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WEEI NFL Playoff Power Rankings and Predictions 01.05.10 at 3:52 am ET
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1. (Last week, 1) 13-3 Right now, San Diego is the best team in the NFL. This offense is a nightmare to game-plan against. The Chargers have a great quarterback in Philip Rivers, a solid running game and great balance at the receiver position. San Diego plays the Colts well every year and will give Peyton Manning and Co. a lot of trouble if the two teams collide in Indianapolis for the AFC championship.

2. (2) 14-2 The Colts are great on both sides of the ball. On defense, they’ve got one of best lines in the game with Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney coming off the edge and getting pressure on the passer. Offensively, Manning has proven he can do it all, and he has the luxury of passing the ball to receivers such as Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark.

New Orleans Saints3. (3) 13-3 One of the most important statistics in the playoffs is turnovers. The Saints were the best team in the NFL this year in creating turnovers. They had a total of 39 takeaways. The Saints also have the luxury of having Drew Brees leading the way. The road to Miami in the NFC goes through the Superdome and “Who Dat” Nation.

Dallas Cowboys4. (6) 11-5 With all the weapons the Eagles have on offense, the Cowboys managed to shut them out Sunday. Dallas’ defense, led by the defensive line, has been outstanding over the past couple of weeks and there are no signs to make you think things will be any different Saturday night. Tony Romo has been terrific, throwing just two interceptions in the last six games.

Minnesota Vikings5. (9) 12-4 Lots of question marks surround this team as it enters the playoffs. Minnesota has played very inconsistently down the stretch. A blowout win over a Giants team that gave up three weeks ago means nothing. The Vikings offensive line needs to step up, Adrian Peterson needs to protect the football, and Jared Allen and the Vikings defensive line need to return to that dominant form Minnesota fans got accustomed to watching in the beginning of the season.

6. (4) 11-5 Six straight wins for the Eagles means nothing after their demolition by the Cowboys. The loss to Dallas had huge consequences. Now Donovan McNabb and the Eagles have to win three road games instead of having a first-round bye and home-field advantage against every NFC playoff team except the Saints.

Green Bay Packers7. (5) 11-5 Green Bay has played well down the stretch, but is the Packers offensive line strong enough to last throughout the playoffs? Although the O-line was much improved the last three weeks of the season, many question marks surround a line that contributed to Aaron Rodgers being sacked 50 times this year.

New England Patriots 8. (7) 10-6 The loss of Wes Welker all but put a fork in the Patriots’ playoff chances. Without Welker, this offense will have a rough time getting into a rhythm and moving the chains. Julian Edelman and Ben Watson will have to step up if the Patriots want to make noise in the playoffs. The Patriots defense will have to do a better job containing Ravens running back Ray Rice. Rice averaged 9.4 yards per carry the last time Baltimore and New England met.

Cincinnati Bengals9. (8) 10-6 The injuries are piling up for the Bengals. Chad Ochocinco has a banged-up knee, but more importantly, defensive tackle Pat Sims is out. With Rey Maualuga already out and Domata Peko still recovering from a knee injury, the Bengals will have a very difficult time defending the run.

Arizona Cardinals10. (10) 10-6 The loss of Anquan Boldin could really slow down the Cardinals offense. The defense has an extremely tough task ahead as it tries to stop Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Grant. Arizona has played well all year on the road (6-2) but has struggled at home (4-4). The defending NFC champs will have a tough time getting out of the first round.

11. (12) 9-7 I don’t like the Ravens’ chances when their road to the Super Bowl likely would have to go through New England, Indianapolis and San Diego.

New York Jets12. (15) 9-7 A few weeks ago, coach Rex Ryan apologized to fans for failing to make the playoffs; a few breaks and weeks later, the Jets find themselves sitting in the No.5 seed in the AFC playoffs. Super Bowl teams can only get as far as their quarterback can take them, and despite a great running game and solid defense, Mark Sanchez won’t be able to lead his team to victory in the postseason.

NFL Playoff Predictions:

AFC Wild Card

New England Patriots over

Cincinnati Bengalsover New York Jets

NFC Wild Card

Green Bay Packers over Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys over

AFC Divisional Round

over New England Patriots

over Cincinnati Bengals

NFC Divisional Round

New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers

Dallas Cowboys over Minnesota Vikings

over 

New Orleans Saints over Dallas Cowboys

Wincraft Super Bowl XLIV 20x30 Mat - NFLShop.com

New Orleans Saints over

Read More: NFL Power Rankings, Print  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • Josh

    I love how this idiot rated the packers #5 all season, and now that the playoffs start, coming off a 33-0 win, the packers fall too spots. Explanation please?

  • Josh

    And before I get the wise response, typo: ‘two’ spots, not too spots

  • http://stampedeblue.com Justin Pugh

    O.K.

    The one consistent theme I’ve seen over this year is everyone is riding the San Diego wave. Fine… Everyone was doing that the year they were 14-2 as well.

    The Colts are good enough to get to the conference title game, but we aren’t “good enough” to beat the Chargers.

    Then what makes this prediction all the more stupid and homerish is the fact that you’ve got the Saints beating the Chargers in the Super Bowl…

    What makes this stupid is the fact that the Colts are better than the Saints. You can say what you want, but simply put the Colts match up pretty well against the Colts and Peyton Manning is near robotic against 4-3 defenses.

    This is a homer prediction and I’ll be back here to hopefully serve up some crow!

  • Jason

    Josh,
    I understand Peyton is a phenomenal QB, that is a given and yes you guys have a championship and the Chargers don’t (yet). That being said, poeple are riding the San Diego “wave” for a reason..
    The fact of the matter is we have beaten your Colts 4 out of the last 5 times we played them, and would’ve been 5 out of 6 if dumb ass then safety Marlon Mcree bats down the 4th down pass in the 2006 playoffs against the Patriots instead of intercepting it and trying to run it back and be the hero. If you saw the game, which you probably didn’t, he was then stripped of the ball and Brady and company were given life and took advantage. This happened with under 2 minutes left to play…bat the ball down..game over. If he doesn’t make the bonehead play and we win, your Colts come to SD and get beat. period. You and every other Colt fan knows damn well the last team you want to see is the one from San Diego. You can try and spin it all you want, but that 14-2 team was a whole different team with a different coach. You can’t deny the recent head to head record… period.

  • Jason

    above comment for Justin, not Josh.

  • Jason

    oh and Justin,
    the chargers play the 3-4, not the 4-3

  • john

    To all,

    Yes, there is a lot of good teams in the play offs this year. And, Manning is having a great one too. But, so is Brees! That being said.I say this only once. If new orleans can fix there def. then it will be a very interesting playoff year. I on first hand would love to see the colts and saints in the super bowl. because I think these 2 quaterbacks would give a show of all time super bowls. And that would be one hell of a party…

  • john

    Oh, nothing against SD chargers there a great team too>>

  • http://sailorgamer.wordpress.com Treima

    With the way the Packers and Saints played down the stretch, I would not be surprised at Green Bay coming from nowhere and flattening the Saints in the Superdome.

  • Dabrickashaw Ferguson

    I agree with nypatsfan in that any team can win on any given Sunday. Let’s face it, all of these teams made it to the playoffs for a reason. As far as who is going to dominate is merely speculation about what people expect to happen. There are so many good teams that no one can say with certainty who will win. This is the exciting part of football in my opinion. I find it rather amusing, by the way, that so many charger fans have already been acting like this superbowl is locked up for them. I know they are an excellent team, but they have to earn it first before they start boasting about it. There is no cake walk to the big game, and just because the Bolts have won over the Colts in the recent past doesn’t give them a free pass this year. Just sayin…

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