Divisional Sunday Preview

Sunday, 1

Seattle +10 @ Chicago

Following a 3-year leave of absence from the postseason, Chicago returns to playoff action for the first time since their 2006 playoff run that landed them in Super Bowl XLI. They face off against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. This game features 2 of the last 5 NFC championship organizations. The 2 teams played back in Week 6. Seattle went into Soldier Field and beat the Bears 23-20 for 1 of their 2 road wins all season. Their 6 road losses came by an average of 20 points a game.

It's been difficult to forecast which Seattle team will show up week in and week out. I suspect that they will ride the momentum of last week's upset victory and play inspired football. Do they have what it takes to overcome their road deficiencies? They aren't exactly running into a buzzsaw in Chicago. The Bears did put together a fine season though. The combination of Jay Cutler at QB and Mike Martz calling the plays paid dividends. This proved to be a much better marriage than many thought. Defensively, the addition of Julius Peppers may have been the single most important move any team made last offseason. Put that together and you get an NFC North title. But Chicago is not unbeatable by any stretch of the imagination, as the Seahawks proved earlier in the year.

Think about this for a second. If Green Bay wins at Atlanta as I predicted, and Seattle pulls another upset, the 7-9 Seahawks would host the NFC Championship next weekend. I can't see that happening. Seattle will scare the Bears a bit, but Chicago moves on and continues their dream of winning a Super Bowl.

Prediction - Chicago 21 Seattle 16

Sunday, 4:30

NY Jets +9 @ New England

There has been plenty of talk leading up to this one. It is evident that these 2 teams simply disgust each other. Don't expect too many friendly exchanges amongst players on Sunday. The Jets were perceived to be the favorite in the AFC East coming into the season. They added players like LT, Santonio Holmes, and Antonio Cromartie to bolster a roster that made the AFC title game last season. The Patriots weren't ready to relinquish control of the division just yet. The Jets beat New England in Week 2 and it looked like there could be a power shift. New England rolled the rest of the season however, and finished with a 14-2 record that included a 45-3 beat down of the Jets the last time they visited Foxborough.

The Patriots were clearly the cream of the crop in the entire NFL throughout the regular season. Tom Brady has looked absolutely amazing. He will undoubtedly win his 2nd MVP, as he finished the season with an unheard of 9-1 TD to INT ratio. Take this and the fact that Brady has won 3 Super Bowls during his illustrious career, and New England has a clear advantage at that position. Though the Jets D will be fired up for this one. They were embarrassed by the spanking that Tom Terrific laid on them just over a month ago. Expect them to bracket their coverage like they did against Peyton Manning last week and force Brady to dink and dunk his way toward the end zone. Bart Scott, Darelle Revis, and company will come into this one with a mean streak and look to inflict punishment on the Patriots.

Last week I couldn't pull the trigger on picking all 4 road teams to win. Though I don't like all 4 road teams to win this week either, I do like all of them to cover the spread. Despite the 42-point New England win last time these 2 teams played, I think the Jets keep this one close. Rex Ryan will have his team ready to play, but Brady will not lose a home playoff game 2 years in a  row.

Prediction - New England 17 NY Jets 15