
Green Bay at San Francisco: Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EST on FOX. This is a rematch from Week 1. San Francisco won that game 30-22 in Green Bay. And, in that game, the 49ers were clearly the more physical team. Things have changed some since the start of the season. Most notably, the 49ers no longer have the steady hand of Alex Smith at the helm. Instead, they have the potentially more explosive but clearly more unpredictable Colin Kaepernick. But the thing that has remained the same is the 49ers defense and running game, especially with the return this week of Pro Bowl DE Justin Smith. Last week's respectable performance against Adrian Peterson notwithstanding, the Packers have been a bit porous against the run. That will eventually cost the Packers this week. The 49ers will be able to chew up enough clock and keep Aaron Rogers off the field just long enough to pull out a close victory.
Seattle at Atlanta: Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on FOX. Right now the Seattle Seahawks are darlings of the national media. And it's easy to see why. They have a quarterback in Russell Wilson who is easy to root for. We all got to see the 'Hawks throttle the 49ers on NBC on a Sunday night in late December. And, Seattle's strong defense and running game should travel well. But, let me remind you that the Atlanta Falcons are the #1 seed in the NFC. The Falcons finished the season with a record of 13-3. That kind of record is not a fluke. And while the Seahawks have showed defensive dominance in the last month over the likes of the 49ers and the Redskins, they have not faced a receiving corps anywhere near the caliber of the Falcons'. I am not saying that the Falcons will fly up and down the field. But, Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzales will get the Falcons some points. The other factor is that Seattle is coming from the West Coast for a 1:00 p.m. EST kickoff. Gamblers will tell you that West Coast teams with early kickoffs on the East Coast consistently struggle. Add to that the fact that the Seahawks are making their second trip to the East Coast in as many weeks. That is a lot for a young team to overcome. Mattie Ice and the Falcons will come out of the gates fast. The Seahawks will eventually regroup and perform respectably, but they will not be able to overcome the Falcons' explosion to start the game.
Houston at New England: Sunday at 4:30 on CBS. We saw this game a month ago. On December 10, the Patriots annihilated the Texans 42-14. I understand that both teams enter the game with identical records of 12-4. But, they are clearly trending in different directions. The Texans lost 3 of their final 4 games heading into the playoffs. The Patriots only loss since Week 6 came against San Francisco. Not too shabby. I do not expect this game to be competitive. I don't know if the Patriots can repeat their 42-point performance, but I do expect Brady and the boys to win by at least three touchdowns.
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The prediction of the Atlanta v. Seattle game could not have been much more accurate if you had waited and written it after the game was over.
ReplyDeleteYou were right about the Packers losing because of the 49 run game, you just didn't say it was gonna be the QB.