jump on their bandwagon and say that they have a chance against the Bears, especially because they beat the Bears during the regular season.  I won't be one of those bandwagon jumpers, however.  I think Jay Cutler will finally play decent and Matt Forte's dual threat of running and receiving will wear the Seahawks defense down.  Da Bears' WR's Hester, Aromashadu, and Knox will have to catch some errant throws from Cutler, and if they do so, the Bears will be good to go because I think that the Bears will shut down the Seahawks offense barring another miraculous run from Marshawn Lynch.  All in all, the Seahawks are not playing at Qwest Field this week.  The game will be played in the cold, windy, snowy conditions of northern Illinois at Soldier Field; therefore, the Bears will advance to the NFC Championship game.

Bears 24  Seahawks 13


Packers at Falcons

This will definitely be the better of the two NFC games. Lucky for the Falcons, the game will not be played at Lambeau Field.  Although Hotlanta has surprisingly gotten a good deal of snow and ice in recent days, the game will not be affected by the weather as it will be played in the Georgia Dome. The Packers' defense has looked great over the last few weeks bringing pressure from all angles thanks mostly to Charles Woodson and Matthews.  On the other hand, the Falcons enter the game winning 9 of their last 10 games (including a 20-17 win over the Cheeseheads) thanks to the great play of QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner.  Once again, these two teams are very evenly matched.  I believe that Green Bay has a slight edge on defense, but I believe that Falcons have a much bigger edge on offense.  Although Green Bay rookie James Starks has looked pretty good out of the backfield, I do not believe his sheer athleticism will cut it against the Falcons' defense.  For the Falcons, I believe they will struggle at first, but their great leaders, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, and Roddy White will lead them back against the tough Packers' D.  Lastly, I think the x-factor will be TE Tony Gonzalez.  This another hard game to call, so I will lean on one factor to pick the winner: home field advantage.  Five of the six Packers losses came on the road, and the Falcons were undefeated at home.  Therefore, the game will be a great one, but I am going to have to go with the Falcons.  Vick's current team couldn't beat the Pack, but I think his former team will.

Falcons 31 Packers 28