NFL divisional playoff predictions
Comments (...)I got all of one of my picks right on wild-card weekend ... and picked the Lions to play the Saints a lot closer than they did. Here's my likely ill-fated attempt to do better in Round 2.
Saints at 49ers (3:30 p.m. Saturday, FOX)
Much as fans and media make too much a deal of home-field advantage, there's lots of concrete evidence that the Saints just don't perform as well on the road, and especially outdoors, as they do in their dome. I love this Saints offense, and saying it's responsible for last year's playoff loss at Seattle is just wrong (the Saints put up 36 points). But in today's NFL, what the Saints are to offense, the 49ers are to defense. They're the real deal. And while Frank Gore didn't exactly have the kind of year (4.3 yards per carry, 8 TD) that merits the gushing compliments he receives throughout every Niners broadcast I watch, I can see him going off for 125 and a pair of scores on this Saints defense. Please don't make me look completely stupid for this pick, Alex Smith ... or Drew Brees. 49ers 30, Saints 27
Broncos at Patriots (7 p.m. Saturday, CBS)
If Tim Tebow could do that to the top-ranked defense in the NFL, couldn't he do better against a Patriots defense and secondary that's been brutal this season? I'm betting he cannot. The Patriots aren't as banged up on the defensive line as the Steelers were, nor are they holding out a key member of their defensive backfield as the Steelers did with Ryan Clark. More importantly, I seriously doubt Bill Belichick plays Cover-0 throughout the game the way Dick LeBeau did. New England's mostly bad cornerbacks will probably have plenty of help. If that means the back-to-Earth Willis McGahee gashes seven-man fronts enough that Tebow gets credit for another win he didn't really earn (he earned last week's, but that is the exception, not the norm), so be it. I think it means the Broncos won't keep up with Team Brady. Patriots 34, Broncos 17
Texans at Ravens (12 p.m. Sunday, CBS)
The runaway winner of the Least Sexy Matchup of the Weekend award could actually be a pretty good game. Lots of people are calling for a Ravens blowout win. That means they're expecting a team quarterbacked by Joe Flacco to pile up points on a really good defense. I don't see it, and yes, I'm aware that Ray Rice is a Raven. When you add in the fact that the Ravens defense just isn't what it's been in most of the past several seasons, the Texans have a chance. If I trusted T.J. Yates just a little bit more than I do, I'd come right out and pick them. I'm not exactly bursting at the seams with confidence in Flacco, either, but I think he prevails. Ravens 17, Texans 13
Giants at Packers (3:30 p.m. Sunday, FOX)
I love how the entire country, it seems, is convinced the Giants are the real deal because of a couple of good games ... and how everyone suddenly seems to think the Packers are beatable. Why, and why? The Giants still don't know how to run the ball, and unless they're going up against the playoff version of Matt Ryan, they've not exactly shown themselves to be great in coverage (though they can, I must say, rush the passer). Aren't they playing Aaron Rodgers and the Packers this weekend? Does anyone remember what Rodgers did this season, or last postseason? Who cares if the Giants had a similar late peak on their way to the Super Bowl a few years ago? That was a different team, and it didn't have to go through this Packers team. Packers 42, Giants 27
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