I know, I know. Defense win championships. But this weekend, for the most part, I see offenses driving the divisional round games behind elite quarterback play. Let's take a look at the slate:
NFC:
2. San Francisco 49ers (13-3) vs. 3. New Orleans Saints (14-3), 4:30 PM ET Saturday
At first glance this is a classic offense versus defense matchup, but neither team is a slouch in either category. The 49ers turnaround this season has been a nice story and in many ways, this looks like a team built to last for time to come. However, at a certain point, Alex Smith's just-good-enough quarterbacking will no long be, well, enough. The Saints secondary has underperformed this season relative to their talent, but could play up to their potential against a quarterback like Smith. The Saints also have playoff experience on their side in this game, as well as the steady hand of Drew Brees. The Saints will prevail 30-19.
1. Green Bay Packers (15-1) vs. 4. New York Giants (10-7), 4:30 PM ET Sunday
After squeaking into the playoffs with a pair of wins to close out the regular season, the Giants rolled over the Falcons in their Wildcard game and find themselves riding a nice wave of momentum. That ends this week. Apart from one dud of a game against the Chiefs, the defending champion Packers have quite clearly been the class of the league this season. This week, they have added emotional motivation from the death of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin's son. Tragedy can be a double-edged sword, but if any team can harness it, it will be the Packers. When these teams met in the regular season, it was only a three-point game. It will not be this time, as the Packers win 37-20.
AFC:
1. New England Patriots (13-3) vs. 4. Denver Broncos (9-8), 8 PM ET Saturday
America will be watching as two of their favorite son quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Tim Tebow, square off. The Broncos barely squeaked past the Steelers last week; New England will never let it become that close. Neither team has a defense worth writing home about and offenses will rule the day, but the Broncos just do not have the horses (pun intended) to keep up. The Patriots roll 38-23.
2. Baltimore Ravens (12-4) vs. 3. Houston Texans (11-6), 1 PM ET Sunday
Oddly enough, the best matchup of the week may be the only one to not feature one of the elite quarterbacks who have seemingly defined this NFL season. Rather, defense and running backs will rule the day in Baltimore. The question is which team's? Baltimore won comfortably in the team's regular season meeting and certainly is more battle-tested when it comes to the playoffs. With a veteran, attacking defense that may not have too many more chances, I expect the Ravens to play inspired football and end the Texans breakthrough season 16-10 in the weekend's one defensive-oriented game.
