Obviously this isn't the divisional round like the title says :^ /
AFC Championship
New England -9
Baltimore +9
51.5
Just not sure I trust Baltimore on the road. Especially considering this will be their 12th straight game without a break. Sure they have played the Pats tough in the past but NE is nearly unbeatable at home and should not be nearly as spent physically and mentally. Since 2007 NE is 43-6 SU at home regular season, 5-2 in the playoffs, and in the Flacco era Bal is just 21-19 on the road regular season, 5-4 in the playoffs. NE's defense has improved with the acquisition of Aqib Talib who has only allowed 1 catch of 20 yards or more since Week 11. I don't think you'll see Torrey Smith, who seems to be a boom or bust type WR anyway, running rampant in this game like he did at Denver. And although they've put together a couple of decent efforts they are still just 3-4 in their last 7 games. A key stat is NE's best in the NFL +25 TO ratio. I think NE will win and cover in this one.
Final score NE 35 - Bal 23
NFC Championship
San Francisco -4
Atlanta +4
49
This will be the toughest defensive team Atlanta has seen this year by far. Their 2 toughest match-ups to date were Arizona and last week vs a less than full strength Seattle defense. They won both by a combined 6 pts. And although Atlanta benefited greatly from a very positive TO ratio in going 13-3, they were a -5 in those 2 games (1-6 vs Ari and 2-2 vs Sea). That could very well be their demise this week also because SF has a pretty good TO ratio themselves. I like SF to cover this spread.
Final score SF 30 - Atl 20
AFC Championship
New England -9
Baltimore +9
51.5
Just not sure I trust Baltimore on the road. Especially considering this will be their 12th straight game without a break. Sure they have played the Pats tough in the past but NE is nearly unbeatable at home and should not be nearly as spent physically and mentally. Since 2007 NE is 43-6 SU at home regular season, 5-2 in the playoffs, and in the Flacco era Bal is just 21-19 on the road regular season, 5-4 in the playoffs. NE's defense has improved with the acquisition of Aqib Talib who has only allowed 1 catch of 20 yards or more since Week 11. I don't think you'll see Torrey Smith, who seems to be a boom or bust type WR anyway, running rampant in this game like he did at Denver. And although they've put together a couple of decent efforts they are still just 3-4 in their last 7 games. A key stat is NE's best in the NFL +25 TO ratio. I think NE will win and cover in this one.
Final score NE 35 - Bal 23
NFC Championship
San Francisco -4
Atlanta +4
49
This will be the toughest defensive team Atlanta has seen this year by far. Their 2 toughest match-ups to date were Arizona and last week vs a less than full strength Seattle defense. They won both by a combined 6 pts. And although Atlanta benefited greatly from a very positive TO ratio in going 13-3, they were a -5 in those 2 games (1-6 vs Ari and 2-2 vs Sea). That could very well be their demise this week also because SF has a pretty good TO ratio themselves. I like SF to cover this spread.
Final score SF 30 - Atl 20
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