Sports: NFL Playoffs

Our resident NFL experts have been hard at work analyzing the match-ups and making predictions. They went an astonishing 3-1 in the divisional round! Let's take a look at how they saw the divisional round shaking out.

Seahawks vs. Bears
The Bears should win this matchup in my opinion. This is because they have a high powered offense behind Jay Cutler. The Seahawks defense won’t be able to stop them. The Seahawks running game won’t give Matt Hassleback the help he needs.
Seahawks: 17
Bears: 31


Packers vs. Falcons
I think that the Packers will win this matchup if James Starks produces. If he runs the ball well it will open up the passing game for star quarter back Aaron Rodgers. The injury to Ryan Grant hurt them because they weren’t able to run the ball effectively the whole rest of the season. This helped other defenses because they didn’t have a running game so they could drop back into coverage every play. Now that they have their running game back they will be more effective then ever.
Falcons: 24
Packers: 31


Ravens vs. Steelers
Both teams have great defenses, but the Steelers have the number one ranked rushing defense. Ray Rice is Baltimore’s strongest offensive weapon. For both games against the Steelers he had a combined total of 17 attempts for 52 yards. That is an average of just above 3 yards a carry. I don’t think that Ray Rice will have an effect on the game. The one player that could decide the game is Ed Reed who has 8 interceptions in 10 games. His highest season total is 9 in a season with 16 games. He also has a forced fumble and 16 pass deflections. I think the Steelers will shut down Ray Rice, and Joe Flacco won’t do anything. It will be a defensive battle that the Steelers will win, because of their better offense.
Ravens: 21
Steelers: 24


Jets vs. Patriots
The key to the game is how well the jets defense contains patriots QB Tom Brady. Tom Brady is the leagues leading passer and is having one of the best seasons of his career, and will probably win the MVP. In my opinion the Patriots will dismantle the Jets underneath with Wes Welker if they don’t throw the ball at Darrelle Revis a ton they will be fine. If the Jets want a chance to win they will have to try to keep the Patriots high powered offense off the field by power running from LaDainian Tomlinson.
Patriots: 35
Jets: 24