NFL Playoffs - Divisional Weekend

"Yeah! We won! We fuckin' did it! 23-0!! WOOHOO!!"
"Uh, no Jeremy...check out the scoreboard...the Panthers are the other guys. You lost."

(That was actually taken when the Giants nearly beat the Seahawks...3 times. Shockey thought Jay Feely had made the field goal...fucking numbskull...)

Washington at SEATTLE: Washington was one of the teams to beat the Seahawks legitimately (the other was Jacksonville.) That one wasn't really a bad game for the Seahawks, and I can't see a really obvious reason why they lost...I think it all boiled down to the Redskins having better field position, controlling the time of possession, and winning the coin toss in OT. I'm sticking to what I said about the Seahawks' cupcake schedule because as it turns out, they were last in strength of schedule in the league (.430), but they're 8-0 at home. As I mentioned, Washington was pretty lucky to beat them. I have my reasons to not pick the Seahawks too...Washington just beat the #1 defence in the league, Joe Gibbs is 17-5 in the playoffs, and the Seahawks haven't won a playoff game since before I was born. That being said, the Redskins only gained 136 yards of net offence and scored 14 of their points off turnovers last week. 136 yards won't be enough against the Seahawks since they aren't as likely to turn the ball over as often. Seahawks by 10, and over 40.5.

WAS #11 total offence vs. SEA #17 total defence
WAS #9 total defence vs. SEA #2 total offence

WAS #13 scoring offence vs. SEA #7 scoring defence
WAS #9 scoring defence vs. SEA #1 scoring offence

WAS #7 rushing offence vs. SEA #5 rushing defence
WAS #13 rushing defence vs. SEA #3 rushing offence

WAS #21 passing offence vs. SEA #25 passing defence
WAS #10 passing defence vs. SEA #13 passing offence

WAS #16 takeaways vs. SEA #2 giveaways
WAS #16 giveaways vs. SEA #18 takeaways

WAS #28 punt returns vs. SEA #18 punt coverage
WAS #2 punt coverage vs. SEA #30 punt returns

WAS #11 kickoff returns vs. SEA #19 kickoff coverage
WAS #6 kickoff coverage vs. SEA #18 kickoff returns

NEW ENGLAND at Denver: This was the toughest one to pick...The last game between these teams at Mile High was the Tatum Bell show...114 yards on 13 carries and 1 TD. Tom Brady also completed barely 50% of his passes, but the Broncos crappy pass defence still let them have 299 yards through the air. And that was also when the Patriots were having their major crisis on defence. I usually trust the head-to-head statistical matchups, but I think the stats for the Patriots defence are a little misleading. In 4 of their last 6 games, they've held their opponents to single digits. Not likely to happen here, but they should be able to score enough of their own points to squeak by. Patriots by 3, and over 43.5

NE #7 total offence vs. DEN #15 total defence
NE #26 total defence vs. DEN #5 total offence

NE #10 scoring offence vs. DEN #4 scoring defence
NE #17 scoring defence vs. DEN #7 scoring offence

NE #24 rushing offence vs. DEN #2 rushing defence
NE #8 rushing defence vs. DEN #2 rushing offence

NE #2 passing offence vs. DEN #29 passing defence
NE #31 passing defence vs. DEN #18 passing offence

NE #31 takeaways vs. DEN #1 giveaways
NE #11 giveaways vs. DEN #3 takeaways

NE #16 punt returns vs. DEN #10 punt coverage
NE #26 punt coverage vs. DEN #11 punt returns

NE #15 kickoff returns vs. DEN #29 kickoff coverage
NE #18 kickoff coverage vs. DEN #25 kickoff returns

Pittsburgh at INDIANAPOLIS: Well, the Bengals sure didn't need to have Carson Palmer going down, did they? The Steelers' last visit to the RCA Dome resulted in a 26-7 loss, but turnovers and failed onside kicks gave Indy a short field. If Indy has to punt too often, they're going to lose the battle for field position. Indy's punt coverage is pretty lousy. Pittsburgh's run defence is also pretty good, which means Indy won't be able to have the running game open up the passing attack. This one is likely to be very close. I'll go with Lucky Charms by 3, and under 47.5.

PIT #16 total offence vs. IND #11 total defence

PIT #4 total defence vs. IND #3 total offence

PIT #9 scoring offence vs. IND #2 scoring defence
PIT #3 scoring defence vs. IND #2 scoring offence

PIT #5 rushing offence vs. IND #16 rushing defence
PIT #3 rushing defence vs. IND #16 rushing offence

PIT #24 passing offence vs. IND #15 passing defence
PIT #16 passing defence vs. IND #3 passing offence

PIT #11 takeaways vs. IND #4 giveaways
PIT #7 giveaways vs. IND #9 takeaways

PIT #3 punt returns vs. IND #30 punt coverage
PIT #23 punt coverage vs. IND #19 punt returns

PIT #20 kickoff returns vs. IND #21 kickoff coverage
PIT #17 kickoff coverage vs. IND #29 kickoff returns

CAROLINA at Chicago: Jersey/A had a major breakdown on D and 5 turnovers on offence which isn't likely to happen in Chicago. Their encounter this season resulted in a 13-3 win for the Bears, which was the result of turnovers and great D. The running game will be the deciding factor, and Carolina just got 223 rushing yards against Jersey/A's #12 ranked rush defence. If DeShaun Foster can't do it again this week, they're done. The Bears defence had 24 picks and 41 sacks in the regular season, so they won't be doing much passing. If neither team is able to establish the run (which they won't, since Jersey/A missed a lot of open field tackles on Foster and Carolina's run defence is great), it will be a game that is won on special teams, where kickers and punters are made into heroes. Carolina has the advantage here since there's going to be lots of punts and not too many kickoffs. Panties by 3, and under 30.5.

CAR #22 total offence vs. CHI #2 total defence
CAR #3 total defence vs. CHI #29 total offence

CAR #8 scoring offence vs. CHI #1 scoring defence
CAR #5 scoring defence vs. CHI #26 scoring offence

CAR #19 rushing offence vs. CHI #11 rushing defence
CAR #4 rushing defence vs. CHI #8 rushing offence

CAR #17 passing offence vs. CHI #5 passing defence
CAR #9 passing defence vs. CHI #31 passing offence

CAR #2 takeaways vs. CHI #18 giveaways
CAR #15 giveaways vs. CHI #6 takeaways

CAR #2 punt returns vs. CHI #15 punt coverage
CAR #5 punt coverage vs. CHI #10 punt returns

CAR #26 kickoff returns vs. CHI #2 kickoff coverage
CAR #11 kickoff coverage vs. CHI #28 kickoff returns

Next week!

Carolina at Seattle
New England at Indianapolis