I caught bits and pieces of 3 out of the 4 games this weekend, unfortunately missing the best play of the weekend in real time. But I think this was the first time since 2006 that we saw all the home teams win in the wild card round, so it's down to all the division champions. It was nice to see a team like Houston win its playoff debut in front of its home crowd, and for the magic of Tim Tebow to return.
I'm typing this as I have ESPN First Take on, and go figure they start with the "All He Does Is Win!" remix.
The divisional round might only hope to offer such drama, so I'm going to revise my picks a little bit since the matchups have changed.
New Orleans @ San Francisco
I'm going to stick to my guns on this pick from last week. The Saints made it two straight weeks where the Lions gave up 45 points and Drew Brees continued to look like, well, Drew Brees. San Francisco is at home and has that tough defense. Brees has yet to win a playoff game on the road, but I figure he can break that trend this week. Saints over 49ers.
Denver @ New England
I was among the people who picked against Denver yesterday because the Steelers play tough defense, even though they were really banged up. At the same time, I underestimated Tim Tebow and the rest of his team. Credit the defense for stepping up and keeping Big Ben under wraps for the most part, and credit guys like Demariyus Thomas for catching stuff thrown at him and using his great speed to get a ton of yards. Against New England? They're healthy and they've already beaten the Broncos once. I see Tebow and company staying in it early again, but in Foxboro, I don't think Tebow wins. Patriots over Broncos.
Houston @ Baltimore
The Bengals were not good on defense Saturday, and Andy Dalton turned it over too many times. But he stayed grounded, and he'll learn from the experience and come back next year to help the Bengals try to make it back. The Texans now have to go to Baltimore to face a very tough Ravens team. They've been inconsistent but have beaten good teams when they've played them. If they don't go pass happy with Joe Flacco, they'll be fine. Ravens over Bengals.
New York @ Green Bay
The Giants' defense was fantastic yesterday, shutting out the Falcons' offense, but this is the Falcons, who just don't seem to have it come January (0-3 in the postseason with Mike Smith and Matt Ryan). They'll get there eventually if they can get another home game, but the Giants seem to be peaking at the right time. This concerns me a little bit as a Packer fan, especially since I remember the 2007 NFC Title game. Both teams are better now than they were that year. Green Bay had a week to get healthy, and they're at home. They'll be ready. The Giants gave them a great game at home, but at the Frozen Tundra? They'll be competitive again, but I think Rodgers and company are ready to make their run at a repeat. Packers over Giants.
I had to adjust the winner of only one game (since I had the Steelers in the Super Bowl again), but I stand by my other picks. I'm now going to go back to listening to the shouting match between Skip Bayless and the world.
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