The first weekend of the NFL playoffs brought only one surprise! The Denver Broncos defeated the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers! The other 3 games on wild card weekend were no surprise as the Giants battered the Falcons, the Saints kept their offensive train going and the Houston Texans won their first playoff game in franchise history!

The first weekend, even though only one of the games was competitive, it was a fun weekend and a great warm-up for divisional weekend! In the next few paragraphs, I’ll forecast the rest of the NFL playoffs through the Super Bowl.

In the AFC, the No. 1 seed New England Patriots will take on the surprising new Denver Broncos. The Broncos have been a great story and Tim Tebow is exciting to watch and incredibly popular. He deserves all the attention, as he lifted his Broncos out of the dull environment created by his predecessor and has inspired his team to play at a higher level and win when all seems lost. He has improved as the season has progressed. He now scrambles and keeps his eyes on the field, and little by little he becomes more precise. His confidence will continue to grow as he firmly takes control of the starting job for the future. He will have a full pre-season to prepare and will surely improve as he moves into the next season! Now for reality check! The Broncos are facing the Patriots’ suspect defense, but they’re also facing one of the best offenses in the game, and Tom Brady will set the Broncos’ secondary on fire and the Patriots will end Tebow’s run to the Super Bowl! I don’t expect this to close. The Broncos have to pressure Brady, and the two tight ends are in for big days. The New England Patriots will advance to the AFC Championship Game!

In the other AFC division game, the Baltimore Ravens will host the Houston Texans. The Texans have grown this year. They won the division for the first time. They made the playoffs for the first time. They won a playoff game for the first time, and will now drop out of the race against the Ravens. The Ravens are a bit of a mystery themselves! They play very well at home and have lost to some mediocre opponents along the way. Joe Flacco is a good quarterback and, despite all the unwarranted hits he’s taken, he’s going to play well in this game. The racer pairing is outstanding. Arian Foster and Ray Rice will have good games, but the difference in this one will be Joe Flacco versus Taylor Yates, and while Yates has been impressive for a young rookie, Flacco prevails and the Ravens advance to the AFC Championship.

In the NFC, we have two good matchups on division weekend. The Green Bay Packers host the NY Giants and the San Francisco 49ers host the Saints.

The Packers are obviously on a roll and Aaron Rodgers is playing as well as anyone in the history of his position. He is an amazing athlete with a fast pitch, great climbing ability, a strong and accurate arm. What else do you need? Maybe just receivers, blocking, running game, game plan and special teams. The good news for all you die-hard Packer fans is that the Pack has all of that. The only suspicious part of this team is the defense. The defense has struggled at times this season and will have its hands full with Peyton’s little brother. The Giants have found each other in the last few weeks and they will play hard and probably keep this game close. Eli has been phenomenal in the fourth quarter this year, and if his defense can push Rodgers hard enough, or get some hits, they might have a chance to do it late. That said, it won’t be enough and the Packers will advance to the NFC Championship. A very good streak for the Giants and Tom Coughlin comes to an end. This Giants team is not on par with the 2007 team. It’s nice to draw some parallels, but that’s about it, just nice.

In the west, the Niners will host the Saints. Are you kidding? The Niners are in the playoffs! The Niners are the No. 2 seed, and even though they played in a suspect division, they’re real. Alex Smith has played well this season and has improved as the season has gone on. Drew Brees is amazing! How can the Niners compete? How can the Niners stop the Who Da Saints? The Niners have great defense! They have possibly the best middle linebacker in the game, and possibly the defensive rookie of the year. Is this the defense that can stop the machine that is the Saints? It’s possible. The problem with the Saints is that they don’t play indoors. They’re playing outside on the grass, and if it were me, I’d induce rain and slow down the track, and slow down the Saints. The Niners have a great defense and a solid offense. The only concern for me is the red zone violation. They kick too many field goals, and that won’t cut it against the Saints. If the Niners can be efficient in the Red Zone, they can take out the Saints. If they’re kicking field goals, the Saints advance, and that’s the outcome I predict. The Saints win a good game and advance to face the Packers in the NFC Championship.

On Championship weekend, we’ll have two big rematches. The Saints and Packers opened the season Thursday night, and the Ravens beat the Patriots in New England two years ago in the playoffs.

We’ll start with the AFC. Ray Rice is exceptional! Joe Flacco can definitely play! The Ravens’ defense is always good and can pressure any QB. The Patriots have no defense. They can’t stop the pass and they can’t pressure the QB. They allow opposing teams to go up and down the field with big plays. How can they beat any good team! It looks like everything is stacking up to be a Ravens win and the Ravens are going to the Super Bowl! However, come closer, my friend. Look, over here, at the Ravens on the road! They were a flawless 8-0 at home this season, but a lackluster 4-4 away from home. Yes, but they play in a tough division and have a tough schedule. Yeah, but they lost to some mighty teams along the way, right? Let’s take a look. they lost to Tennessee on their first road trip, but that’s okay. They beat the Rams, who looked great at the time, but the Rams were terrible this year, so that doesn’t matter. They lost to Jacksonville and then beat Pittsburgh. How do you lose to the Jags and then beat the Steelers? They then lost to the Seahawks, from the weak NFC West. They beat Cleveland, but who doesn’t? They lost again, to the Chargers by 20 points! Then they made the playoffs by beating the Bengals, but I don’t put much stock in that win. The Bengals couldn’t stay within 3 touchdowns of the Texans! The Bengals are a good story, but not that good, and with a rookie QB. Tom Brady is not a rookie and the Ravens are not very good on the road. The Patriots defense will be very busy with Rice and Flacco, but they will get revenge for their embarrassing loss two years ago and advance to the Super Bowl!

In the NFC, the Saints and Packers will meet. Two incredible offenses in what should be a fantastic shootout! The Saints are another team that sometimes isn’t as good on the road, and if the Packers make it to this game, what will the temperature be? 15 – 25 degrees? This should be a cold game and that won’t make the Saints happy. The Saints are a fun team and they are definitely a great team, but if the weather is cold, they are going to struggle. They fight on the grass anyway. They will definitely fight in Tundra! I love Darren Sproles, and the Saints will seek their own revenge, but the weather and the Packers will be too much. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t care if he’s cold, and the Packers love it! The Saints will say they love it, but let’s be real. They’re an indoor team that struggles on natural grass and if they’re lucky enough to get past the Niners on natural grass, they’re not going to do it two weeks in a row. The Packers will prevail and advance to the Super Bowl!

So, the Super Bowl is ready! The New England Patriots will take on the Green Bay Packers in what should be an incredibly exciting game featuring two of the best offenses in the league and two of the worst defenses in the league. Who said defense wins championships? Not this year. I won’t venture to truly believe that I’m right, so I won’t bother predicting the outcome of the Super Bowl. I will wait until after the Championship games have been played. I’ll remind everyone if I’m right, but I’ll be back at the end of January for a full review of the Super Bowl matchup!

Everyone enjoy the playoffs!