Season Wrap-up/Playoff preview

The year closed out pretty close to what I thought. Most of the teams had things wrapped up, so there were not much to get wrong, but of course there are some I did. The Chargers lost a terrible game at Cincy and blew their chances. The Bears continued to be stronger than anticipated and got the #2 seed. The Steelers pulled an upset in Baltimore and got the AFC #2 seed. The Rams choked in Seattle and lost the NFC West.

I thought it would go
NFC: Falcons, Packers, Eagles, Rams, Saints, Giants.
AFC: Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Chargers, Jets, Steelers.
It turned out to be Falcons, Bears, Eagles, Seahawks, Saints Packers. 4 of 6 right and 3 of 6 seeds picked correctly.
It is Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Cheifs, Ravens, Jets. Had 5 of 6 but had the seeding wrong.

Here is where we stand now. The Patriots look unstoppable in the AFC. The NFC could have any of 5 of the 6 seeds and it really would not shock anyone (sorry Seattle. You blow)

This is how I see the next month rolling out:

Wildcard
AFC
3. Colts over 6. Jets: 31-20
Rex Ryan doesn't "put the shoe on the other foot", but rather has to pull his foot (fetish) out of his mouth on what has been a disgustingly controversial season.
5. Ravens over 4. Chiefs: 20-13
Ravens get up early. Cheifs get out of their comfort zone and Matt Cassell is not good enough to beat a worse-than-people-realize Baltimore Secondary.

NFC
6. Saints over 4. Seahawks: 34-13
Pete Carroll concedes as the Seahawks kick a field goal to make the score 21-3 instead of going for the TD as the half expires.
5. Packers over 3. Eagles: 37-24
Game of the weekend gets away from Philly when Vick gets banged up again. Aaron Rogers has a field day against a depleted Eagles secondary as the continue to try to blitz him. Kevin "corn" Kolb is not enough to save the season.

Divisional
AFC
2. Steelers over 3. Colts: 24-13
Pittsburgh can do what the Jets couldn't, play offense with balance. Ben "Down To Wed" Roethlisberger uses the play action to exploit a depleted Colts defense. Pittsburgh controls the clock and keeps Manning off the field. The Steeler D is too much for Manning to handle and a late interception ends the Colts chances.
1. Patriots over 5. Ravens: 31-16
Matt Cassell wasn't good enough, but Tom Brady is the best QB in the NFL. Joe Flacco makes a dumb play and throws an INT returned for a TD right before half to make the score 17-6 instead of taking the lead. Brady is surgical in the 2nd half against the Baltimore D and the Patriot Machine rolls on.

NFC
6. Packers over 1. Falcons: 27-24
As I stated before last season (scroll down to the middle), they will be building this up all week as the "next great QB rivalry" between Aaron Rogers and Matt Ryan. It does not disappoint. A game filled with lead changes, big plays and bigger drama, these 2 put on a show. Ryan finishes with 280 yds and 2 TDs. Rogers with 360 and 3 TDs. In a classic, Aaron Rogers completes a TD pass with :20 left (despite Mike McCarthy's consistent ineptness) to put GB ahead for good.
5. Saints over 2. Bears: 31-17
In a rematch of the 2007 NFC Championship game, New Orleans comes to play. Constant pressure keeps Jat Cutler on his toes all game. Despite Mike Martz's late season adjustments, which have been effective, Cutler ends up on his back too much and throws 3INTs. Sean Payton, with his best 2 RBs on IR, scraps the running game against the Bears strong run D and Brees throws for 4 TDs.

Championship
AFC
1. Patriots over 2. Steelers: 34-17
Its the worst possible match-up for Pittsburgh. Brady does what he always does and preforms surgery on the Steeler D. Playing from behind forces Pittsburgh to play pass only and Ben is under too much pressure due to the terrible offensive line. Brady and the Patriot Machine roll on.

NFC
6. Packers over 5. Saints: 34-31
The Saint host the NFC title game for the 2nd straight year, but become the first Wildcard team to ever do it. Brees throws a costly interception mid-2nd quarter leading to a Packer TD and a 21-10 lead. Scoring with only 2:25 to go to cut the lead to 3, Brees and the Saints kick off. Rogers needs 2 first downs to run out the clock. A completion on 2nd down moves the chains but they hit the 2 minute warning. The Saints still have a TO so GB needs 1 more first down. On 3rd and 6 Rogers runs for 10 yards and actually slides to seal the victory.

Super Bowl
Patriots over Packers: 31-20
This game will be better than what the score indicates. Back and forth scoring will keep some drama in it for the first half. What it all boils down to is when the first coaches challenge/booth review comes up and they show the split screen of Bill Belichick and Mike McCarthy. Belichick will have a great game plan for the 2nd half that will just be better than what GB can give them. Brady will put together a long, methodical, precision drive that covers 7 minutes and the 3rd to 4th quarter transition to put the score at 24-13. GB will score a TD and people will think that they can win it, but Brady will score again with under 4 minutes and we will be crowning New England Super Bowl Champs and Brady MVP..... again. Dammit.