NFL Playoffs 2015: Divisional Bracket Overview and Championship Predictions

Despite the gloomy weather around the country and the fact that the holiday season has come and gone, January is one of the best months of the year for one huge reason: the NFL postseason.

Yes, every weekend makes braving the blustering winds and frigid air worth it. For the eight remaining teams in contention, they are just hoping the 16—in some cases 17—games were all worth it.

Teams such as the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys are hoping to continue surging after runs late in the season. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck will try to steal the torch away from Peyton Manning in Denver to make his first AFC Championship Game.

Before any of those games kicks off, here's a look at the full bracket and predictions for the AFC and NFC Championship Games.

Championship Predictions

Maybe it's out of stubbornness or simply a belief in both teams, but I have to stick with my two Super Bowl picks. That immediately sends both the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots through to the conference championship.

It certainly won't be an easy weekend for either franchise.

The Patriots have routinely struggled against the Ravens in the playoffs, losing two of the three games they have played in January. Baltimore will be trying to accomplish it for the first time without Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.

On the NFC side, the Packers have been unflappable at home with an 8-0 record. That will be tested this weekend against the Cowboys, who went undefeated on the road this season. ESPN Stats & Info points out just how stellar both Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers have been this season:

Considering Rodgers has slightly more experience in these situations—the man has won a Super Bowl—Lambeau Field will be rocking this weekend after another huge win.

The other matchups have some interesting buzz surrounding them. Cousins will face off, and the battle for "the greatest quarterback of all time" will take place in Denver.

Allow me to explain. You see, the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers came into the season with the hope of continuing success from last year. The defending Super Bowl champions struggled early but entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed again.

Despite woeful play by the Panthers midway through the season, a four-game winning streak to close the season propelled them into the postseason. Even with the disparity between their records, Seattle has a lot of respect for Carolina's style of play.

In fact, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett made an interesting comparison between the two franchises, via John Boyle of HeraldNet.com:

"

It’s kind of weird playing them, because it’s almost like you’re looking in the mirror. It’s a team that has similar attributes all over, similar qualities—both quarterbacks are both mobile, big receivers—well we don’t have any big receivers, but we have big-hearted receivers—powerful running backs, great defensive lines and great linebacker play. ...

It’s so much alike, man. It’s like you look at a girl who looks like you, and you find out it’s your cousin, so you can’t go on a date with her even though you’d like to, because she looks like you. But then you see her friend, and her friend’s really hot, and you’re like, ‘that’s not my cousin,’ so it’s good.

"

If you didn't catch all of that, it's OK—none of us did. Even with that respect given to the Panthers as a whole, it's hard to imagine the Seahawks actually falling to Carolina at home. Expect the Seahawks to host the Packers for the right to play in the Super Bowl.

The final pick was the only gutsy one of the week, with the Indianapolis Colts taking down the Denver Broncos. One person who might agree with that statement is former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, who suggested Luck will eventually be the best signal-called ever. No, seriously, that was a thing that actually happened.

"He'll go down as the greatest quarterback of all time," Fassel said, per Chris Wesseling of NFL.com. "The numbers he has already put up as a young quarterback, far superior to anybody else that came in the league in their first four, five or six years the numbers he's put up. If he keeps at that pace... Whoa!"

While it's hard to agree that Luck will eventually enjoy that much success, he does stand a chance against Manning this weekend. Equipped with weapons like T.Y. Hilton, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, Luck has a plethora of targets to spread the ball around.

Indy may have fallen earlier in the season against Denver, but it looked like a completely different team against the Cincinnati Bengals. If Luck can continue to wow with his arm and Dan Herron can do the same on the ground, the Colts will be playing the Pats for the AFC Championship—just like old times.

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