NFL Playoffs 2016: Schedule and Predictions for Conference Championships

After all of the hype surrounding many of the wild-card teams when the NFL playoffs started, we're down to the top two seeds in each conference, which goes to show how much home-field advantage and the extra week off help.

The battle-tested New England Patriots will visit the defensive-minded Denver Broncos on Sunday, and the versatile Arizona Cardinals will enter the territory of the nearly perfect Carolina Panthers. Both matchups promise plenty of excitement.  

Let's examine both contests and pick which squads will advance to Super Bowl 50:

Road Team	Home Team	Time (ET)	Date
AFC
New England Patriots	Denver Broncos	3:05 p.m.	Sunday, Jan. 24
NFC
Arizona Cardinals	Carolina Panthers	6:40 p.m.	Sunday, Jan. 24

Conference Championship Predictions

AFC: No. 2 New England Patriots at No. 1 Denver Broncos

It's Peyton Manning versus Tom Brady in the postseason for the fifth time in the legendary quarterbacks' careers.

Brady is still playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the game, while Manning is a reduced version of himself. But don't take that at face value and give the Patriots the edge because of it.

First, Manning looked decent against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round despite what his lackluster passing numbers might say. His receivers had some terrible drops on many nearly perfect throws, and many of those drops cost Denver big chunks of yardage. It's reasonable to expect some regression to the mean Sunday afternoon.

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press/Associated Press

Secondly, the elephant in the room for this matchup is that the defenses are not evenly matched, at least on paper. The Broncos gave up the fewest yards in the league in 2015, both overall and against the pass. The Patriots ranked 17th and ninth in those respective categories. And Denver's pass rush is terrifying when it's on its game.

And lastly, you have to take into account home-field advantage. It's going to be loud in Denver, and a few of those Brady audibles at the line of scrimmage may not get to all of his teammates' ears perfectly.

Even with all of these factors working in Denver's favor, though, the Patriots still have Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and head coach Bill Belichick at the height of their powers, plus a somewhat healthy supporting cast. I have the Broncos winning by a nose.

Prediction: Broncos win, 26 24.

NFC: No. 2 Arizona Cardinals at No. 1 Carolina Panthers

Both the Cardinals and Panthers should be happy they got out of the divisional round. Arizona won the coin toss in overtime against the Green Bay Packers and scored on its first possession, while Carolina almost let the Seattle Seahawks come all the way back from a 31-0 halftime deficit.

However, each team needs to be ready for the high-quality opponent it's about to play.

Both squads are potent on both sides of the ball and have trustworthy leaders starting at quarterback, even though Carson Palmer had some rough moments against Green Bay. For that reason, the X-factor of this year's NFC Championship Game could be running back play.

Bob Leverone/Associated Press/Associated Press

For the Cardinals, Andre Ellington and David Johnson have filled in well for the injured Chris Johnson (leg) but mustered only 38 rushing yards against the Packers' 21st-ranked run defense Saturday. Meanwhile, Carolina's Jonathan Stewart showed no ill effects after returning from a foot injury Sunday, posting a monster line of 106 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against an elite run-stopping unit.

I thought Arizona would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl before the divisional round. But with Stewart doing that much damage to Seattle's No. 1-ranked run defense and the Panthers going up 31-0 in a half over the defending conference champs, Carolina showed me something Sunday, while the Cardinals squeaked by in a game they should have won handily.

The Cardinals are a great team, but the Panthers are on a mission this year.

Prediction: Panthers win, 28-21.