FEARLESS!

Not only am I going to offer up my Super Bowl prediction before week 16 has even kicked off, I’m going to do so by predicting the relevant week 16 and 17 games to determine playoff participants and then predict each round leading up to and including the Super Bowl.  Hey!  WHY NOT?!?!

Playoff Participants

  • AFC East: New England (clinched)
  • AFC Central: Baltimore (one W and they clinch and I think they get it)
  • AFC South: Houston (clinched)
  • AFC West: Denver (clinched)
  • AFC Wildcards: Indianapolis (beat the Chiefs to clinch); Pittsburgh (beat Cinci and Cleveland and hold a tiebreaker over the former)
  • NFC East: Washington (win out to clinch)
  • NFC North: Green Bay (clinched)
  • NFC South: Atlanta (clinched)
  • NFC West: San Francisco (beat Arizona to clinch)
  • NFC Wildcards: Seattle (beat St. Louis to get 10 wins, a total I think only one other NFC team achieves); Chicago (win out over Arizona and Detroit, leapfrogging Minnesota who loses to Houston; Dallas and NYG lose at least one)

Wildcard Weekend

  • New England over Pittsburgh
  • Baltimore over Indianapolis
  • San Francisco over Chicago
  • Seattle over Washington

Divisional Round

  • Houston over Baltimore
  • Denver over New England (on paper, on a neutral field, both teams on equal rest, I give NE a small but definitive edge; but Denver at home off extra rest and NE coming off a tough battle with Pitt, the coin cups up Ponies)
  • Atlanta over Seattle
  • San Francisco over Green Bay

Conference Championships

  • Denver over Houston
  • San Francisco over Atlanta

Super Bowl

  • Denver 24, San Francisco 20

Truth be told, if I simply had to predict a Super Bowl, I had San Francisco and NE as basically a coin flip; I think they’re the two best teams in the league.  But playing it out, NE losing the bye and homefield to Denver means too much.  Why Denver over Frisco?  QB play.  I actually think Kaepernick isn’t your typical second-year playing who only became a starter in Week 12 or whatever.  The guy seems to ooze confident, bordering on cockiness.  But Peyton Manning, man.  I think the 49ers play him tough and hit him hard, but he’s able to make just enough plays to win his second SB and earn back his seat at the grown-up table at Manning Family Dinners.

Who you got?!?!

Kazzy

One man. Two boys. Twelve kids.

9 Comments

  1. First of all, these are going to be the seedings. It will happen exactly like this:

    During the wild card round, New England beats Cincinnati and Indianapolis upsets Baltimore. San Francisco beats Chicago and Washington clobbers the SeaChickens.

    In the divisional round, no upsets at all. Texans beat Colts, Broncos beat Ravens, Packers beat Niners, and Falcons beat Redskins.

    Both the championship games, however, will be upsets. Green Bay and Denver go on to the Super Bowl leaving the Texans and the Falcons sputtering with rage. In the big game, it’s back and forth all the way, with Green Bay winning 35-31.

    It will happen thus. It is written.

    • Seems like the only difference is Pittsburgh/Cinci, no?

      Your division round is off… you have both Indy and Baltimore in even though they faced off in the WC round and have NE no where. Surely that changes things, no?

      It wouldn’t shock me to see GB beat SF, especially in Lambeau. But I just think of that 49ers defense and give them a slight edge.

        • I see Tebow’s intangibles carrying the day even yet.

          Denver will be taking it home.

          They’ll give the credit to Peylzebub, though.

  2. When the 49ers beat the Broncos, Peyton spends so much of the game on his butt that he gets penalized 15 yards for loitering.

  3. The team from Washington (DC) still has a decent shot even if they lose to the Iggles – as long as they then beat Dallas. Dropping the Philly game means that everyone else (specifically Chi and NYG) also have to win out to keep Washington out of it.

    Having the team from Washington (DC) play the team from Washington (state) does concern me. Though the Skin’s D finally seems to be coming together, Seattle has been throwing up a tremendous number of points, and seems particularly capable of attacking the weaknesses in Team Largo’s secondary.

  4. I hereby offer a wager of $1, to Burt, that San Francisco will beat Green Bay, should the two teams meet in the playoffs.

    I hereby offer a wager of $1, to Kazzy, that San Francisco will beat Denver, should the two teams meet in the playoffs.

    Please indicate your acceptance of these wagers in a comment reply, or retract your predictions out of rank cowardice.

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