NFL Conference Championship Preview

San Francisco 49ers @ Atlanta Falcons - Sunday January 20, 3:00 PM

Seemingly everybody has the 49ers in the Super Bowl after they tore apart the Packers on Saturday, and are facing an Atlanta team who were extremely close to choking in yet another home playoff game. It's hard for me to believe that this one will be a blowout though, as the past five NFC Championship games were decided by less than 7 points and three of the games went to OT.

First of all, these teams go about their business in different ways. San Fran gained just seven yards per game less than the Falcons this season, but were remarkably better balanced offensively. The 49ers rushing attack made up for 43% of their total offense compared to Atlanta's ground game which accounted for just 23.5% of their offense's yards. San Fran's fourth-best rush D should be able to stop Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers with relative ease, leaving Matt Ryan to do most of the heavy lifting. Unfortunately for Matty Ice and his formidable corps of Gonzalez, White and Jones, the 49ers pass defense was also fourth-best this season.

NFC Divisional Round Preview

Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers - Saturday 8:00 PM

The QB Battle: The Biggest 49ers Story This Season
(AP)

For my money, this is the game of the weekend. While technically a rematch of a Week 1 affair (which the 49ers won 30-22), in reality both teams are vastly different than the teams that squared off in on September 9.

The biggest difference for San Fran—of course—is at quarterback. Alex Smith started for the 9ers in Week 1, but handed the reigns to Colin Kaepernick mid-season (had the reigns wrestled away from him?) and the team hasn't looked back since. By now you know the differences between Smith and Kaepernick, but let's list them here anyway: Kaepernick is more mobile than Smith, has a bigger arm than Smith and takes more shots downfield than did Smith. It was highly debated for weeks, but the change at QB has made the 49ers offense more explosive.

Let's be real here, though. No matter who plays under center for San Francisco, this team is all about defense. They are undoubtedly the most physical defensive unit in the league, and were in the top-3 both in terms of total yards allowed, and points allowed. From the line through the secondary, these dudes can flat out play. Even better for the 49ers, defensive tackle Justin Smith is expected to play in this one. Smith is essential to the defense, calling stunts and opening up holes for the San Fran pass rushers (notice how Aldon Smith's production steeply declined when Justin Smith was out?). The D can keep San Francisco in almost any game, and will manage keep this one close.

AFC Divisional Round Preview

Baltimore Ravens @ Denver Broncos - Saturday January 12th, 4:30 PM

I've got this weird feeling that this one will be close, even though Denver is the better team in almost every way. Close or not, the Broncos should win this one and advance to the AFC Championship.

Peyton Manning, it turns out, is really quite good. Who'd have thought? Manning has transformed the Broncos into one of the most explosive teams in the league on offense and he should be able to tear up a poor Ravens secondary. The running game will add a bit, but to me this game comes down to Denver's passing attack. I'm thinking 70-ish yards for Knowshon Moreno as the lead rusher, and over 300 for Manning.

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NFC Wildcard Preview

Minnesota @ Green Bay - Saturday, January 5th 8:00 PM

Saturday night's NFC North matchup pits two teams that are all too familiar with each other. This game will mark the third time in six weeks that the Packers and Vikings will square off, and could very well be the most even matchup of the entire Wildcard round.

It was exactly one month ago when the Packers defeated their division foes at Lambeau in Week 13. Only two players really stood out in that contest: Adrian Peterson, who has been exceptional all year, and Packers' safety Morgan Burnett. Burnett picked off Christian Ponder twice in the red zone in the 2nd half, both turnovers leading to Green Bay field goals. Peterson rushed for 210 yards, including an 82-yd TD, making Peterson's effort the fifth-most rushing yards by a player on a losing team in the Super Bowl era.

While we can expect AP to put up more beastly numbers, I wouldn't count on Ponder to throw the game away like he did in December. Ponder has thrown just one pick since those two at Lambeau, and it came in the Vikings' next game against Chicago, a defence who led the league in INTs and overall takeaways. And if regular season stats are any indication, Minnesota should go to the ground early and often. The Vikes ranked 2nd in rushing yards and second-last in passing yards. This fits well with the conventional wisdom when facing an elite QB; keeping it on the ground will limit how much time Aaron Rodgers and his O has the ball.

AFC Wildcard Preview

Cincinnati @ Houston - Saturday, January 5th 4:30 PM

Just 3 weeks ago, Houston was the run-away favorite to begin the playoffs as the top seed in the AFC. Then, their defense completely fell apart, Matt Schaub laid a couple stinkers and Arian Foster was held out with an irregular heartbeat. Needless to say, they struggled. 

And yet, I fully expect the Texans to win on Saturday.

No doubt, Arian Foster will get plenty of touches, as he has all year. His 351 carries this year are the most any back has had since 2009 (Chris Johnson had 358), and while Foster has been less explosive than in recent years, the Texans' run-game is always relentless, and often wears teams down. 

NFL Pick'ems - Week 17 Results

Mike wins Week 17 and finishes the season with a 7-game lead over Simon. Peter King's late-season surge lands him just shy of second place, one game behind Simon. Pete Prisco struggled down the stretch and finds himself in the basement to end the season.

Stay tuned for the RS Freshmen Wildcard round preview which will include our playoff predictions.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 16 Results, Week 17 Picks

SI.com's Peter King-- who was in last place all season-- has been on a roll recently. You'd have to go back to Week 12 to find the last time King didn't at least tie for the weekly win. King moves himself into third place, two points behind Simon for second. Mike has a four point lead going into the final week of games. Pete Prisco's steady decline has him in last place for the first time this season. The experts were 9-1 in their consensus picks, with the G-Men's loss in Baltimore being the only upset.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 15 Results, Week 16 Picks

The Christmas holidays have a knack for getting in the way of more important things like football and sports blogs. Unfortunately, the Redshirt Freshmen fell victim to the Yuletide season and were unable to post their Week 16 picks before the Saturday night game in Detroit. We did however make our picks in private and will share them with you, along with our results from way back in Week 15...

SI.com's Peter King wins another week and moves into 3rd place in front of a slumping Pete Prisco. Mike remains in the lead after a solid week, as Simon remains in 2nd, now just one game ahead of King.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 14 Results, Week 15 Picks

Peter King is the Week 14 victor but still finds himself in last place overall. The SI.com columnist's only misses came on consensus picks, with the exception of Minnesota's win over the Bears, which Pete Prisco predicted. Prisco missed on two would-be consensus games, as he took chances on Buffalo and Jacksonville at home. Simon and Mike had nearly identical picks in Week 14, save for the Monday nighter. After New England's blowout win, Simon moves one game closer to Mike for the lead.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 13 Results, Week 14 Picks

Prisco, King and Dow all found different ways to get to 11-5 in Week 13. King hit on Seattle and Washington's wins but incorrectly picked Oakland, while Prisco was the lone man to pick the Chiefs. Dow was alone in cashing in on Andrew Luck's late game heroics, building on his lead. Simon (9-7) remains in second.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 12 Results

Mike is now in the lead for the first time since Week 1 after a 12-4 performance highlighted by his 49ers and Redskins picks. Simon moves into second while Prisco remains in third after being alone in correctly picking Miami and incorrectly picking San Diego. Peter King overrated the impact of Houston's tough schedule leading into their Thursday game against the Lions, just one of his many faults en route to an 8-8 week.

Week 13 Picks

Simon	Matchup	Mike
NO	Saints @ Falcons	ATL
CHI	Seahawks @ Bears	CHI
HOU	Texans @ Titans	HOU
NE	Patriots @ Dolphins	NE
BUF	Jaguars @ Bills	BUF
DET	Colts @ Lions	IND
CAR	Panthers @ Chiefs	CAR
GB	Vikings @ Packers	GB
SF	49ers @ Rams	SF
NYJ	Cardinals @ Jets	NYJ
DEN	Buccaneers @ Broncos	DEN
BAL	Steelers @ Ravens	BAL
CIN	Bengals @ Chargers	CIN
CLE	Browns @ Raiders	CLE
DAL	Eagles @ Cowboys	DAL
NYG	Giants @ Redskins	NYG

NFL Pick'ems - Week 11 Results, Week 12 Picks

Cue the comeback! Dow, with an unprecedented 14-0 week, is now nipping at my heels for the top spot. Meanwhile, King had an impressive 13-1 week (although his week 11 picks at si.com didn't include the Thursday night game), while Prisco faltered. Prisco was the only one to pick Miami, Carolina and Pittsburgh... and all those teams lost. Here are the results from last week, and the overall standings:

NFL Pick'ems - Week 10 Results, Week 11 Picks

There were 11 consensus picks in Week 10, three of which were incorrect. Both the Giants and the Dolphins were M.I.A. last weekend while the league's first tie since 2008 conveniently adds another column to our overall records. Pete Prisco wins the week and moves into second place. He was also the only prognosticator to correctly pick Minnesota and Houston's victories. Simon remains in first place while Mike slips to third. Peter King is still in last place, 3 games behind Mike.

NFL Pick'em Week 9 Results, Week 10 Picks

After 10 weeks, Simon leads the pack after an impressive 12-2 week, and was the only "expert" to pick  his boys, the Saints. Mike is two behind Simon in second place after an 11-3 week. CBSSports' Pete Prisco slips down to third as he was the only one to miss on Denver and Baltimore's victories. SI.com's Peter King remains in last, just three games behind Prisco. The experts went 8-2 in their consensus picks, with Indy and Carolina providing the upsets.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 8 Results, Week 9 Picks

Pete Prisco regained sole possession of 1^st place after going 11-3 in Week 8, despite being the only predictor to pick the Cowboys over the Giants. Simon moves into 2^nd after a solid 10-win week. While Mike was the only person to predict Cleveland's home win, he also was the only one to pick Seattle, Cleveland and the Jets in losing efforts. Peter King remains in last place but narrows the gap with an 11-3 week. There were 7 consensus picks in Week 8, with Minnesota's Thursday night loss to the Bucs being the only upset.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 7 Results, Week 8 Picks

Week 7 saw the four prognosticators agree across the board on 8 matchups, with 7 being correct (the Titans' last minute win over Buffalo being the lone incorrect consensus pick). Mike won the week with 11 correct picks and thus pulls into a tie for first with Simon and CBSSports' Pete Prisco. Mike was the lone "expert" to take a chance on the Redskins who couldn't pull it out against the G-Men, but was alone in picking the Steelers' Sunday night victory. Prisco was the only one who picked the Bucs (losers to the Saints), while SI.com's Peter King was alone in picking Baltimore, who got torn apart by the Texans. Simon took a chance on Cleveland, and, well, that almost never pans out.

NFL Pick'ems - Week 5 Results, Week 6 Picks

Week 5 produced some interesting results. The four "experts" went 9-2 in their unanimous picks, with Indy and the 'Phins providing the upsets. Peter King was the only expert to correctly pick Seattle's victory over the Panthers, while Mike was the only one who failed to predict New Orleans' first victory of the season. Simon moves out of a tie with Mike and within one game of the leader Pete Prisco, who sits at 50-27. Peter King moves closer to the rest of the pack with an impressive 12-2 week.

Reggie Bush had 72 total yards and a TD in Miami's upset

NFL Pick'ems - Weeks 3 & 4 Results, Week 5 Picks

Week 3	Simon	Mike	Prisco	King	Result
NYG @ CAR	NYG	CAR	NYG	CAR	NYG
TB @ DAL	DAL	TB	DAL	DAL	DAL
JAC @ IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	JAC
BUF @ CLE	BUF	BUF	BUF	CLE	BUF
NYJ @ MIA	NYJ	NYJ	MIA	NYJ	NYJ
KC @ NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	KC
CIN @ WAS	WAS	WAS	CIN	CIN	CIN
STL @ CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	STL	CHI
SF @ MIN	SF	SF	SF	SF	MIN
DET @ TEN	DET	DET	TEN	DET	TEN
ATL @ SD	SD	ATL	SD	ATL	ATL
PHI @ ARI	PHI	PHI	ARI	PHI	ARI
PIT @ OAK	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	OAK
HOU @ DEN	HOU	HOU	DEN	HOU	HOU
NE @ BAL	NE	NE	NE	BAL	NE
GB @ SEA	GB	GB	GB	GB	SEA

NFL Pick'ems - Week 4

Here are our Week 4 picks. We will be combining our Week 3 and 4 results post, which will be available on Tuesday.

Simon	Matchup	Mike
BAL	Browns @ Ravens	BAL
NE	Patriots @ Bills	NE
SF	49ers @ Jets	SF
SEA	Seahawks @ Rams	SEA
ATL	Carolina @ Atlanta	ATL
DET	Vikings @ Lions	DET
SD	Chargers @ Chiefs	SD
HOU	Titans @ Texans	HOU
CIN	Bengals @ Jaguars	CIN
DEN	Raiders @ Broncos	DEN
ARI	Dolphins @ Cardinals	ARI
TB	Redskins @ Buccaneers	WAS
GB	Saints @ Packers	GB
NYG	Giants @ Eagles	NYG
CHI	Bears @ Cowboys	CHI