Four Teams, One Goal

This Sunday, the four remaining teams in the NFL playoffs will square off for the right to play in the Superbowl. In the NFC the 12-4 Seattle Seahawks will host the 12-4 Green Bay Packers. These two teams faced each other in week one and Seattle won handily 36-16. Since then, Aaron Rodgers has put up MVP type numbers and won last weeks game against the Cowboys despite a tear in his calf. Russel Wilson has looked sharp throughout the year and is poised to repeat as Super Bowl champion.

In the AFC The Indianapolis Colts will travel to Foxborough to face the 12-4 New England Patriots. Andrew Luck has led the league in passing yards this year and looks to use his momentum from two playoff wins to beat the favored Patriots. These two teams have met twice recently with New England winning both comfortably due in large part to a run-heavy game plan.

Here are our bold predictions for Sundays match ups:

Top Quarterback Performance:

James- Andrew Luck vs Patriots: (300+ yards 2 touchdowns 2 interceptions) I believe the Colts will fall behind in this game because of New Englands potent offense which will call for Luck to throw the ball to keep it close. Luck has looked good against both Cincinatti and Denvers strong secondaries and seems much more comfortable this year in the postseason. Look for Coby Fleener to have a big day similar to what Owen Daniels did against the Pats and I believe Ty Hilton and Hakeem Nicks once again will have a touchdown each. 

Joe- Russell Wilson vs Packers: (300 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) Green Bay is good at throwing th ball around. This will force the Seahawks to try and keep up. I think Russell WIlson is up for the task and will make some big throws. Once in the red zone Wilson wil continue to capitalize on his scramble ability to spread the defense out.

Top Rushing Performance:

James- Marshawn Lynch vs Packers: (120 yards, 1 touchdown) Lynch was strong in the week one win vs the Packers. He rushed for 110 and two touchdowns and had plenty of yards after contact as usual. Lynch seems to feed off the home field energy and Sunday should be no different. Green Bay has struggled to defend the run all year and DeMarco Murray was solid last week against them especially outside the tackles. look for Lynch to spring a few big plays to ignite the Seahwaks offense.

Joe- Dan Herron vs Patriots: (100 yards, 1 touchdown) Herron has played well for the Colts since taking control of the backfield.  I think Herron will be able to get some room especially if Luck has success throwing the ball. I also feel that he will do well against the Patriots front seven.

Breakout Performance: 

James- Shane Vereen vs Colts (50 rushing yards, 70 receiving yards two touchdowns) Vereen has always seemed to make huge plays in the clutch to ignite the Patriots. Indianapolis has a very soft run defense which the Patriots have exposed before. With Vereens east-west style of running look for him to go off tackle and get big chunks of yard when Brady & co. go up-tempo. Also, I expect a hug passing play out of Vereen that will swing momentum in the Patriots favor or possibly seal a victory. It is big-play guys like Vereen that help win championships.

Joe- Jerrell Freeman vs Patriots: (5 tackles , 1 sack) Yes, I picked a ILB as my breakout performer, but this is because I believe he is the key to stoping the Patriots. If Freeman can stop the runs up the middle and make the Patriots one dimensional (a lot easier said then done with the Patriots three headed monster in the backfield) then they can slow down the offense and take control of the game.

Game Predictions:

 

NFC- James: Seahawks 26-23
          Joe: Seahawks 24-21
AFC- James: Patriots: 31-24
          Joe: Patriots: 27-17