Well, this is the first time that I'm predicting any sort of playoff system other than the MLB, so let's see how this goes. Wild-Card weekend is tomorrow and Sunday, Divisional round the week after that, the Conference championships after that. Then it's the Super Bowl. Four wins for some teams, three for others, but only one team can hoist the Lombardi Trophy on February 2.
Wild-Card Round
Chargers at Bengals
The San Diego Chargers have no business being in the playoffs. They made it into January with Miami and Baltimore losses, and a fairly controversial win against the Chiefs. Meanwhile, Cincinnati has stayed atop the AFC North for quite some time, and just generally seems like the better team. (Editor's Note: See how little I know about this? Pretty soon I'll be picking teams based on which uniform I like better.) Cincinnati moves on, and as the 3-seed, will play the Patriots in the Divisional round.
Chiefs at Colts
Indianapolis went 9-3 against AFC opponents, tied for the best record in the conference with Denver and New England. The Colts also went 6-2 at home, losing only to the Dolphins and Rams, both out of the playoffs. The Chiefs, who started 9-0, lost five of their final seven games, and are sort of stumbling into the playoffs. It's chalk on the AFC side, as it's a 1/4, 2/3 setup in the next round.
Saints at Eagles
The NFC seems like it will have the better of the playoff games, the more exciting ones. New Orleans is pretty good, and Philadelphia is pretty good too. The Saints went 2-3 in their final five games of the regular season, while the Eagles went 7-1 in their final eight, including some must-win games. Hot hand goes to the Eagles at home, and they'll face the Panthers in Carolina.
49ers at Packers
As good as the NFL playoff system may seem, it often puts the better team on the road, in this case of the 8-7-1 Packers, NFC North champions, hosting the 49ers, coming in as a 12-4 wild-card team. Green Bay couldn't figure it out without Aaron Rodgers, and the 49ers have seemed pretty solid all year, coming pretty close to the top seed in the NFC and home-field advantage. In the lone upset of the first weekend (and I use that term ironically), the 49ers move on to set up a divisional contest against the Seahawks.
Divisional Round
Colts at Broncos
It's almost as though this postseason was created by the NCAA selection committee (for basketball, that is), because both of the AFC Divisional Round games are rematches won by the visiting team. The Colts beat the Broncos 39-33 to hand them their first loss of the season. The Broncos are 1-3 against potential AFC playoff opponents not from Kansas City (they beat the Chiefs twice), but are 6-2 on the road, albeit against fairly weak opponents. Everyone wants to see a Brady-Manning rematch, so let's see if we can make it happen. Broncos move on to the AFC Championship, fairly arbitrarily.
Bengals at Patriots
If there's one thing that's dangerous at this time of year, it's New England in January. The weather, that is. Not that Cincinnati is a ray of sunshine in the winter, but it's especially tough to play in Foxboro in the playoffs. A Broncos win means this would be the Patriots' only home game of the postseason, and they too will avenge a loss against a familiar foe. New England lost to the Bengals 13-6 on the road in October, a game in which Tom Brady went 18-of-38 passing for 197 yards, not even close to his season averages of 60.5% completion and 271 yards passing. The real Brady shows up at home, and it's once again Brady-Manning for the chance to win the Super Bowl.
49ers at Seahawks
What a game this should be. Each team defended their home turf during the regular season, with the Seahawks picking up a 29-3 win in Week 2, and the 49ers winning the rematch in San Francisco, 19-17 in December. And what a matchup of quarterbacks, too, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick. Quick, mobile quarterbacks that can still sling it in the air. Seattle is one of the best teams at home, going 7-1 in Seattle this season, and having the ability to cause a minor earthquake. The Seahawks move on to the NFC Championship, also held in Seattle.
Eagles at Panthers
This is the point in the predictions where I realize I'm probably going to be totally wrong, as I'm about to take straight chalk to the championship games. One and two seeds throughout. Maybe that's how it will actually work out, but if there's anything I've learned from March Madness, it's that it's rarely chalk. Alas. Tough to say no to the Panthers and one of the best defenses against the league, although Philadelphia is exciting with Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy. Ah, to hell with it, let's mix some things up. Cam Newton falters under the playoff pressure and Philadelphia finds a way to move on to the NFC Championship.
Conference Championship Round
Patriots at Broncos
You asked for it, football world, and it's a rematch of the Patriots and Broncos, this time with much higher stakes - a trip to the Super Bowl. New England won the regular season contest, a game in which they trailed 24-0 at the half, stormed back in the second, and won 34-31 in overtime. It was a game in which the Patriots probably had no business winning, but they did. At home. This game is in Denver, where the Broncos went 7-1. Denver also has one of the best offenses in history, breaking the single-season points record, passing yardage and passing TD records (individually by Peyton Manning), and probably lots of other stuff that highlights their offense being really good. But, as I warned, there was not going to be much to these playoff predictions, and I was right when I picked the Red Sox to win it all, so hell, let's take the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
Eagles at Seahawks
Seattle seemed to be one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, and rightfully so. They're a sound team overall, are one of the best at their home field, and have a quarterback with the most wins in his first two season in the league. The final NFC playoff game will be a true testament to the exciting nature of these football games, and it will be one that Seattle takes home at home. The Seahawks move on to Super Bowl XLVIII (that's 48 for those keeping score at home) against the Patriots.
Super Bowl XLVIII
Patriots at Seahawks
Well, I just found out that Bruno Mars is the halftime show of the Super Bowl, so I'm going to have to find something else to do at that time. Damn. This seems like a Super Bowl matchup that a lot of people are picking. I'm not sure why, but it also makes pretty good sense. Two good teams with not impossible paths to the Super Bowl. Which will be held outside, in the north, possibly in the snow. This would help the Patriots more than the Seahawks, especially because they play at least one game in the Meadowlands each year, when they travel to play the Jets (the Giants also play at this stadium). I've put a lot less into my NFL predictions (you can tell the difference between this and my 2013 MLB predictions, if you've read them), but the end result is the same - the hometown team taking home the title. Again, there's little merit to why I'm actually picking the Patriots, but we've seen that they can do this before. They're a few plays away from being 5-0 in Super Bowls since 2001. (Conversely, they're also arguably a few plays away from being 0-5. But that's a little tougher to argue.) The experience and winning nature of this team, this franchise, and the head honchos (Belichick, Brady, Kraft) are going to be the key factors in this unusual Super Bowl. New England takes home the title by a score of 27-17, and claims stake to the Vince Lombardi Trophy for teh 2013-14 season.
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