NFL: Who Is Headed to Houston?
Unfortunately, the Divisional Round did not go as well for us as Wild Card Weekend, as we combined to go 5-3 and 12-4 overall (Henderson: 6-2, Post: 6-2) in our predictions, but we are back and here to tell you who is headed to NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, for Super Bowl LI.
NFC Championship Game: No. 4 Green Bay Packers (12-6) at No. 2 Atlanta Falcons (12-5)
Post: I've been going back-and-forth on this one, as both teams are scorching hot, coming in with 5+ game winning streaks, and MVP-worthy quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. Rodgers looked like one of the best players of our generation in the 34-31 win over Dallas. Because of that victory, I liked Green Bay at first thought but I actually think I'm going to settle on Atlanta. Partly, because of home-field advantage and a solid defense that is headlined by Vic Beasley's 15.5 sacks, but mostly because of an explosive offense that consists of Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones, Ryan, and a ton of more weapons. After seeing what the Falcons did to Seattle, in a 36-20 drubbing, I'll take the Fighting Matt Ryan's.
Final Score: Green Bay 28, Atlanta 31.
Player of the Game: Matt Ryan (QB).
Henderson: It's quite clear now that Aaron Rodgers wasn’t messing around when he said the Packers could run the table back, when Green Bay was 4-6. However, can they knock off the presumed NFL MVP Matt Ryan and statistically the best offense in NFL history in the Falcons? My answer is yes. One simply cannot pick against a hot Aaron Rodgers, and again I foresee him putting the Packers on his back and putting Green Bay in the Super Bowl.
Final Score: Green Bay 38, Atlanta 31.
Player of the Game: Aaron Rodgers (QB).
AFC Championship Game: No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (13-5) at No. 1 New England Patriots (15-2)
Post: I like this Pittsburgh team a lot, because of Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, and a young defense that is finally coming into it's own, who dominated Kansas City, winning 18-16. However, do any of us really see New England losing at home? Tom Brady is 9-2 in his career against the Steelers, 4-0 at home, and has yet to throw an interception against the Black and Yellow on his field. I see each of those streaks continuing. Brady goes for 300+ yards, and the Patriots pull away in the fourth quarter, similarly to the 34-16 win over Houston. Look for Dion Lewis to get into the end zone at least once again.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 17, New England 30.
Player of the Game: Tom Brady (QB).
Henderson: While the Steelers do have a good chance to win this game, as I have seen over the years teams that have some sort of controversy surrounding them before a playoff game tend to not fare too well, see Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants. This Antonio Brown Facebook Live situation will come back to haunt the Steelers, and I’d say the Patriots have a good chance to head to their 7th Super Bowl in the Brady-Belichick era.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 13, New England 24.
Player of the Game: Tom Brady (QB).
Photo Credit: Sporting News.
