NFL Playoff Picks 2012: Exploring Upset Chances in AFC, NFC Championships

It's hard to think that any team in the AFC and NFC conference champions can be truly considered an underdog. They had to play at the top of their respective games for the duration of the regular season and win at least one playoff game to get to the place they're at now.

However, there are clear favorites and clear underdogs in the two conference championship games scheduled for this Sunday, and ultimately for good reasons.

The Baltimore Ravens take on the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon, and it's going to take a far greater effort for the Ravens to emerge victorious than the Patriots.

The issue is offense. The New England Patriots have had 12 regular-season games in which they've scored 30 or more points. Though the Ravens defense is one of the best in the league, allowing only five red-zone touchdown passes this season, the Patriots have had 29 said scores and the odds are good that the Ravens won't be able to stop quarterback Tom Brady from adding to that total on Sunday.

If that is the case, the Ravens offense and their quarterback, Joe Flacco, will struggle to catch up. Flacco threw two first quarter touchdown passes in his team's win over the Houston Texans last week, but they were scored on short-field drives that resulted from two interceptions thrown by Texans quarterback T.J. Yates.

Otherwise, the Ravens scored just two field goals in that contest, defeating Houston 20-13. For Baltimore to defeat the Patriots on Sunday, they'll need more points than that, meaning that Flacco will have to have one of his best games of the season.

Though the Patriots defense has been weak this year, they were solid in last week's defeat of the Denver Broncos. They held Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow to just 136 passing yards and kept pressure on him throughout the game.

If they have a similar showing on Sunday, it's going to be even more difficult for the Ravens to score the upset win. The Ravens will have to rely heavily on their defense to make plays and hold Brady and company to a low-scoring day in order to win, and it just doesn't seem likely that they'll be able to do that for four full quarters.

The Ravens are a good team, to be sure, and have had an excellent season. But when it comes to defeating the Patriots on Sunday and heading to the Super Bowl, Baltimore just isn't going to best the favored Patriots.

In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers host the New York Giants on Sunday evening and it's less clear which team is even the underdog. The Niners are the home team and two-and-a-half-point favorites, but that practically means the game is too close to call.

San Francisco won in impressive manner over the New Orleans Saints last week but the Giants had a big win of their own over last year's Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers.

The 49ers' biggest asset is their defense. They lead the league in forced turnovers and can put pressure on opposing quarterbacks like no other squad.

For San Francisco to win, their defense needs to continue to perform at a high level and their quarterback, Alex Smith, must minimize his chances to make mistakes.

He hasn't been particularly error-prone this year, throwing 17 touchdowns to just five interceptions during the regular season and wasn't picked off once last week, but things could prove more difficult for him against the Giants' strong pass rush.

Furthermore, the Giants offense has been on fire in the postseason, putting up 24 points in their Wild Card Round win over the Atlanta Falcons and 37 points against the Packers last week. New York quarterback Eli Manning has 607 passing yards in those two games, and six touchdowns to one interception.

If the Niners find themselves significantly behind, Smith will have to pass more in hopes of reaching the end zone. If that happens and the Giants can capitalize on the situation by putting pressure on Smith, they might be able to force the rare turnover.

It's going to be quite a battle between the Giants and 49ers on Sunday. Ultimately, the game will come down to which defense can bring the most pressure and force turnovers and how effective both offenses are in their attempts to score points.

The 49ers have struggled in the red zone this season, which has led to their kicker, David Akers, setting a single-season record for field goals made. If San Francisco has the same troubles this week, they could easily lose.

The Giants have been able to capitalize on their red-zone appearances, scoring a touchdown nearly 55 percent of the time, while the 49ers have managed to do so just 41 percent of the time.

That disparity in scoring could ultimately determine the winner of this game, meaning that the Giants have an excellent chance to pull off the upset victory and find themselves the NFC's representative in this year's Super Bowl.