Jay Shares his NFL Playoff Picks - Round Two

Well, the Wild Card weekend was an exciting one. We had 4 really great games with only the Chargers/Bengals game being a blowout. I went 2 for 4 with my picks. Not that great, so I plan to do better this weekend. Here is my breakdown of each game in Round 2.

Game 1 - New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
Saturday, January 11th, 4:35pm EST - FOX

Last week the Saints silenced all of the doubters, including myself, with a closely contested win in Philly. This weekend they go to face arguably the best team in football in the hardest environment to play them . . . . CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The Seahawks have the best home field advantage in the NFL, and the weather is calling for 100% chance of rain. The last time New Orleans played here, in December, they were absolutely destroyed, run out of the building, embarrassed to a tune of 34-7 on Monday Night Football. Seattle's defense is just too good. Their secondary is the best in the game, meaning Dree Brees will have to have an MVP-like game in order to over come Seattle's exceptional pass defense. The Saints' defense will have to find a way to contain QB, Russell Wilson like the Cardinals did a couple of weeks ago when they surprisingly beat the Seahawks in their home 17-10. I don't think New Orleans' defense is as good as Arizona's so that's going to make things problematic for them. Seattle's pass rush is also terrific, so Brees is going to have to get rid of the ball quick before he becomes a pancake in the backfield.

Jay's Verdict: The road to the Super Bowl ends for New Orleans in CenturyLink Field. The Saints defense will not be able to stop Wilson and Brees won't have enough to beat Seattle's juggernaut of a defense.

Seahawks win, 38-14

Game 2 - Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots
Saturday, January 11th, 8:15pm EST - CBS

It's January and the Colts are coming to Foxborough. I think I've seen this before . . . . this time, though, there's a different guy under center, QB Andrew Luck. For those that don't know me, I'm a Pats fan, through and through (insert reader rolling their eyes in disgust here). It's been a amazing 12 years to be a New England fan in the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era. But it's been a while since we won a championship in 2004. It's sad to say, but I don't think it's going to happen this year either. Looking at the Patriots injury report it is staggering and none more so than on their defense. Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Jared Mayo and Adrian Wilson are all on IR, and last week they lost Brandon Spikes, which may be the final nail in the coffin. Belichick has done it again, though. Somehow, someway he has pieced this team together and gotten the 2nd seed in the AFC, using a bunch of cast offs and no-names. Indy proved last week they can win a game despite making turnover mistakes. Luck torched the Chiefs secondary which is better than the Pat's, so that's kind of scary. Robert Mathis doesn't have to worry about covering Rob Gronkowski (also injured), so he's going to be gunning for Brady. The Patriots' offensive line has to have a phenomenal game against the Colts pass rush to give Brady time to connect with his receivers. Also, New England CB, Aquib Talib needs to shut down Colts WR, T.Y. Hilton. Fingers crossed . . . .

Jay's Verdict: Give Bill Belichick two weeks to prepare and he'll come up with something to get the Patriots to the AFC Championship game. He's done it before under the same circumstances.

Patriots win, 24-21




Game 3 - San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers
Sunday, January 12th, 1:05pm EST - FOX

This is going to be a great game. The Panthers have to be the surprise of the season, as they took a huge step forward towards being a Super Bowl team. Yet, still it seems no one believes they are for real. Going into Sunday Vegas has them as the underdog at home. How many more playoff caliber teams do the Panthers have to beat before people start taking them seriously? They beat the 49ers, my Patriots, and the Saints this season. Cam Newton continues to show he's a better quarterback than most give him credit for. Unfortunately, WR Steve Smith's status for the game is questionable as he is nursing a sprained PCL. Also, San Fran now has a fully healthy Michael Crabtree back on the field and the Carolina secondary will have to split their attention between him and Anquan Boldin. Both teams have a solid running game, so this contest will most likely come down to the quarterbacks. Here I give an edge to Newton as I've never been convinced that Colin Kaepernick is as good as many think. I don't think Carolina is going to make the huge mistakes Green Bay made last week by letting him run uncontested. It's going to be a close one . . . .

Jay's Verdict: Carolina's defense steps up to the challenge and Cam Newton has a solid performance as the Panthers send the 49ers packing and head to the NFC Championship game in Seattle.

Panthers win, 17-10



Game 4 - San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos
Sunday, January 12th, 4:40pm EST - CBS

Ok, I was wrong about the Chargers. I was most certainly wrong about the Bengals, I admit it. San Diego stepped up and played a great game. They'll need to do that again against the Broncos in Denver, which they've already done once this year when they beat them in December, 27-20. But this is Peyton Manning we're talking about here and he maybe the sport's biggest student. He'll make any adjustments he feels are necessary to win this game so Philip Rivers and company better come equally prepared. The Chargers defense has been pretty awful for most the year until suddenly over the last few games they've improved just enough to allow them to win. San Diego needs their defense to play at that level or higher or this will turn into a turkey shoot with Manning throwing bombs all over the place. It could get real ugly. Another factor will be Champ Bailey, who is going to play this Sunday. Even though he's a bit older now, he's still one of the greatest cornerback's of all time, and he could provide the shot-in-the-arm to Denver's secondary that it needs to stop the Chargers high-powered offense.

Jay's Verdict: As much as I'd love to see Manning lose this one, and have the Chargers come to Foxborough for the AFC Champioship game, I don't see the Broncos losing to San Diego twice at home this season.

Broncos win, 38-27


Well, I hope everyone enjoys what promises to be one of the best weekends of football of the year!