NFL Playoff Predictions: Which 12 Teams Make Playoffs And Who Wins Super Bowl?
NFL playoff predictions are one of my favorite things to put together come November.
My predictions from the beginning of the season aren't looking too great, so it's always good to have a chance to redeem myself.
With nine games already in the books, it looks like the playoff picture is becoming a bit clearer every week as pretenders and contenders begin to put a little distance between themselves.
Still, with the NFL you never know what's going to happen.
But I'm here to offer my predictions on how the rest of the NFL season will play out, from division and wild card winners to who will win the Super Bowl in Dallas.
Let's get to it!
AFC East Winner: New England Patriots
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Sorry to all the New York Jets fans, but your team has played too close for comfort in recent weeks.
Yeah, I know that the Patriots lost to the Browns by 20 and the Jets beat them earlier in the season.
But the difference between the Jets and the Patriots is at the quarterback position, where Tom Brady is leaps and bounds better than Mark Sanchez will ever be.
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
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Philip Rivers has played incredibly well all season, despite being without some of his biggest offensive weapons like Legedu Naanee, Vincent Jackson and Ryan Mathews for big chunks of the season.
The Chargers are well known for their slow starts, but have won two straight games to pull within a game of .500 and stay very much alive in the AFC West race.
Plus, San Diego boasts the league's No. 1 total offense and No. 2 total defense.
That has to translate into long-term success at some point, right?
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
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The Ravens sit at 6-3, but their three losses came by a combined 18 points and two of those losses came against the Falcons and Patriots.
Baltimore's defense may not be the vaunted unit that it once was, but Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and company still do a good enough job to be a top-10 scoring defense.
If you add that to the fact that the Ravens have more talent on offense than they've ever had, Baltimore should be able to outlast Pittsburgh in the divisional race.
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AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
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If there's one thing I've learned in recent years, it's to never count out Peyton Manning.
Even without his security blanket, Dallas Clark, and with injuries to some of the Colts biggest offensive weapons, Manning still has this team in the thick of the playoff hunt.
With Houston seemingly falling off the playoff map, the only challenge to this spot should come from the Tennessee Titans.
AFC Wild Card: Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Steelers are good enough on offense and against the run to be able to when the division—and even a Super Bowl—but they've struggled mightily against the pass for most of the season.
Pittsburgh has gotten torched a couple times so far, most recently by Tom Brady and the Patriots on Sunday.
Although Pittsburgh's poor pass defense will prevent them from capturing the AFC North crown, there's just no way I see that team missing the playoffs.
AFC Wild Card: New York Jets
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I really want to put the Titans here, but injuries at the quarterback position and a potential Randy Moss meltdown make me skeptical about Tennessee.
So here come the Jets.
New York is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, and they've proven they can win close games in recent weeks (albeit ones that shouldn't have been that close).
Rex Ryan won't let his team miss the playoffs when the Jet's only options are Super Bowl or bust.
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
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After seeing what the Eagles did to the Redskins on Monday Night Football, my reason behind this pick is simple: Michael Vick.
Vick has learned to use his running ability as an extra weapon rather than the focal point of his game, and he's been an incredibly effective passer all season.
He's arguably the MVP frontrunner despite missing several games with a rib injury, and I just don't see the Giants outlasting the Vick-led Eagles for the division crown.
NFC West: St. Louis Rams
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The Rams are a much shakier pick after falling to the San Francisco 49ers last week, but the NFC West is so unpredictable that you might as well just pick a name out of a hat to decide who'll win the division.
The 49ers just haven't put it together very often this season, and the Cardinals and Seahawks have way too many stinkers to think they're a legit playoff contender.
With Sam Bradford excelling as a rookie and a lack of confidence in those other teams, I'll take the Rams to win the NFC West.
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
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The Minnesota Vikings? They're done. The Chicago Bears? They have Mr. Interception, Jay Cutler. The Detroit Lions? They're talented, but can't put a complete game together.
That leaves you with one team that has a shot to win the NFC North: The Green Bay Packers.
They may not be able to run the ball very well, but Aaron Rodgers has way too many weapons in that offense for them to be sitting home in January.
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons
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The race between the Falcons and the Saints should be one heck of a sight to see, but I'll give Atlanta the slight edge.
Matt Ryan and Roddy White have formed arguably the best wide receiver-quarterback combination in the NFL, and Ryan rarely loses at home.
The Falcons will just be too tough at home for them to fail to win the NFC South.
NFL Wild Card: New Orleans Saints
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The Saints struggled earlier in the season with bad losses to Arizona and Cleveland, but they've seemed to get back on track in recent weeks.
After starting off 13-0 last season, many people have written them off because they've started off 6-3.
News flash: That's pretty good.
And New Orleans boasts a top-seven offense and defense.
NFC Wild Card: New York Giants
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The NFC East, will in all likelihood, have two teams in the playoffs this season, but it's just a matter of which team will actually win the division.
The Giants boast the league's No. 2 total offense and No. 1 total defense, but we've also seen them get shredded by Jon Kitna and the Dallas Cowboys offense.
Right now I just think that the Eagles offense looks insanely good, and their defense is just good enough for them to upend the Giants.
However, it wouldn't be surprising if these two teams were separated by one game when it's all said and done.
AFC Wild Card Matchup: San Diego Chargers (4) Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (5)
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On paper, this looks like it would be a defensive struggle between two of the NFL's top defenses.
But in reality, I'd expect this to be a pass-heavy matchup with Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers airing it out all game long.
The difference I see in this game though is San Diego's ability to torch opposing secondaries.
Are they one-dimensional? Often, yes.
But Rivers will exploit Pittsburgh's biggest weakness on the way to a surprising upset for the the Chargers.
Predictions: Chargers 24, Steelers 20
AFC Wild Card Matchup: Indianapolis Colts (3) Vs. New York Jets (6)
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It's hard to take a second-year quarterback over a four-time NFL MVP in this one, but it wouldn't be surprising to see that happen.
The Jets running game—with LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene—should have no trouble running against the Colts 29th-ranked run defense.
And even if Indianapolis decides to stack the box, Mark Sanchez has a plethora of weapons on the outside to get the job done.
Prediction: Jets 30, Colts 21
NFC Wild Card Matchup: St. Louis Rams (4) Vs. New Orleans Saints (5)
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I love the fact that the Rams have already exceed most expectations for the 2010 season, but they'd shock the world with a playoff victory.
St. Louis is certainly improving, but they're probably a couple of years away from making some serious noise in the NFC.
Their defense is better than most people think, so they'd play the Saints pretty close.
But in the end, Drew Brees and that prolific Saints passing attack would be too much for the Rams to handle.
Prediction: Saints 28, Rams 20
NFC Wild Card Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles (3) Vs. New York Giants (6)
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I'm not a big fan of seeing division rivals face each other in the first round, but what are you gonna do?
This would be the third epic showdown between the Eagles and the Giants, but the one that truly matters the most.
Philadelphia has been on a roll lately, but New York has the better team from top to bottom, including the league's best defense.
I love the way Vick's progressed as a quarterback, but the Giants will pull the slight upset in this one.
Prediction: Giants 34, Eagles 27
AFC Divisional Matchup: New England Patriots (1) Vs. New York Jets (6)
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Here we go! It's another showdown between two of football's biggest rivals.
This would certainly be a monster matchup if these two teams faced each other for a third time with the series tied at a 1-1 split.
As I stated earlier, the difference between these two teams is the guy lining up behind center.
But on nothing more than a gut feeling, I think the Jets will be too much for the Patriots to handle this time around.
The Jets running game, combined with some nice threats in the passing game, a lockdown corner and a tough run defense should be able to overcome the difference at quarterback for one game.
Prediction: Jets 27, Patriots 17
AFC Divisional Matchup: Baltimore Ravens (2) Vs. San Diego Chargers (4)
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I don't know about you, but I'd personally love to see these two teams meets in the playoffs.
They've both got a boatload of talent on offense and defenses that can step up with big games at any given time.
The biggest difference in this game would be the lack of balance from the Chargers, who've relied on a pass-only mentality for pretty much the entire season.
That won't be a problem for the Ravens, who have a top-five caliber running back in Ray Rice that will prevent San Diego from keying in on Joe Flacco and the passing game.
Prediction: Ravens 27, Chargers 23
NFC Divisional Matchup: Atlanta Falcons (1) Vs. New York Giants (6)
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It's Eli Manning and Hakeem Nicks vs. Matt Ryan and Roddy White.
It's the Atlanta Falcons vs. the New York Giants in what should be a fun game between two talented offenses.
Manning has the obvious edge in experience here, but Ryan simply does not lose at home.
The Georgia Dome will be rocking, and the Falcons will pull off another last second victory.
Prediction: Falcons 23, Giants 20
NFC Divisional Matchup: Green Bay Packers (2) Vs. New Orleans Saints (5)
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A matchup between the Packers and Saints would provide arguably the most entertaining game of the playoff season.
This would be an old-fashioned shootout between two of the league's top quarterbacks who sling the ball all over the place because of a lack of a consistent running game.
The problem for the Saints here is that they won't be playing in the friendly confines of the Super Dome, which played a huge part in their Super Bowl run last season.
With the Saints headed to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, I'd look for Rodger's and that Green Bay aerial attack to get it done in a high-scoring affair.
Prediction: Packers 35, Saints 31
AFC Championship Game: Baltimore Ravens (2) Vs. New York Jets (6)
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Remember the game between the Ravens and Jets in Week 1? It was an all-out defensive struggle.
Well, I look for the NFL season to come full circle as these two teams meet up five months after they first faced each other.
But I'm not expecting a game quite as low-scoring as their first matchup, as Flacco should be in a groove by that point and the Jets will have Santonio Holmes this time around.
This one could obviously go either way, but the Ravens have the advantage of playing at home.
They'll roll on to the Super Bowl.
Predictions: Ravens 20, Jets 17
NFC Championship Game: Atlanta Falcons (1) Vs. Green Bay Packers (2)
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No surprises here, as the top two seeds advance to the NFC title game.
Once again, the NFC provides us with one heck of a quarterback battle with two of the game's best young gunslingers lining up behind center.
The Packers and Falcons will both have their fair share of success in the passing game, but Atlanta has a much more balanced offense.
With Michael Turner pounding the rock all day to go along with the Falcons aerial attack, Atlanta will send its fans home happy as they make a trip to the Super Bowl.
Prediction: Falcons 31, Packers 23
Super Bowl: Baltimore Ravens Vs. Atlanta Falcons
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Didn't this game already happen recently?
And wasn't it one of the best games of the season?
Well, this would be a treat for football fans as two teams with a lot of preseason hype persevere through a tough schedule on their way to a rematch in the Super Bowl.
That Ravens defense will do a better job of stopping the Falcons than they did in their previous meeting, but Joe Flacco will be outplayed by Matt Ryan and Atlanta's defense will win with that "bend but don't break" mentality.
Prediction: Falcons 27, Ravens 21
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