A trip to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis is up for grabs this Sunday afternoon when the NFC’s No.4-seed New York Giants clash with the No.2-seed San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in this season’s conference championship.
This NFC Championship game was supposed to be a Heavyweight showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints but in a shocking development the old adage “defense wins championships” came to fruition and the offensive juggernauts were sent packing.
The Texans looked great on both sides of the ball last week in their playoff win over Cincinnati, but now they have a tall task taking on a Ravens’ team that went undefeated at home this season and has a great defense.
A trip to this season’s NFC Championship Game will be on the line this Sunday afternoon when the No.4-seed New York Giants and the No.1-seed Green Bay Packers clash at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
On a weekend full of intriguing NFL playoff matchup, possible the best of the bunch may be a battle between the offensive juggernaut New Orleans Saints and the insanely talented defense of the San Francisco 49ers.
Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos will look to stun the football world once again as they continue on the road to Super Bowl 46 this Saturday. After coming in as 7.5-point underdogs, the Broncos will now take on the New England Patriots in Foxboro who are favored by 13.5 points.
The Lions reached the 10-win plateau this season to make the playoffs, but they have a tall task to advance facing a red-hot Saints team.
The NFL playoffs kick off Saturday afternoon in Houston. A few weeks ago the Texans beat Cincinnati 20-19 on a last second touchdown. It looked like that would knock the Bengals out of the playoffs, but they backed their way in because other playoff contenders flopped at the end of the season.
Houston has just missed the playoffs several times, but they are finally a part of the postseason.
Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) vs. Houston Texans (10-6)
Time/Date: 4:30 PM EST, January 7, 2012
Venue: Reliant Stadium
Broadcast: NBC
Bengals vs. Texans Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
Spread: Texans -3
Moneyline: Houston (-170) Cincinnati (+150)
Over/Under: 38.5
The Bengals were expected to be terrible, but this young squad came together quickly.
Which team will move on?
Andy Dalton will get plenty of consideration for Rookie of the Year honors, and he definitely deserves it. Carson Palmer deserted this team after a 4-12 year last year, and many believed the team would do even worse this year. Dalton stepped into a difficult situation and excelled in his rookie season in the league.
He threw 20 touchdowns and had a respectable 80.4 quarterback rating this year. A.J. Green definitely helped make Dalton’s transition easier. Green topped the 1,000 yard receiving mark in his rookie season. He is destined to be a star for many years to come. The Bengals must get Cedric Benson and the ground game going in this one.
It was the Cincinnati defense that led this team to the playoffs this year. Several weeks into the season they were the top ranked defense in the NFL. Key injuries to guys like Leon Hall and Keith Rivers hurt this unit in the last few weeks, but they have continued to be solid. Nate Clements and Reggie Nelson lead a solid secondary, while Domata Peko and Geno Atkins provide strength on the front line. Cincinnati gives up 20.2 points per game.
Houston saw its top two quarterbacks go down with an injury this year. Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart are both expected to miss the rest of the year, so it is up to rookie T.J. Yates. Yates was an unheralded rookie coming into the season, but he has filled in admirably for this team. Yates completed 61% of his passes this year, and he threw for 949 yards in limited action. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Texans are led by a great tailback tandem. Arian Foster and Ben Tate combined for more than 2,100 rushing yards this year. Foster’s versatility in the passing game is a big perk for this team. Tate was a bit of surprise to most of the league, but he averaged an impressive 5.4 yards per carry this year. Andre Johnson missed a lot of time this year, but he is expected to be ready for this one.
Last year the Houston pass defense was the worst in the NFL, and this season they ranked third in the league. Johnathan Joseph, formerly a star for the Bengals, stepped in and made this Texans secondary much better right away. Joseph led the team with 15 pass deflections and four interceptions this year.
Brian Cushing led the team in tackles, and this group of linebackers is ultra-talented. Overall, the Texans finished the regular season ranked second in the NFL in total defense.
Both of these teams are led by a strong defense. I don’t expect either team to put up big points in this one. I like the value on the under.
Free NFL Pick: Under 38.5
The Pittsburgh Steelers head to the Mile High City on Sunday to take on a suddenly struggling Denver Broncos team that has already exceeded all expectations.
The NFC fifth-seed Atlanta Falcons and the fourth-seed New York Giants clash in the Wildcard Round of this season’s NFL playoffs this upcoming Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
Well, it all comes down to this for a resurgent Broncos team. This game is not exactly short in the story line department either. The most notable one has to be the fact that new Kansas City quarterback, Kyle Orton has the chance to keep the team that cut him earlier this year, out of the playoffs.
The Detroit Lions clinched a playoff berth last week and for all intents and purposes this is somewhat of a meaningless game.
The Chicago Bears have lost their last 5 games to fall out of the playoff race and under .500. Truth be told I never really saw them as a legit contender and if they finish at .500 that seems about right, even though their path to getting there was different than expected.
It has been a season to forget for the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have lost eight of their last nine games. Pittsburgh still has a shot at home field advantage in the playoffs, but they must win this game.
The Steelers have won 9 of the last 10 meetings between these two rivals.
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) vs. Cleveland Browns (4-11)
Time/Date: 4:15 PM EST, January 1, 2012
Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium
Broadcast: CBS
Steelers vs. Browns Gambling Odds from 5Dimes
Spread: Steelers -7
Moneyline: Off
Over/Under: 36
The Browns would love nothing more than to end the season by hurting their hated rivals playoff positioning. Don’t expect Cleveland to roll over in this one.
Ben Roethlisberger didn’t play in last week’s game against the Rams, but he is expected to return for this regular season finale. Big Ben has thrown 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions so far this season. He will certainly be a bit gimpy due to his sprained ankle, but he has shown the ability to fight through injury plenty of times before. Rashard Mendenhall had one of his best games of the year last week against St. Louis. Mendenhall averaged 6.4 yards per carry last week. Mike Wallace is one of the best deep threats in the NFL. Pittsburgh has four players with at least 41 receptions this year. The Steelers average 20.8 points per game.
Pittsburgh’s defense continues to be the main reason this team is such a dominant force. The front seven is the best in the league. James Harrison, Lamarr Woodley, James Farrior, and Lawrence Timmons are beasts in the 3-4 defense of Dick LeBeau. Woodley is listed as doubtful for this one, but Jason Worilds is a very good replacement. The secondary is tremendous, and it all starts with free safety Troy Polamalu. This defense has no real weakness. Pittsburgh allows just 14.5 points per contest. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Cleveland’s offense has been lacking explosiveness all season long. Colt McCoy has improved in his second year as the starter, but he is listed as questionable for this one due to a concussion suffered last time these teams met. Peyton Hillis hasn’t had a good season overall, but his last two games have been much better. Hillis ran for 99 yards two weeks ago and 112 last week against the tough Ravens defense. The Browns need a big game from Hillis to have any chance in this game. Greg Little has been the most consistent receiver for this team, but they are lacking a big play maker on the outside. Cleveland is averaging a miserable 13.9 points per game.
The Browns defense has actually been very good this year. Cleveland has had a lot of close games because this unit has held the opposition down even when the Browns offense is doing almost nothing. The primary reason for the big improvement on defense is the talented secondary. Joe Haden has an amazing 19 pass deflections this year. Haden is the young leader of this talented secondary. Cleveland has struggled against power running teams. Overall, the Browns are giving up just 19.6 points per game this year.
The Browns will fight hard in this one, but they are overmatched. Pittsburgh has plenty of incentive to be playing hard all the way in this one. Expect Pittsburgh to cover here.
NFL Free Pick: Steelers -7
The Colts (2-13) have won 2 straight games, but many fans in Indy may bee rooting for the Jaguars in this game. The Colts are tied with the Rams for the worst record in the league and if the Rams lose to the 49ers and the Colt beat the Jags than St. Louis would end up with the first pick in the draft.
The Saints (12-3) have already wrapped up the NFC South and the 3rd seed in the playoffs, but if they win this game and San Francisco loses to St. Louis New Orleans will have the 2nd seed and a bye in the first round in the post season.
