NFL Playoff Picks 2015: Odds, Predictions for AFC and NFC Divisional Round Bouts

The NFL's big boys come out to play this weekend, with the league's top four teams returning from first-round byes for the Divisional Round.

Each Super Bowl contender, especially the two NFC squads, finds an opponent of a different difficulty level waiting. All the hosting clubs are rightfully favored to advance through the weekend, but last year's champion will skip through a gift game.

The other guys? Not so much. These games will amend last week's predominant ugliness and go down to the wire, ultimately setting up the championship showdowns everyone wants to see.  

Away	Home	Odds*
Baltimore Ravens	New England Patriots	NE -6.5
Carolina Panthers	Seattle Seahawks	SEA -10.5
Dallas Cowboys	Green Bay Packers	GB -6
Indianapolis Colts	Denver Broncos	DEN -7

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

It's January, otherwise known as Joe Flacco month. Another sharp postseason outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers has everyone gushing over his playoff acumen once again.

Per the Baltimore Ravens' Twitter page, head coach John Harbaugh especially went too far:

Flacco's latest success is a far cry from 2009, when Baltimore beat the New England Patriots by 19 with four completions, 34 yards and a pick from the quarterback. NFL on ESPN monitored his recent playoff prowess:

An incredible team has carried the 29-year-old in past years, but his colleagues will drop him on Saturday. Sans Jimmy Smith, the secondary remains a grave concern despite picking off Ben Roethlisberger twice. With a healthier batch of running backs, Tom Brady can fend off the pressure that coerced those turnovers in that earlier game with a balanced attack.

Rated No. 11 in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA, New England boasts Bill Belichick's best defense in a while. Placed No. 12 in DVOA against the pass, a secondary led by All-Pro Darrelle Revis is significantly better than Pittsburgh's third-worst unit.

Prediction: Patriots 28, Ravens 20

Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Will the curse of defending champions continue? ESPN Stats & Info delivered a surprising tidbit about Super Bowl winners struggling the following year:

Get that trivia nugget out of your system now, as it will be irrelevant after Saturday. The Seattle Seahawks essentially lucked into a second-round bye by aligning against the Carolina Panthers, who need a victory just to climb over .500 for the year.

For the past five weeks, the Panthers have done their most convincing Seahawks impression, allowing 11.8 points per game while Jonathan Stewart stampeded for 104.8 rushing yards per contest. Yet Seattle does everything Carolina has during its schedule-aided hot streak, only at an elite level.

Closing out the season with a swarming six-game winning streak, the Seahawks surrendered just 6.5 points, yielding no touchdowns in four of those bouts. No team relinquishes fewer passing yards or garners more production through the ground. Only the Detroit Lions conceded fewer yards per carry.

From a betting standpoint, Carolina could lose a low-scoring defensive showdown akin to Seattle's 13-9 Week 8 win. Actually winning the game at CenturyLink Field, however, is a fantasy.

Prediction: Seahawks 23, Panthers 6

Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers

Just in case someone out there hasn't heard yet, the Green Bay Packers won every home game this season, while the Dallas Cowboys conquered every matchup on the road. Football Perspective points out the rarity of such colliding success:

That Aaron Rodgers is pretty good wherever he plays, but his opponents haven't stood a chance at Green Bay over the past two years, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Tony Romo, however, is the only quarterback who topped Rodgers in yards per attempt this season. Flag controversy aside, the 34-year-old led Dallas to a game-winning drive over the Lions, crushing the choker narrative with 293 yards and two touchdowns. 

"Tony is a tough guy," Jason Garrett told ESPNDallas.com's Jean-Jacques Taylor. "He's mentally tough and physically tough. He's been a damn good quarterback for a long time."

This has all the makings of a fun slugfest between two tremendous offenses and shaky defenses. While the Cowboys have defied expectations from last year's league-worst defense, they rank No. 22 in defensive DVOA, which doesn't include Detroit's 397 total yards last week.

Dallas is more likely to win than any other road team this weekend, and it could delve into a "whoever has the ball last" showdown. But Rodgers at home against a secondary that got exposed by Matthew Stafford a week ago spells doom for Dallas.

Prediction: Packers 37, Cowboys 34

Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

The common thought is that any team can go as far as the quarterback takes it. Using that logic, the Indianapolis Colts are a Super Bowl dark horse with Andrew Luck at the helm.

Unfortunately, football remains a team sport, and the supporting cast can't match punches with the Denver Broncos. While Denver ranked No. 2 in team DVOA behind Seattle, Indianapolis resides down at No. 12.

Indianapolis' best rushing performance all year came on Sunday, but Daniel Herron tarnished his 141 yards from scrimmage by fumbling twice. Head coach Chuck Pagano, who benched Herron during his stout performance, told ESPN.com's Mike Wells that he won't tolerate a lack of ball security:

"

You can't do it. You can't do it. He had a great day yesterday minus the two times he put the ball on the ground. He understands it, I understand it, everybody in Indy understands it. Everybody in this room understands that you can't put the ball on the ground and there's nothing more precious than the football and possessing the football. So we'll continue to address it with him. He's a grown man, he understands it and he understands the ramifications that come with it. He's going to continue to work at it.

"

Against Denver's No. 2 rushing defense, the Colts are likely to lean heavily on the passing game, which creates more opportunities for DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller to wreak havoc. After avoiding any turnovers for the first time in his postseason career, Luck will make a blunder or two while Peyton Manning enjoys an easier workload with C.J. Anderson getting another large role.

Prediction: Broncos 30, Colts 24