2012 NFL Playoff Schedule: Why Patriots and Giants Are Locks Against the Spread

The New England Patriots and New York Giants are both locks against the spread in their respective conference championships on Sunday, and both are poised to set up a Super Bowl rematch that will give football fans tons of exciting storylines over the next few weeks.

Let's look at why these two teams are locks against the spread this week.

All spreads according to BetOnline.com.

Why Patriots Are a Lock Against the Spread

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will look to avenge his 2009 playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens this week, and his offense is playing as good as it ever has.

The Ravens defense is very good, but they are an aging unit. Star safety Ed Reed was injured in the final moments of the team's divisional-round win against the Houston Texans last week, and even though he will play against the Patriots, there's no certainty he will be at full strength for the entire game given his recent injury history.

The spread for the AFC Championship Game is Patriots -7.5, which in my estimation is incredibly low for a New England team whose offense is just on fire right now.

The Patriots create so many matchup problems for defenses with their two fantastic tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

Gronkowski is arguably the league's most unstoppable player right now (he had 10 receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns against the Denver Broncos defense last week.) Denver's defense is pretty good, and it's hard to believe that Gronkowski, Hernandez and the NFL's leader in receptions, Wes Welker, won't dominate on Sunday against the Ravens.

Joe Flacco hasn't done enough in his postseason career to lead me to believe that he can beat Tom Brady and the Patriots when New England's offense looks completely unstoppable.

Why the Giants Are a Lock Against the Spread

The New York Giants are two-point underdogs on the road against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. If the Giants pressure 49ers quarterback Alex Smith like they did Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers last week, then they will win this game easily.

The Giants sacked Rodgers four times, and his 264 passing yards was the fourth-fewest total of his season. The 49ers offensive line allowed the New Orleans Saints to sack Smith four times, and against the Giants pass rush that is playing their best football of the season, the challenge of protecting Smith will be extremely difficult.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning had a career year in the regular season, and played well against the Packers defense with 330 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

The Giants are the most confident team in the NFL right now, and with both their offense and defense playing well, they will beat the 49ers convincingly.

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