I’ve already predicted how the regular season for the NFC (link here) and AFC (link here) will unfold. Now it’s time for the postseason predictions; both the playoff predictions and the awards predictions.
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
NFC
Round 1
(1) Philadelphia Eagles and (2) Carolina Panthers-bye
(6) New Orleans Saints – 34 @ (3) Minnesota Vikings – 21. Drew Brees getting to play in a dome for the first round of the playoffs = no home field advantage for the Vikings. Brett Favre continues his late season nose-dive and throws too many costly picks.
(5) Dallas Cowboys – 21 @ (4) Seattle Seahawks -20. Tomy Romo goes into one of the toughest places to play and lets it affect him for the first three quarters, but finally overcomes the pressure and leads Dallas to two fourth quarter touchdown drives. The cycle won’t be truly complete because Wade Phillips won’t let Romo be the holder for the clenching extra point try, but he’ll take the victory none-the-less.
Round 2
(6) New Orleans Saints – 27 @ (1) Philadelphia Eagles – 23. Drew Brees continues to put up sick playoff numbers and Reggie Bush helps the team the by giving them great field position and six points with his kickoff and punt returns. Philly fans boo Donovan McNabb for his continued ability to not win in the playoffs (completely forgetting that even making it to the playoffs is a feat in and of itself).
(2) Carolina Panthers – 24, (5) Dallas Cowboys – 21, in overtime. The NFL’s stupid overtime rules eliminate the Cowboys without them even getting a chance to score, as Carolina wins the coin toss and DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart run the Panthers the 45 yards they need to get into field goal position.
NFC Championship Game
(6) New Orleans Saints – 24 @ (2) Carolina Panthers – 10. The Panthers have no answer for Drew Brees, and he gets the Saints off to a huge early lead, forcing the Panthers to all but abandon their rushing game. The Saints are able to double cover Steve Smith, effectively eliminating any offense Carolina can hope to put together.
AFC
Round 1
(1) New England Patriots and (2) San Diego Chargers– bye
(6) Houston Texans – 20 @ (3) Pittsburgh Steelers– 17. The Texans won’t be satisfied enough to just make the playoffs, they will go into the defending champion Steelers’ house and shock the world.
(4) Indianapolis Colts – 23, (5) Tennessee Titans – 10. The Colts will take the rubber match of the season series by not letting the Titans offense keep up with Peyton Manning and the rest of the Colts offense.
Round 2
(1) New England Patriots – 31, (6) Houston Texans– 17. The Texans magical season will end in Foxboro when they can’t find an answer for Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker.
(2) San Diego Chargers – 34, (4) Indianapolis Colts – 28. In a battle of high powered offenses, the Shawne Merriman led Chargers D will find a way to stop Peyton Manning just enough to send the Charger to the AFC title game.
AFC Championship Game
(2) San Diego Chargers – 13, (1) New England Patriots – 9. Cold weather and snow will neutralize both team’s passing games. The Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles are much better running backs than whoever New England will march out there for that particular game.
Super Bowl
San Diego Chargers – 41, New Orleans Saints – 38. The two highest scoring offenses in the NFL will make Super Bowl XLIV one of the most entertaining ever. This game will basically come down to whichever team gets the ball last, so I give the edge to the team that has the better defense: San Diego.
Individual Awards
NFL MVP-Drew Brees–Saints. Voters will be stupid not to give the MVP award to Brees when he breaks the single season record for passing yards this year.
Runners-up: Tom Brady–Patriots, Adrian Peterson–Vikings.
Offensive Player of the Year-Drew Brees–Saints. See above.
Runners-up: Adrian Peterson–Vikings, Larry Fitzgerald–Cardinals.
Defensive Player of the Year-Shawne Merriman–Chargers. He will play “lights out” this year to prove last year was an injury fluke.
Runners-up: Albert Haynesworth–Redskins, Mario Williams–Texans.
Coach of the Year-Gary Kubiak–Texans. How do you not give the award to the coach that led his team to the playoffs for the first time in their history?
Runners-up: Sean Payton–Saints, Mike McCarthy–Packers.
Trivial Opinions 