NFL Playoffs: Jacksonville at New England

Can New England be stopped? Tonight at 8PM EST we will find out.

The Patriots struggled in four games this year; two of these games were because of great rushing. Joseph Addai ran for 112 yards in week 9, and Willis McGahee ran for 138 yards in week 13. Jacksonville has two great rushers in Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, but are these two guys alone enough to beat New England? That answer is “no”.

If Garrard throws the ball the way he did against Pittsburgh they will get destroyed. His lack of playoff experience will definitely play in the favor of New England. Jacksonville has to play a perfect game defensively and offensively to win this game. Tom Brady on the other hand will have to control the ball, run the clock down as much as he can while on offense, and make Garrard throw the ball; because if Jacksonville is given the opportunity to run it they will hurt the Pats.

My prediction for this game: New England 28, Jacksonville 16.

NFL Playoffs: Seattle At Green Bay

At 4:30PM EST today the #2 seed Packers will host the #3 seed Seahawks.

In my opinion, the Green Bay Packers have a lot to prove in this game. Though they are the number 2 seed in the NFC, they haven’t had a lot of good competition. The only REAL team they have had to play was the Cowboys, and they lost that game. The Seahawks are on a hot streak, winning 7 of their last 10 games, including the wild card blowout against the Washington Redskins.

Bret Favre has to be careful of where he places the ball, because Seattle loves to take it away and sometimes turn it into points for themselves. Green Bay is the number 2 team this season in passing, behind only the undefeated New England Patriots. The only way Seattle will come out of Lambeau with a win is if they control the line of scrimmage defensively. Giving Favre time to throw will hurt them, because his receivers are smart and fast enough to get open, giving them a big gain.

My prediction for this high scoring game: Seattle 33, Green Bay 27.