NFL Playoffs – Conference Championship Matchups
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The NFL postseason now moves onto the NFC and AFC Conference Championships with last weekend’s Divisional Round winners taking on each other for a spot in Super Bowl XLV.
The winners from each conference will face one another on Sunday, February 6 at Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington to compete for this year’s NFL World Title.
The following is a brief look at a couple of key facts and figures for each matchup along with the current pointspread as supplied by betED.com.
Sunday, January 23
3:00 PM (ET)
Green Bay Packers vs Chicago Bears (FOX-TV)
Pointspread: Packers -3
Over/Under: 44
The Packers were many people’s pick to go to the Super Bowl this season and even though they come into this game as the No. 6 seed in the NFC, they are one win away from making that prediction come true. A solid 21-16 win over No. 3 seed Philadelphia as a one-point road favorite in the Wildcard Round got the ball rolling and a 48-21 romp over No. 1 seed Atlanta in the Divisional Round as once again a one-point road favorite landed them in this game.
In those two wins, Green Bay has averaged 375.5 yards of total offense and behind the arm of QB Aaron Rodgers has averaged 258.5 yards in the air. The most impressive stat has been the 117 yards that the Packers have averaged on the ground after finishing the regular season ranked 24th in the league in rushing offense.
The Bears finished the season with an overall record of 11-5 and earned a first round bye as the NFC’s No. 2 seed. They faced No. 4 Seattle in the Divisional Round and quickly put the game out of reach by running up a 21-0 lead at the half. Chicago went onto win 35-24 to cover as a 10-point home favorite, but has to be a bit concerned over giving up 21 points in the fourth quarter of this game.
Bears QB Jay Cutler had a solid outing with 274 yards passing and no interceptions. He threw for two touchdowns and scored another two with his legs on runs of nine and six yards. TE Greg Olsen had a huge day with three receptions for 113 yards including a 58-yard touchdown.
6:30 PM (ET)
New York Jets vs Pittsburgh Steelers (CBS-TV)
Pointspread: Steelers -3
Over/Under: 38 ½
The Jets are making their second straight trip to the AFC Championship Game as the No. 6 seed in the conference.
They have also pulled off the rare feat of beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in back-to-back games.
New York knocked-off No. 3 Indianapolis 17-16 on a last-second field goal in the Wildcard Round as a one-point road favorite and pulled off the impossible 28-21 upset of No. 1 New England in the Divisional Round as a 9 ½-point road underdog.
New York’s defense gave up an average of just 342 yards of total offense to two of the most prolific offenses in the league. Its offense generated a workman-like average of 333.5 total yards a game, but the most important stats could be Mark Sanchez completing 34 his 56 attempts for 383 yards and three touchdowns verse just one interception.
Pittsburgh is headed to its 15th AFC Championship Game in franchise history after pulling off a dramatic 31-24 come-from-victory over Baltimore in the Divisional Round as a 3 ½-point home favorite. The Steelers fell behind 21-7 at the half after coughing up a couple of sloppy turnovers, but got right back into the game in the second half with 21 unanswered points.
The Ravens all but self-destructed in the third quarter with three turnovers of their own and -4 yards of offense.
The biggest thing that Pittsburgh has going for it against the Jets is the ability to stop the run. The Steelers’ defense finished the regular season ranked first against the run; giving up an average of just 62.8 yards per game. They were able to hold Baltimore 35 net yards of rushing in Saturday’s win.
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David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.
