NFL Divisional Preview: Who Knows, maybe i'll correctly pick a game this week

So, last weekend's Wild Card ending was soul-crushing in so many ways. For the second time in three years, the Packers end their season by losing a game in OT......but the show must go on

Cardinals vs. Saints

Hey, the Cardinals are who we thought they were, The Packers defense took the weekend off and handed it to them. The Saints are struggling but anytime you got Drew Brees at QB you have a chance to light up the scoreboard. Plus both of these teams are equally capable of being utterly incompetent on the defensive end. The Packers and Cardinals may have combined to break a bunch of playoff records last weekend. I wouldn't be shocked to see those same records being broken this weekend. Definitely a lot of potential for an Arena Football Style score.

Saints 70 Cardinals 56

Ravens vs. Colts

Not sure which direction I want to take here. I'm still not sold on the Ravens being Super Bowl bound despite their win over New England. The Colts are way more talented but since their starters haven't gotten serious playing time in almost a month, they probably won't bring their A-game. Colts ain't going all the way but they at least live to see another week.

Colts 28 Ravens 14

Cowboys vs. Vikings

It would be totally sweet if these teams could lose to each other. There is absolutely nothing redeemable or likable about either team and their QBs (Romo and Favre). A match-up between two QBs who horribly under perform in the clutch, either way whoever wins is getting ambushed by the Saints. Since Tony Romo has never held the Packers hostage I will begrudgingly pick him to win his second playoff game.

Cowboys 17 Vikings 10

Jets vs. Chargers

So they Jets have a nice little win streak going and somehow found their way to the second round. They were playing a team from Cincinnati which these days is a victory for the opposing team regardless of it's the NFL (see above), College Football (my body is probably still mad at me for this one) or College Hoops (i've seen Cincinnati's basketball team choke in the clutch twice in the last week in a half while working out at the gym).

In addition to being immensely more talented, the Chargers have played so well, they couldn't lose even if they wanted to. Another advantage for San Diego is they play the weakest team that made it to the second round.

Chargers 35 Jets 21

If you don't learn anything else from It's Always Sunny, You Gotta Let the wild card do his thing: Wild Card Playoff Preview

Well the regular season is over. 17 weeks of action and we are down to 12 teams. 4 of them have the weekend off. The other 8 play for their playoff lives this weekend.

Saturday: Jets vs. Bengals

I would definitely say the Jets are the worst of the playoff bunch. They have been in dysfunctional since a 3-0 start, they have a rookie QB in Mark Sanchez who had a less than stellar season. It looked like they were on the verge of giving up sometime in November. But with last sunday's game the deciding factor between whether the Bengals would face the Texans or Jets, the Bengals got "dominated" and are rewarded with facing an inferior team.

The Bengals, they are the surprise team of the season. Nothing was expected of them, they went through way more adversity than any other team in the league and they have come out the stronger team for it. I'm indifferent towards both teams but i'll probably be pulling for the Bengals in this one. I'd like to see what Carson Palmer can do in a playoff game. His last opportunity was cut to one play due to a gruesome injury. For a couple years it didn't look like he'd get a second chance. The motivation between this second chance and an inferior opponent will lead to a Bengals rout.

Bengals 31 Jets 10

Eagles vs. Cowboys

Personally don't care for either of these teams. The Eagles have played as well as one could for the last decade without actually winning a Super Bowl. Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid have taken a lot of heat for this but outside of the T.O. fiasco this team has been a year-in, year-out playoff contender.

The Cowboys played better down the stretch than they have in the last few years. While McNabb has usually led the Eagles to a playoff win or two before bowing out, he's practically Joe Montana compared to Tony Romo. Unless Romo actually goes through a playoff game without laying an egg and/or losing, I can't in good conscience pick the Cowboys to win a playoff game.

Eagles 28 Cowboys 24

Sunday

Ravens vs. Patriots

Not to high on either team's Super Bowl hopes. The Ravens are more talented than their 9-7 record (but not that much more talented). I thought the Ravens were going to break out with Flacco having another year of experience under his wing.

The Patriots return to the post-season after a brief absence. They had a good season but seem to be missing that killer instinct that they had during their Super Bowl run plus losing Wes Welker to injury doesn't help things. However, i'm applying the reverse Tony Romo principle for this game. Hard to pick against Brady in a playoff game.

Patriots 21 Ravens 10

Packers vs. Cardinals

Obviously, this is the game out of the four that I am anticipating the most. This is going to be Aaron Rodgers' debut on the big stage. He's proven to be more than worthy in his two years as a starting QB and I can't wait to see him light up the Cardinals D.

The Cardinals are coming off a crushing Super Bowl loss to the Steelers last year. The Cardinals (well their second string) are coming off a blow out loss to the Packers.

Obviously, the degree of difficulty this Sunday is going to be a lot higher. With Rodgers on one side and Warner on the other, look for lots of yards and points to be accumulated on both sides. This will come down to who can make A stop (not necessarily a lot) of stops on defense and considering the Packers have Charles Woodson and the Cardinals don't that is being reflected in my pick.

Packers 45 Cardinals 35