Playoff Predictions

Walker Minot

Wildcard

AFC

Texans over Bengals: the Texans will run the ball all over the place and as long as T.J. Yates has Andre Johnson to throw to the passing game will be good enough. The Bengals are led by a rookie quarterback who's good, but still has some growing to do before winning a playoff game.

Steelers over Broncos: the Steelers will be missing some key players in Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Clark, but they still have Troy Polamalu at safety and a banged up Big Ben. I don't like Ben Roethlisberger at all but he is a fantastic player who's very tough, capable of playing through injury to lead his team to a win. The Broncos defense gives them a chance, but the Steelers are too experienced.

NFC

Saints over Lions: this should be a really fun game to watch, both teams having ridiculous offenses. Lots of points will be scored. Drew Brees will take the prize however. He is so hot right now and the Saints will be looking to make up for their embarrassing loss to the Seahawks in the first round last year.

Giants over Falcons: the Giants looked great last week against the Cowboys and that will carry over into this week. The core of the team has won a Super Bowl so they have the experience and toughness to make a deep drive this year. Right now, Victor Cruz is the league's best receiver not named Calvin Johnson and Eli Manning has had a fantastic year. Also, the Giants D-line is healthy and looks scary.

Division

AFC

Patriots over Steelers: the injuries to the Steelers will catch up to them against the Pats. The Pats have a terrible defense, but Coach Belichick has two weeks to prepare for this week and the Steelers without Mendenhall and a weakened Big Ben are vulnerable. Tom Brady is a jerk, but also a very effective passer who will put up a lot of points.

Ravens over Texans: I like T.J. Yates, but he's not good enough to lead a team to a playoff victory over such an experienced defense as the Ravens. Joe Flacco isn't fantastic, but he's good enough to put up points against the Texans' D.

NFC

Giants over Packers: upset of the playoffs. The Giants look as good as anyone and will ride the momentum against the Packers. This will be a very close game but the Giants D-line will chase Rodgers around enough and their secondary will prevent too many points from being scored against them. Meanwhile, the dual threat at running back (Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs) plus Eli Manning and Victor Cruz gives the Giants enough balance on offense to win it against a mediocre Packer defense.

Saints over 49ers: the 49ers defense is fantastic, but more so against the run. Drew Brees will light it up from under center. The Saints are playing great football right now and Alex Smith is not a good enough quarterback to take the 49ers too far.

Conference Championship

AFC

Patriots over Ravens: the Ravens don't have the certain something that's necessary to make the Super Bowl. They are a good, not great team. The Patriots have a terrible defense but the Ravens offense isn't quite good enough to exploit it. Tom Brady will do his thing and the Pats will head to their fifth championship in the last decade.

NFC

Giants over Saints: right now these two teams have been playing better than anyone else in the game. They will go up against each other in the championship but the Giants superior balance will win out. All of the above comments about the Giants will lead them to victory, great defense, great passing to Victor Cruz, a solid running game, toughness, and experience.

Super Bowl

Giants over Patriots: a rematch of the classic 2008 game will end with the same result, not quite as close though. The Giants look great, they have a great coach, and they are very balanced. The Patriots look great, they have a great coach, but are not balanced. Their defense simply isn't good enough to win against a very good offensive team. Tom Brady will keep it close, but ultimately not close enough.