NFL Playoffs 2015: Schedule, Predictions and AFC, NFC Championship Odds Guide

If the divisional round of the NFL playoffs is considered the best weekend in football, there may not be words to describe Championship Game Weekend.

Only the best make it to the postseason, and only the best of the best are able to get through the impossibly tough divisional round. If teams are able to either defend home-field advantage against a surging foe or pull off the upset against a top team, they're rewarded by moving one step away from reaching the Super Bowl.

Such is the case for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, who play in an AFC title game featuring two of the NFL's best quarterbacks. Across the aisle, the top two seeds in the NFC duke it out for a trip to Glendale, Arizona, as the defending champion Seattle Seahawks host the Green Bay Packers.

There's no time to waste with the weekend fast approaching, so let's go ahead and break it all down.

AFC Championship (Moneyline)	Spread	Over/Under
NFC Championship	Spread	Over/Under
Indianapolis (12-5) at New England (5-13)	Patriots -6.5	53.5
Green Bay (11-4) at Seattle (2-6)	Seahawks -7.5	46.5

Note: Odds courtesy of Odds Shark, last updated January 16

Championship Weekend Predictions

AFC: Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots

With one AFC heavyweight monkey off their backs, the Indianapolis Colts head into Foxborough, Massachusetts, looking to slay another giant in the New England Patriots.

Andrew Luck has officially made it one step further every year in each of his three playoff appearances, having toppled the Broncos in Denver to advance to the AFC Championship Game. But the Colts will have their hands full keeping the dream alive and moving on to the Super Bowl.

That's because they go up against a Patriots squad that can run it just as well as it can pass it—despite running just 13 times for 14 yards against the Baltimore Ravens in last weekend's divisional-round thriller. New England ran for almost 250 yards on the ground in its Week 11 meeting with the Colts.

Along with that 22-point defeat and a pair of others, life has been difficult for Luck against the Patriots, as ESPN Stats and Information uncovered:

The Patriots' stiff defensive front will force Indianapolis to play exclusively through the air, which won't be an unfamiliar thing for Luck with how the Colts are put together. But although he goes up against a 17th-ranked Patriots secondary, playmakers Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner are more than capable of forcing some Luck lapses.

He'll make enough plays through the air to keep his Colts around, but Brady and the Patriots will control this one from the get-go.

Prediction: Patriots 31, Colts 27

NFC: Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

The Colts aren't the only team entering this weekend desperately hoping for a reversal of fortune regarding a rematch of a game earlier this season.

But unlike Indianapolis, the Green Bay Packers have to go all the way back to Week 1 to review their loss to the Seahawks. And what a loss it was—a 36-16 drubbing in Seattle to kick off the regular season.

To make matters worse for the Packers, they aren't even at full strength like they were in the first meeting.

Aaron Rodgers is going to play Sunday in Seattle but almost assuredly won't be at 100 percent. His calf injury left him unable to scramble for his usual impact-making plays against the Dallas Cowboys, and it will be an even bigger issue against Seattle's stout front seven.

The Packers were outgained 207-80 on the ground in their first showdown, and the rushing disadvantage will be even greater with Eddie Lacy as the sole option. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch are destined to carve up Green Bay's 23rd-ranked run defense, which gave up more than 120 yards to DeMarco Murray last weekend.

Green Bay is also a completely different animal on the road versus at home, per ESPN Stats and Information:

Along with the expected road struggles of going up against the mighty Seahawks at CenturyLink Field, the Packers defense doesn't have the tools to stand up against Seattle's offense. If the game is tight in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks will end up running away with it.

Prediction: Seahawks 30, Packers 18