NFL Playoff Schedule 2015: Printable Bracket, TV Info Guide for AFC and NFC
Quarterbacks hog the spotlight of Championship Game Weekend.
A "dying" position will decide both contests.
The focal point rests under center thanks to Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck and Tom Brady. Fair enough—teams cannot make it this far without top-tier quarterbacks.
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Just keep in mind that while the chatter centers on those names, Wilson cannot win without Marshawn Lynch. Rodgers cannot go to Seattle and do it without Eddie Lacy. Andrew Luck? Daniel "Boom" Herron. Tom Brady? Whatever Bill Belichick dreams up.
The conference title games are never as simple as just looking at quarterbacks, especially in an offseason when Peyton Manning and others made early exits.
In other words, do not miss Sunday's showdowns.
2015 NFL NFC, AFC Championship Schedule and Odds
| Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks | Sunday, January 18, 3 p.m. | Fox | SEA -7.5 (47) | GB |
| Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots | Sunday, January 18, 6:30 p.m. | CBS | NE -7 (54) | NE |
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 16.
What to Expect
One-Man Show Falls Short
Make no mistake, Rodgers is just as capable of magic from or outside of the pocket as any other quarterback left alive.
Hurt and on the road against Seattle, though, he is going to need some help.
A leg injury showed no signs of slowing Rodgers in the divisional round against the Dallas Cowboys. He threw for 316 yards and a trio of touchdowns to compensate for his lax defense that was steamrolled at home.
Things are different on the road, though, where locale and injury combine to form a discouraging concoction, as Rodgers must find a way to get comfortable with an unfamiliar, cold field.
"The specifics of that will be determined with the surface and things like that," Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "It will be important to get on the field in the pregame and get comfortable."
Knowing Rodgers, he remembers CenturyLink Field thanks to a 36-16 shellacking in Week 1 at the hands of the Seahawks. He mustered all of 189 yards with a score and pick, while lead back Eddie Lacy ran for 34 yards on 12 carries.
The pressure now rests on Lacy. As STATS LLC breaks down (via ESPN.com), the only teams to beat Seattle at home over the course of the last two seasons controlled time of possession, while the four teams to beat the Seahawks this year found plenty of success with the running game.
Even if Lacy explodes, though, it may not be enough. Look at Seattle's win against Carolina in the divisional round, where the Panthers rushed for 132 yards in large part thanks to the versatility offered by Cam Newton—and still lost 31-17.
Rodgers' run game, or lack thereof, will face a stiff rush and perhaps ignore one side of the field thanks to Richard Sherman. Add it all up. The defending champions are at a major advantage.
Prediction: Seahawks 30, Packers 23
More Boom, Same Result
The NFL postseason can be a strange mistress.
All season long, the globe has collectively beat the "Colts can't win without a ground game" drum. So what does Indianapolis do in the divisional round against Manning in Denver?
Shove Trent Richardson aside and start the Cincinnati castoff Herron.
Suffice it to say, the former Ohio State star is in the midst of a great week. All he did against the Broncos was rush for 63 yards and a score. Or, in another light, he posted those numbers against the league's second-best rush defense.
Fun fact time—the Colts are 8-0 this year when Herron receives a minimum of eight carries.
If there is one team that can buck the trend, though, it would be Belichick's Patriots.
They too rank in the top 10 against the rush. The New England defense repeatedly bent but did not break in a comfortable 42-20 victory over the Colts in Week 11, where Herron did not receive a single carry.
Brady was a tad sloppy with his 257 yards with a pair of scores and pick, something he most certainly is not right now just one week removed from three scores to one pick against Baltimore.
Jonas Gray was the man responsible for gashing the miserable Colts run defense the last time out. While it is unwise to expect another 200-yard, four-touchdown outburst, his combination with LeGarrette Blount and others will give the Indianapolis defense fits.
Keep in mind that Colts defense for a moment. So long as his backs are effective, how can the unit stop Brady? ESPN.com notes that the Colts blitzed him on more than 50 percent of his dropbacks in Week 11; he posted a quarterback rating north of 98 and threw two touchdowns on those snaps.
Brady seems even hotter now. Pair that with an unpredictable ground game and the chance the Colts enter Foxborough without one, and well, Las Vegas feels the way it does about this one for good reason.
Prediction: Patriots 28, Colts 20
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.
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