The NFC wildcard games were considerably more anticipated matchups than those offered by the AFC. While little suspense seemed evident in the AFC; many people were split on their prognostications between Green Bay and Minnesota as well as Seattle and Washington. I saw both games unfold as expected and wasn’t surprised at all by the results.
Now that Green Bay has proven it can stop the run they must prove the critics wrong again and travel into San Francisco to try an contain a similar back in Frank Gore. In the second NFC matchup Seattle continues their path to glory as it once again takes them on the road, this time in Atlanta to play the NFC’s number one seed.
Alright let’s look ahead and pick some winners as we look to keep the momentum going from a perfect wildcard weekend.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Hawks were impressive in their wildcard win last week. The defense played as well as everyone thought it would; holding RGIII and the Redskins to a paltry 203 yards of total offense. Yes, RGIII was a cripple by the second quarter and could barely walk much less play the option in the pistol offense; however the smothering pressure was remarkable. Looking ahead now to this matchup the Hawks defense will need to stand tall once again as Matt Ryan will look to make pin point accurate passes through the secondary.
Ryan and the Falcons are going to present a different challenge than the Redskins did. For starters Ryan is much more of a pocket passer and not nearly the same threat to scamper downfield. Having said that Ryan’s completion percentage was tops in the league and his 4719 passing yards were fifth overall. As good as Matt Ryan has been this year, for some reason his play at home in the Georgia Dome is considerably worse than on the road so it remains to be seen just how effective he can be under the scrutiny and pressure of the home crowd.
The Seahawks are unquestionably the hottest team in the playoffs. They have been blowing teams out and absolutely stuffing their opponents with a smothering defense. The Seahawks offense flows straight through Marshawn Lynch and once Beast mode is unleashed there is no stopping it. If Lynch can keep the ball moving on the ground it will open up the passing attack for Russell Wilson and the receiving corps.
The Falcons head into this game as the number one seed and are a 2.5 point favorite; however, you might be hard pressed to find someone willing to lay that money. You can count me among that group as I don’t have a lot of confidence in the Falcons.
PICK: Seattle Seahawks
Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers
Another chapter in the storied rivalry goes on Saturday as the Packers travel into Candlestick Park in hopes of advancing to the NFC Championship game. To do so they must beat the 49ers on their own turf which is not an easy task.
These teams matchup well, their respective defenses are very good with San Francisco’s squad getting a slight edge due to their home field advantage. Green Bay’s defense shouldn’t be discounted here; they can step up and play a solid game when needed. A big plus for the 49ers is that as good as Aaron Rodgers’s is he isn’t going to be consistently looking to take off and run the football. Rogers wants to throw it and the 49er defense can basically pin their ears back and come get him on almost every down.
San Francisco has proven that they can beat elite teams in the league; they beat Green Bay already and took down New England on the road. The fear is that the defense will not come up with the big plays and the offense will sputter the way they both did against Seattle in week 16.
My concern here in this game is the ability of Colin Kaepernick to complete the big pass when it is needed. Kaepernick’s completion percentage over the last three games is in a steady decline as opposing defenses are figuring the playbook out. If the Packers can contain the edges against Frank Gore and the run game, force the action up the middle into the teeth of the defense and thusly put the 49ers into third-down passing situations then the pressure will be on Kaepernick to make the big play completion to keep the chains moving.
After this game has concluded it might just be best the outcome that the NFL could have hoped for. Perhaps a chance to right a wrong, get a do over, press the reset button; however you want to think it, wouldn’t a Packers Seahawks rematch allow for a previous wrong to be righted? I have just one question for you and that is do you believe in Karma? Yeah...I don’t either.
PICK: San Francisco 49ers