DTTWSB Divisional Week Picks

Now that Wild-Card weekend is over it's time for the big boys to start playing again. The top two seeds in each conference will be hosting the playoff games this week. This is the NFL's version of the Elite Eight. In my opinion, the divisional playoff weekend is my favorite weekend in the NFL because you get four great matchups to watch. Last week there was a huge upset when the Seahawks beat the Saints. That just proves to you that anything can happen once you get to the playoffs. I was 2-2 picking games last week, hopefully I do a little bit better this time around. Where will you be when you're watching the games? Wherever it is I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Here are my picks for the divisional round.

Ravens at Steelers: Steelers

Every year there are certain games that you have circled on your football watching schedule. For me, this rivalry is somewhere in the top 3. When these two teams play it is the eptiome of football. Ground and pound hard-hitting physical football. For the second time in three years, we get a third helphing of this rivalry in one season! It's tough to beat your rival three times but this Saturday I think the Steelers will be able to pull it off. In my opinion, the Ravens offense will struggle when they're up against the Steel Curtain. Safety Troy Polamalu and those boys are coming hard. Also, I think Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will make enough plays at the end of the day to win the game. These two teams are pretty evenly matched except at the quarterback position where I give the Steelers a clear advantage. In what should be a defensive battle, the first team to score 20 points will probably win this contest. If you ask me I think that's going to be Pittsburgh.

Packers at Falcons: Packers

Oh baby this is going to be a Saturday night special. Two high-powered offenses will be taking the field when the Packers and Falcons go head-to-head. The quarterback play in this game will be phenomenal. On one side you have the Falcons Matt Ryan and on the other side you have the Packers Aaron Rodgers. Both whom are great young quarterbacks. This game is going to come down to which team makes the least mistakes because both have excellent playmaking ability. With that said, I'm picking the number six seeded Green Bay Packers to walk into the Georgia Dome and beat the number one seeded Atlanta Falcons. I just think the Packers are the hottest team in all of football and will be playing loose come Saturday night. The last time the Falcons played a quality opponent they lost at home. The Packers have been pretty much playing playoff football since they lost to the New England Patriots in December. The first quarter will tell us a lot about how this game is going to go. If you see the Falcons starting off slow don't be shocked if the Packers have a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter. Give me Rodgers and the Packers in this one.

Seahawks at Bears: Bears

The feel-good story of the week has definitely been the Seattle Seahawks. They were 10-point underdogs last Saturday when they took on the Saints at home! I don't think we've ever seen that happen. This week should be another tough test for them when they have to travel to the Windy City and take on the Chicago Bears. In my opinion, this game comes down to Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. This guys has two personalities. Midway Jay is the guy we saw light up the Jets defense, but Badd Cutler (oh and bad needed two d's because that's how bad he can be at times) is the guy we saw lay a stinker againts the Patriots. If we see Midway Jay the Bears will win by multiple scores. What scares all Bears fans is that if we see Badd Cutler on Sunday then the Bears will be out of the playoffs. One thing that will be interesting is that the Seahawks will be playing loose since nobody expects them to win, kind of like last week. If they can start fast they will be able to put some real pressure on Chicago. At the end of the day I think the Bears defense is too good to let the Seahawks shred them the way they shredded New Orleans last Saturday. It was a nice run for the Hawks but the clock will strike Midnight this Sunday in Chicaog.

Jets at Patriots: Patriots

This is the game that I am most excited for this weekend. The New York Jets have been talking a lot of smack about the Patriots during the week. You've got to believe that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has pulled a page out Miami Heat Forward LeBron James' playbook and decided to take "mental notes" this week. Once the ball is kicked all that matters between the white lines is execution. No team executes better in the league than the New England Patritots, especially when they have two weeks to prepare. This week the media has been talking about how the Patriots should easily win this game but I don't see it. That Monday night massacre was not a realistic measure of how these teams compare. You best believe the Jets are going to give the Patriots their best shot. At the end of the day I just don't think it's going to be enough. I just don't see Tom Brady losing a home playoff game, especially to a heated division rival. In what should be a damn good game, I like the Patriots to barely win. I have one eye open while I'm making this pick though.