There are some big time surprises this year. Who expected the Chiefs and the Seahawks to be the #4 seeds for the AFC and NFC, respectively? Certainly not me. Who expected only one playoff team to come out of the NFC East? Again, not me. With the surprises comes the standards, almost everyone expected the Saints, Patriots, Ravens, and Packers to make the playoffs. One thing is for certain, the 2010 postseason will be a good one.

Wild Card Weekend

–AFC–

Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs
Winner: Chiefs
Even though the Chiefs are home and the higher seed, they are the underdog in this game. I actually like the Chiefs to “upset” the Ravens. The Chiefs are the best rushing team in the NFL and they don’t turn the ball over. They may not pass the ball for tremendous amounts of yards, but Cassel has thrown 27 TDs to only 7 INTs. He takes care of the ball and I don’t think he will allow Ed Reed to dictate the passing game. Also, the home field advantage will play a big factor. They Chiefs are tremendous at home having gone 7-1.

–NFC–

Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
Winner: Packers
Three weeks ago, the Eagles were my team to beat in the NFL. After that amazing win against the Giants, I was leaning Eagles in the Super Bowl and Michael Vick as the MVP. Since then, the Eagles have not played well and the MVP will definitely go to Tom Brady. The Eagles’ offensive line is simply not good enough. Vick is seemingly hit on every play and the Packers’ defense will come after him, early and often. On the other side, the Packers are on fire of late. They have basically already played two playoff games just to get into the playoffs and I expect them to ride the momentum.

Divisional Round

–AFC–

Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots
Winner: Patriots
Two words: Tom Brady. The Chiefs were a below .500 team on the road and the Patriots were a perfect 8-0 at home. The Chiefs simply won’t be able to score enough to win this game.

–NFC–

Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons
Winner: Packers
Again, I like the Packers momentum. The Falcons have a tremendous home field advantage, but they are beatable. The Packers have the 9th ranked offense and the 5th ranked defense, while the Falcons have the 16th ranked offense and 16th ranked defense. The Falcons generally play close games, and I expect this to come down to the wire.

Conference Championships

–AFC–

–NFC–

Super Bowl
Green Bay Packers vs New England Patriots
Winner: Patriots
This will be a tremendous rematch of the Week 15 Sunday Night Football game. This time instead of Matt Flynn leading the way, the Packers will have Aaron Rodgers at the helm. I think that actually favors the Patriots. I feel the Patriots struggled against Flynn since there was not much NFL film of him available. The Patriots will be well prepared and should be able to beat the Packers because they are the more balanced offensive team.

As you might have heard, the Seahawks are a below .500 team with a 7-9 record. This 7-9 team will host the 11-5 Saints. In addition to that, the Tampa Bay Bucs and New York Giants both miss the playoffs with a 10-6 record. To make matters worse, both the Giants and the Bucs crushed the Seahawks this season, outscoring them a combined 79-22. The Seahawks have been outscored by 97 points this season and they have lost five of their last seven games. Also, the Seahawks never lost by less than 15 points.

This phenomenon has many people complaining that the NFL should not allow teams below .500 into the playoffs or the NFL should re-seed the teams based on record, this way the Seahawks would not be hosting a playoff game.

I disagree with both of the above scenarios. If you win your division you should host a playoff game regardless of your record. It is that simple. If you want to re-seed based on record, then eliminate the divisions and just have two conferences. Divisions are important to the NFL, the best rivalries are usually among division rivals since they play each other so often.

It was not a coincidence that every game on the NFL Week 17 schedule was a divisional game, the NFL wanted people to watch games that matter. Imagine if the Rams played someone other than the Seahawks in Week 17, then if both teams win, the Rams are in the playoffs not the Seahawks. It eliminates the hype and the playoff feel of the game. Divisions need to mean something and hosting a playoff game is the best reward.

Not having a home game in the playoffs is not the end of the world, just ask the 2007 Giants. They won three games on the road and then beat the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl. If the Saints are the better team, they will be able to win on the road.

Having a home playoff game is tremendous for the Seahawks, Qwest Field is generally regarded as one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL and the 12th man will be felt by the Saints. In the end, I think the Saints will end up with a win, since they are the better team.

Do you think the NFL needs to change the rules? Comment Below

[Photo Credit: CultureMob.com]

The Bengals faced the Jets, only this time in Cincinnati, but that didn’t phase the Jets. The Jets received strong play from rookie QB, Mark Sanchez (12/15, 182 yards, 1TD/0INT), and from rookie RB, Shonn Greene (21 carries for 135, 1TD), in addition to a great game-plan developed by rookie coach, Rex Ryan. Darrelle Revis was dominant again, in limiting Chad Ochocinco to only 2 catches for 28 yards. Revis truly is the best CB in the AFC (I still like Woodson slightly more this season).

Although the Jets allowed Cedric Benson to rush for 169 yards (1 TD) on 21 carries, they didn’t let Palmer get into a rhythm. Palmer was 18/36 for 136 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. The Jets controlled the ball, won the turnover battle (2-0) and did not allow Sanchez to get sacked in the game. The Jets will either play the Colts or the Chargers next week.

The NFC playoff game saw the Eagles travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys, and they will wish this day never happened. The Eagles lost 34-14, which gave them a two week combined loss to the Cowboys of 58-14. The Eagles played solid football for three quarters, but the one quarter they didn’t play well in was the one that cost them the game. The Eagles allowed the Cowboys to score 27 points in the 2nd quarter, and only 7 in the other three.

The Eagles lack of offensive balance can be attributed to their inability to score points against the Cowboys. Everyone knew that the Eagles do not have the best rushing game, and Wade Phillips was able to perfectly game-plan for this. The Eagles were held to 56 rushing yards on only 13 rushing plays (43 passing plays). The Cowboys on the other hand had 198 yards rushing on 35 rushing plays (37 passing plays). The Cowboys are going to be tough to beat in the postseason. The Vikings will get a chance to beat the Cowboys next week in the Minneapolis, where the Vikings went 8-0 during the regular season.