Today’s Playoff Games

First up, the Niners and Saints. I’m giving the Saints the nod in this one. I think they’re offense is too potent for the Niners’ D, while their offense is not potent enough to keep the Saints O off the field. Brees will get too many chances and, while they likely won’t score 40 plus, they’ll score enough to make the difference.

The more interesting game is clearly the Broncos and Patriots. Most everyone just remembers the final score of the regular season match-up. What I’ve only seen talked about a couple of times, is the fact that the Broncos gave that game away with 3 2nd quarter turnovers, all of which were freakish. More importantly, the Pats’ D couldn’t stop the Denver running game. If the Denver O asserts itself like they did in the first game and eliminates the turnovers, then I think Denver wins the game. So I see 2 possibilities: a general replay of the 1st game where the Pats get a lead early and limit Denver’s options offensively as a result; or a closer game that favors Denver because their offense keeps the Pats’ O off the field, while scoring points of their own.