Looking to Rebound: Divisional Playoff Predictions

I'll attempt to save face this weekend after a miserable 1-3 showing on Wild Card Weekend.

Saturday

Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers

"We want the ball and we're gonna score!"- Matt Hasselbeck after winning the overtime coin toss in 2003 Wild Card game at Lambeau. If you recall, this was the season that the nation was pulling for Brett Favre. Okay so that's every season, but it was even moreso in the '03-'04 playoffs because it was just weeks after his magical Monday Night performance in Oakland only hours after his father died tragically. I was one of those who was pulling for Favre, but for this brief moment, I began rooting for the Seahawks. It's rare that you find a person with the balls to make such a bold prediction at an away stadium, Lambeau Field no less. Unfortunately, it didn't work out in overtime for the Seahawks as Al Harris picked off Hasselbeck and took it straight to the house a few minutes after Matty's Nostradamus impersonation. I don't see today's game going much better for the visiting Seahawks. The running game is still sputtering and receivers Deion Branch and DJ Hackett are banged up. The Packers, on the other hand, come in rested and healthy and have the balance on offense that can off-set the Seahawks pass rush. It's been a magical and improbable season for the Pack, and I don't see it ending today at home. We see a vintage Favre performance as the Packers take it, 24-13.

Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots

Let's just for a minute go back to the 2005 season. The Jaguars go to New England as winners of eight of their last nine regular season games, while the Patriots were flying under the radar despite being the defending Super Bowl champions and winning their third consecutive division title with relative ease. Everyone loved the Jags in that hyped-up Wild Card game. Byron Leftwich, the quarterback at the time, was playing great, the running game was running all over everyone, and the defense was unbreakable. The Patriots won 28-3, winning the second half 21-0. Fast forward to 2007, the Jags have won seven of nine and, for some unexplainable reason, I have seen a number of analysts, the same ones who have gushed over the Pats week after week, pick the Jaguars to go to Foxboro and beat the unbeaten. I'm lost. The Steelers scored 29 points on them, imagine what the Pats will score. They melted down in the fourth quarter, losing an 18 point lead, imagine what they'll do if they somehow fall into a late lead and see Tom Brady's unflappable demeanor on the other side. So why will the Jags beat the Pats? Because their receivers average a height of 6'4. The Jaguars receivers are taller then the Patriots defensive backs. Awesome, they still are all slouches. Ernest Wilford led the team with 45 receptions this season, a number that would rank fifth on the Patriots, even behind running back Kevin Faulk. The Jags only hope is that Maurice Jones-Drew just goes off for a record day, or Tom Brady gets sick and doesn't play- two things that I don't see happening, and may not be enough for the Jags if they did. Brady and Moss give Gostkowski the day off, Pats win 35-17.

Sunday

San Diego Chargers at Indianapolis Colts

November 11, 2007: Week 10, Chargers 23, Colts 21.

You see the above score and say, well the Chargers pulled it off once, why can't they do it again? Well lets see.. Peyton Manning threw six interceptions, the Chargers scored twice on special teams and Adam Vinatieri missed two chip shot field goals, including the potential game winner from 29 yards out. Add all that up and the Chargers should've been up by so much that they should've been sitting their starters in the fourth quarter. Instead, it actually came down to the most clutch kicker of all time missing an almost unmissable kick. I'm still skeptical over Manning in the playoffs (I know he finally won a Super Bowl, but remember he threw 3 TD and 7 INT in the playoffs last year), but I am willing to bet my well being that he and Vinatieri don't perform that badly today, especially at home. Despite his own playoff struggles, I could see LaDanian Tomlinson single handedly winning this game for San Diego, especially on this surface where he'll run the 40 in about 3.4 seconds. Unfortunately the Chargers will be without Antonio Gates and his 984 receiving yards and nine touchdowns and I think that's ultimately where the upset talk ends. Tomlinson keeps it close against an overrated defense, but Indy gets its rematch with New England next weekend, 38-28 Colts.

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

This is the weekends most intriguing match-up, and the hardest game to pick for a couple of reasons. Number one, it's a division game, the teams know eachother well and anything can happen. Number two, while you may want to give the edge to Dallas, keep in mind that it is very hard to beat a team three times in the same season. And lastly, while the Cowboys boast the better record, and the darling quarterback, it's the Giants and their beleaguered quarterback who have played much better of late. I am tired of hearing about the Romo/Simpson drama, and I don't put too much into Romo's late season struggles because they had pretty much everything wrapped up in early-December, but you just get the feeling that the Giants are finally ready to win a game of this magnitude. Manning has strung together a few great performances against good defenses (NE, TB), and the defense was dominant in Tampa last week. The Cowboys have been off for a week, but have been off mentally for about a month and I could see them coming out very rusty in the early stages of the game. That's when the Giants have to make their move. I want to doubt Terrell Owens and his health, but I would never after his performance in the Super Bowl against New England. There's also the fact that he doesn't need to be at 100% to run by the Giants secondary which is suspect at best. They played well against Tampa Bay, but Romo and his cast are much more dangerous then Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway. I'm so tempted to pick the Giants and if they win, I'm going to hate myself for not going with my heart. Nevertheless, I'm taking Dallas to advance on the foot of Nick Folk- Cowboys win a classic, 34-31.

Here's to a better showing,
NostraDTMus