Broncos vs. Eagles for Super Bowl XLIII

Yes, NFL fans, you read it right.  The Denver Broncos back in the Super Bowl, facing Donovan McNabb's Philadelphia Eagles.

Week one was a busy one for the NFL.  Tom Brady's season ended after fifteen minutes.  Peyton Manning lost two top targets and his longtime battery mate to injury.  The Browns confirmed my initial thought that 2007 was a fluke.  San Diego has injury question marks up and down the board, and did not play well against a Steve Smith-less Panthers team.  Jacksonville was beaten by Tennessee who lost starting QB Vince Young for a month to injury.  The AFC is wide open.

I foresee the Broncos and Steelers in a rematch of the 2006 AFC Championship game to bout for the AFC, with Denver emerging as the victors.  Why the Broncos?  Because they have the least to lose.  They are going to begin and end the season with a chip on their shoulder.  Jay Cutler has the Broncos offense in prime shape to have a major impact on the AFC.

In the NFC, it is virtually a four team race, the way I see it.  Dallas, Philly, Chicago, and New York will vie for the NFC Super Bowl representative. 

I choose Philadelphia because of one man:  Donovan McNabb.  McNabb is the Peyton Manning of the NFC.  He has always been consistent when healthy, and when McNabb is hot so are the Eagles.

Here are my early season predictions for the playoffs:

AFC Participants:  (1) Pittsburgh (13-3), (2) Broncos (12-4), (3) Colts (12-4), (4) Jets (10-6), (5) Bills (11-5), (6) Chargers (11-5)

AFC Matchups:

Wild Card:  (6) Chargers @ (3) Colts  Winner-- Chargers

               (5) Bills @ (4) Jets   Winner-- Jets

Divisional:  (4) Jets @ (2) Broncos   Winner-- Broncos

               (6) Chargers @ (1) Steelers Winner-- Steelers

AFC Championship:  (2) Broncos @ (1) Steelers   Winner-- Broncos

NFC Participants:  (1) Cowboys (13-3), (2) Saints (11-5), (3) Bears (10-6), (4) Seahawks (9-7), (5) Eagles (12-4), (6) Vikings (9-7)

NFC Matchups:

Wild Card:  (6) Vikings @ (3) Bears   Winner:  Bears

                (5) Eagles @ (4) Seahawks   Winner:  Eagles

Divisional:  (3) Bears @ (2) Saints   Winner:  Bears

               (5) Eagles @ (1) Cowboys   Winner:  Eagles

NFC Championship:  (5) Eagles @ (3) Bears   Winner:  Eagles

Super Bowl XLIII:  (5) Eagles vs. (2) Broncos   Winner:.....?

My Super Bowl XLIII pick will be revealed at a later date.

At this point in the season, it is anybody's game.  The NFL is predicated on parody, and the only constants in this world are time and change.  The same holds true for the NFL, and time and change have caught up with the reigning AFC and NFC bigs.