Sanders's Championship Sunday Predictions

Championship Sunday Predictions

Green Bay Packers vs Atlanta Falcons

A case for the Packers:

The Packers offense is still unstoppable. Even when the game seems over, hail marys, clutch throws, and sporadic big run plays happen that keep this Packers offense rolling. We saw Green Bay struggle to score for much of the second half against Dallas because they lost their mojo, as long as they don’t lose their mojo, they’ll just keep scoring and scoring. The Packers defense must hold down the running game. The Atlanta Flacons offense is incredibly balanced and you must make them one-dimensional if you don’t want them catching up in points with you.

As for that Atlanta offense

A case for the Falcons:

No offense has played better than the Falcons this season and they showed their dominance against Seattle. Unfortunately for Atlanta, they can’t expect to hold Green Bay to just 20 points. The Falcons must keep their foot on the pedal and force Aaron Rodgers and Co. to play catchup with them and constantly one up them on the scoreboard. On the defensive side, the Falcons MUST not fall for Green Bay’s backstreet football scheme. If they do, like every team before them, Green Bay will confuse them and beat them. Vic Beasely must be a beast once again and disrupt Rodgers rhythm if the defense is to stop Green Bay’s offense.

Final Judgment:

I won’t be surprised if this matches with the Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals playoff game a few years back where they set the record for most points scored comibined in the postseason. Both offenses are absolutely on fire. Unfortunately, only one team can win. So how do you decide who to pick? Well, for me, I am going with the quarterback who can play from ahead, behind, or close knit and that's Aaron Rodgers. Matt Ryan can certainly match Rodgers playing ability. However, the come from behind has never felt so strong from Rodgers. I really think the Falcons will stay ahead for most of the game and suffer a small collapse on defense in a 2 minute drill against Green Bay. It’s just what Rodgers is best at. And I’ll pick the guy who does it best in pressure situations.

Packers 41 Falcons 38

Pittsburgh Steelers vs New England Patriots

A case for Pittsburgh:

The Steelers have shown they can win even when Roethlisberger plays poorly. Enter running back sensation Bell and a swarming Pittsburgh defense. Both have been the crutch that the Steelers have leaned on when Roethlisberger and Co. just can’t seem to get it done. The Steelers have multiple ways to beat you. Let Bell take over the game. Roethlisberger and Brown have MVP games. Or, the pass rush just slows your offense down and the Steelers edge their way out with a win. If they can execute any of these 3 strategies well, this franchise will be headed to try and win their 7^th Super Bowl in what would also be their 9^th appearance.

A case for the Patriots:

The Patriots defense gives up yards but most certainly will not let you get into the end zone. Facing this defense in the red zone is hard as the Texans found out last week. Tom Brady is always a factor and not something that has to be mentioned but I will mention it anyway. He is playing better than the best season of his career which was in 2007. The numbers don’t show it, but the game film does. When Tom Brady is unstoppable, the Patriots are practically unbeatable as their 12-1 record shows when Brady has started for them this season. This is the formula the Patriots have been using to win. MVP play from Tom Brady with a  defense who keeps putting Tom Brady back onto the field.

Final Judgment:

I didn’t think much on this one. New England is going to win. This is no disrespect towards Pittsburgh as much as it is paying respects to Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick this season. Bellichick’s team has been amazing without his top QB and without his top offensive playmaker at times this season. I expect nothing different from them. Oh, and Pittsburgh has played awful on the road more often than not this season. Don’t believe me? Watch last week’s game against the Chiefs. The D looked very good. Roethlisberger and Co. didn’t. #SixFieldGoalsWon’tBeatNewEngland

Patriots 31  Steelers 21

Sanders's Divisional Playoff Predictions round 2

Divisonal Playoffs Predictions round 2

Green Bay Packers vs Dallas Cowboys

A case for the Packers:

The Packers are probably the hottest team in football right now. No one has been able to match their fire in weeks with the Packers defense preventing opponents from scoring while Aaron Rodgers has lit up defenses for 22 touchdowns and the rest of the offense has been starting to match the production of the Atlanta Falcons offense. While the Packers will not have Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb looked fantastic in his place and this offense has enough depth to just get past Nelson’s absence. The biggest block in the road is Elliot for the defense, and the run game for the Packers. If the Packers can hold Elliot to about 100 yards rushing, and get their own game running, they can match Dallas at their own game and beat them doing it as well.

A case for the Cowboys:

No team is more balanced than the Dallas Cowboys and nobody can argue that. Neither the offense nor the defense are explosive, but they work so well hand in hand that they dissect opponents ever so slowly through games until their opponent either gives up, or Dallas puts on a show to end the game. The defense will be fully healthy and the offense will be ready to let Elliot carry them for another game. However, while many will say this game rides on Elliot (and that’s mostly true), Dak will need to step up his game. Your opponent is Aaron Rodgers and you can’t let Elliot be the only one doing work. While Prescott has been phenomenal, he’s been above average and I don’t think that’s good enough to outpace Aaron Rodgers. Prescott MUST perform elite this game. If he does that, Dallas has got this game in the bag.

Final Judgment:

Dak Prescott is no Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or even Matt Ryan. It’s a tough task to ask a rookie quarterback to match the hotness of Rodgers or Ryan who are seasoned veterans. It’s not that I don’t trust the Cowboys to win this game or the ability Prescott has shown to be the future of the NFL. I just trust a team with a hot Aaron Rodgers more than any other team in the postseason right now. Unless Dallas manages to slow him down, he’ll rip his way on to another postseason win to play against Atlanta in shootout matchup for the NFC championship. Not to say that Dallas can’t put up points, they showed they could against the Steelers, but the Steelers are a different team now when Dallas beat them. You can say the same for the Packers too.

Cowboys 31  Packers 38 

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Kansas City Chiefs

A case for the Steelers:

The holy trinity that is Ben, Bell, and Brown. These three together bring the most dynamic attack in the NFL (yes, even better than Atlanta or the Packers imo). However, there is a catch to that. While Roethlisberger is without a doubt one of the better quarterbacks of the last 15 years, he has showed some lack of production (6 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) in the last 4 games he has played. It’s fair to wonder if Bell and Brown have made Roethlisberger better recently instead of him making them better. But, on the otherside of the ball, the Steelers have become a swarming defense that can get to the quarterback and stop the run. While the secondary is still vulnerable, it’s a bend but don’t break defense, which is just fine, when you have the offense that you do.

A case for the Chiefs:

The Chiefs have an outstanding formula: An offense that can move the chains through balanced play calling with a turnover happy defense. The Chiefs have one of the highest turnover rates on defense, which is what creates the opportunities for their offense to score, and what keeps opposing teams down and out. However, when the Chiefs don’t win that turnover battle, they fare much worse than usual and lose more often than not. To their benefit, Roethlisberger is not playing his best ball and Bell tends to fumble here and there at times. If the Chiefs can take the ball out of Bell’s hands or intercept a Roethlisberger throw once or twice, they can surely win the game in classic Chiefs fashion.

Final Judgment:

This will probably be the best game of the weekend. Both teams have such strong cases to be made and neither one has a guaranteed way of winning which is what makes this one so tough. However, I am going with Pittsburgh. It’s too hard to deny Bell’s impact on games and how he singlehandedly tires out defenses and opens up the passing game for Roethlisberger to throw to Brown or Rogers. I’m thinking this game comes down to the wire and just like how Pittsburgh tore up a tired defense in the 4^th quarter on Christmas Day, they will do that again and punch in the final score with mere seconds left in the game.

Steelers 27  Chiefs 23

Sanders's Divisional Playoff Picks

Divisional Playoff Predictions

The divisional playoffs are here! It’s time for more exciting football and since I am ready to just talk about the teams, that’s exactly what I am going to do and just going to jump into it.

Sanders went 4-0 last week putting him to 161-97-2 on the season.

Seattle Seahawks vs Atlanta Falcons

A case for the Seahawks:

So the Seahawks won just like I thought they would but not in the way I expected. Seattle finally was able to go back to their identity that made them one of the best teams in the NFL from 2012-2015. They had a fierce running back in the backfield with laser quarterbacking from Russell Wilson along with a defense that kept the Lions off the field. This is exactly how you beat the Falcons. Keep Matt Ryan and Co. OFF the field. Keep up the ball control offense, eat up the clock, score a couple touchdowns with a field goal or two and let the defense do their job. This seems like a rather simple formula and it is. However, that's easier said than done. Containing Julio Jones is practically impossible and last time they "contained" Julio Jones, it was on a missed passed interference that would have won Atlanta the game

Speaking of Julio Jones...

A case for the Falcons:

Atlanta had the last game they played against Seattle notched up except for a blatantly missed PI call on Richard Sherman against Julio Jones. Julio Jones MUST go off to open up the passing game for the rest of the Falcons wide receivers. Also, if the one-two punch if Freeman and Coleman can keep some pressure off the passing game, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Atlanta can score 30+ points. However, that isn't likely and this game will really come down to if the Atlanta defense can live up to the hype its been getting. If they can keep Rawls at bay and force the Seahawks receivers to make the plays, Atlanta can walk away with a hard fought win.

Final Judgment

Give me Atlanta. While the Seahawks are a tough team, this does not feel like a team who can keep pace with Atlanta. Yes, the Seahawks are good at keeping hot offenses at bay, yet without Earl Thomas, good luck containing Julio Jones and if you do, that's exactly what the other Falcons receivers want as they have proved they can carry a game without Julio Jones being majorly productive. And by this, I mean you’ll be wasting too many resources on Jones to contain the others. Also, I'm thinking Vic Beasley has the game of his life for Atlanta on the defense and wins MVP of this game.

Atlanta 28  Seahawks 24

Houston Texans vs New England Patriots

A case for the Texans:

The Texans have a very strong and swarming defense. If there is any team that can get to Tom Brady, it’s the Houston Texans. If Jadaveon Clowney can have another MVP performance like he did against the Raiders, the Texans will limit the Patriots offensively and give their offense a chance to score. Speaking of the Texans offense, Osweiler MUST perform like he did last week. While Osweiler was not outstanding, he was good enough to push the ball forward on the field and keep the chains moving which is all you really need your QB to do when you have an amazing defense like Houston does. If Brady is contained, the Texans have a chance.

On the other hand….

A case for the Patriots:

It’s been nearly impossible to contain Tom Brady who currently has thrown 28 TDs to 4 interceptions which is absolutely incredible for a quarterback to do. Brady has shattered more records this year in what could be another MVP season for him. While I don’t think he will get the MVP that doesn’t matter as long as you keep winning and that’s all New England does right now. While Brady is the key offensive cog, the defense has been showing up as of recent. While this season has been focused on hot offenses, the defense that can bend but not break for their offenses have been the one winning games. The Patriots D doesn’t break and have been one of the best scoring defenses in the second half of the season. You can’t beat Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick if you can’t score against them.

Final Judgment:

I firmly believe this will be a close game for a while and then the Patriots will pull away in the second half. The Patriots are going to tire out the Texans defense and that’s when Tom Brady is going to roll his way on to his ELEVENTH AFC championship. Look for Edelman, Blount, and Mitchell to be competitive advantages for the Patriots offense. By the way, 11 AFC championships is amazing. Just saying.

Texans 16  Patriots 31