Championship Weekend Ready To Kick Off

The time has finally arrived. We have FOUR teams left standing in the NFL Playoffs, thew Denver Broncos, new England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. By the time all is said and done this Sunday, we will have ourselves two teams left to play for the biggest prize in professional football today. But that's still a little over two weeks away. We still have to decide who will be playing in that game.  So lets now take a look at the 4 teams left standing.

In the first game of the day, its the AFC Championship game in which the Denver Broncos play host to the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. game is set for a 3PM kickoff on CBS. These two franchises have met twice before in the playoffs, with Denver winning two of three, but New England won the last meeting back in 2011. The big storyline in this matchup is the battle of the Quarterback, as we will once again see Peyton manning go up against Tom Brady. Brady has won 10 of 14 matchups with Manning's teams, including a 2-1 mark in the postseason in which the home team has prevailed each time. We know both QB's can throw the football, as Brady had 4,343 pass yards this year, while Manning set a new record with 5,477 pass yards this season. Both teams have 1,000+ yard receivers this year, for the Patriots it was Julian Edleman, while Denver had both Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas. So it's almost a given the passing game will be there.

In this game however, I feel its going to be the running game that's going to be a key, especially if New England wants to stand a chance. Look at what happened against the Colts, when LaGarret Blunt went off for 4 TD runs and over 100 yards rushing. For the Patriots to pull off the upset this week, as the Broncos are favored, they need to control the clock by running the football, and put pressure on Peyton Manning on Defense. The Patriot defense needs to rush Peyton like crazy. For the Broncos, they need to do the same on defense and try to get to Brady, making him as uncomfortable as possible in the pocket. Also the Broncos running game will have to be a bigtime factor too. Knowshon Moreno had a career-high 1,038 rushing yards this season, and the Patriots will be very familiar with him after he had a career-best 224 yards in the November meeting. And while the Patriots remember what Moreno did to them in the last meeting, While New England knows what to expect from Moreno, Denver can't say the same about LeGarrette Blount, who had two carries for 13 yards the last time these teams met. So it's going to come down to a battle of running backs, which will make for an interesting battle.

Now if the past has been any indication, then Denver has to be the favorite here. In the last three playoff meetings between the two clubs, the home team has won every game. Sure the Patriots took the last playoff meeting in New England, but that was a bigtime mismatch. This is going to be a different game. Its going to be a high scoring game, with coming down to who has the ball last. It's going to be a tight ball game but in the end I just think Peyton has more to work with and will be better suited for this ball game than in past meetings with the Patriots. Denver takes it and advances to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1998!

Next up we have the NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks playing host to the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, with kickoff set for 6:30PM on Fox. This will be the first meeting between these to franchises in the playoffs. San Francisco is coming in red hot, having won eight straight games, including the last two in the playoffs over Green Bay and Carolina, both on the road mind you. Though the teams have split the last four meetings, Seattle has owned the 49ers, forcing seven turnovers and outscoring San Francisco 71-16 to win the last two at raucous CenturyLink Field. It's already tough enough playing in Seattle, as we know that the 12th man has been known to be quite loud. Factor that in with a good Seahawks team, it looks like a very daunting task for the 49ers.

When these two teams met in week two this year, Kaepernick completed 50.0 percent of his passes for 371 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions in his two starts at Seattle. His 87 yards on nine carries highlighted San Francisco's 29-3 loss there in Week 2. However, once the playoffs roll around, Colin Kaepernick is a different quarterback, as he's 4-1 in the postseason, including 3-0 on the road. He posted a 92.7 passer rating and threw six TDs and three INTs in those five games, while rushing for 377 yards and four touchdowns with a 9.4-yard per-carry average. So yeah, the guy can perform come playoff time. So Seattle has the unenviable task of trying to containe him and a decent running attack, lead by Franke Gore.

Lets not forget that Seattle has a pretty good QB in their own right in Russel Wilson. Seattle's Russell Wilson has thrown for five TDs and two INTs while posting a 101.4 passer rating in the past two at home against the 49ers. So he has good numbers in his career against the 49ers. And lets not forget about the running back the Seahawks have, some guy name Marshawn Lynch, who had another big week last week against the Saints, a team he always seems to dominate come playoff time. For San Francisco to pull this game out, he has to be contained.

The biggest problem Seattle is going to have thought, is trying to deal with a team in San Francisco that's allowed averages of 15.5 points and 304.9 yards over the last eight weeks. This contest is going to be just as close and just as exciting as the AFC title game. In this game however, I think its going to be the passing game that's going to be the deciding factor. Just by looking at the numbers, San Francisco has a better pass attack than Seattle this season. Seattle is going to be a tough team to beat, but it can and will be done as the 49ers will be playing in the Super Bowl for the 2nd year in a row.

So there you have it, our preview for the AFC and NFC Title games. Now sit back relax and enjoy some good hard hitting FOOTBALL!