Game Time

The AFC and NFC championship games will be held tomorrow. The winners of those games will battle it out for the Superbowl two weeks from tomorrow. Earlier this month I made fearless playoff predictions. It seems pretty clear to me that the Patriots will not, in fact, win the Super Bowl. That is unless some new revelations about Jets cheating is uncovered tonight... and I'm not ruling that out. But it does seem unlikely.

The NFC team I picked to make it to the big game was the Bears and, luckily, they're still in the hunt. But I'm not quite so confident that they'll make it to the big game. On the eve of the penultimate week of competitive NFL football for the season, I thought I'd make new and revised playoff picks. I completely stand by these picks... until 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time tomorrow. (Just kidding... maybe).

NFC Title Game — Green Bay Packers (12-6) vs. Chicago Bears (12-5), Noon Pacific Time

This is a battle of division rivals, but it's the first time since 1941 that the teams have met in the playoffs. (The Bears won that game). Many people saw the Packers making the NFC title game and, probably, the Super Bowl prior to the start of the season. Optimism wasn't as high for Chicago, which was routinely picked as the third or fourth best team in their own division. Who knew? The Bears have been a scrappy team all season, and both their games with the Packers were close (each team won at home). I watched most of both those games, and I think Sunday's rubber match will be equally as close. Many are counting out the Bears because of the way that the Packers beat up on Atlanta, but this is a totally different matchup. I have probably seen more Jay Cutler games than most (as he was Denver's starter for 2.5 years), and I know that when he's on, he's great. And when he's off, you start checking the local listings. If he's on Sunday, the Packers will have all they can handle... of course he doesn't have a great supporting cast.

This game leaves me torn. The line is Packers -3.5, meaning they are road favorites. They probably earned that, but the Bears won't appreciate it. My hear is with Chicago, but my head says the Packers are playing better.

The Pick: Green Bay 20, Chicago 17.

AFC Title Game — New York Jets (13-5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4) 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

This is another game that will be close. The Jets have a great defense and a strong running game. The Steelers have a dynamic player in Ben Roethlisberger and a great defense. Honestly, before the playoffs began, I couldn't imagine the Jets making it to the AFC title game. I thought the same thing last year. Yet, here they are. I have friends that are Jets fans, and if the Jets win I will be happy for those friends, but I, personally, can't stand the Jets. The idea of three more weeks of Jets players and coaches jabbering about how good they are makes me want to cry.

Pittsburgh is, at times, an enigmatic team. During the first half of last week's game I thought they were done, then they came back in a ferocious way. If they lay an egg during the first half tomorrow, I doubt they'll be able to come back against this Jets team. New England couldn't and I don't know that Pittsburgh can either. The Steelers need to get off to a hot start. I think they can do it.

Let's just say my family will be doing its part by having a Pittsburgh-themed Sunday supper.

The pick: Steelers 24, Jets 17.

Dream Super Bowl matchup (at this point): Bears vs. Steelers

Realistic Super Bowl matchup (at this point): Packers vs. Steelers

Nightmare Super Bowl matchup (at this point): Jets vs. anybody

Enjoy the games!

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