BL Predicts: NFL Playoffs - Week 2

The BL got off to a decent start last week, correctly predicting 3 out of 4 matches.    Only Andy Dalton and the Bengals let us down.  On to week 2 of sensational NFL playoff games!

New Orleans at Seattle

Home field advantage and Seattle's incredibly fast defense will make life hard on Drew Brees.   Russell Wilson proved last year that he knows how to step it up in big games.   Unless something unforeseen like a key injury takes place, Seattle has this game going away.

Seattle              27
New Orleans   17


Indianapolis Colts at New England

The X factor in this game may well be the Colts signing this week of former Patriots WR, Deion Branch, who played 89 games for the Patriots in his career.   Branch may not be completely up to speed with the cheating methods that Bill Belichick is employing this season but he should be able to give some insights to the Colts into how to avoid being victimized by Belichick's illegal schemes.   Leave no stone unturned is what the Colts were saying when they signed Branch and I like that.   The Pats are actually not a very talented team.  Their receivers are mediocre and their defense is horrendous but Tom Brady is a good QB and Bill Belichick knows how to find advantages for his team, be they legal or not.

Plain and simple, the Colts are a better team than the Pats and I see them overcoming all obstacles in their way on the road this weekend.

Colts           30
Pats             20


San Francisco at Carolina 

Many pundits are picking San Fran this weekend because they refuse to accept that Cam Newton is the most gifted QB in the entire NFL.   Why they have that viewpoint is baffling to me because all you have to do is watch to guy to see an arm like no other in the game together with leadership that is world class.   And he can run too, which in the NFL playoffs of 2014 is proving to be a necessary skill.   I love Harbaugh too, he's the best coach in the game but I think Cam will carry the Panthers on his back to the Conference finals.

Carolina          24
SF 49ers          23


San Diego at Denver

I was in the stands for the Bengals vs Chargers game last Sunday.   The Chargers didn't really beat the Bengals, I think the Bengals killed themselves.    Without Andy Dalton's turnovers the Chargers would have been in a battle for their lives.   Peyton Manning is "not" Andy Dalton and the Denver Broncos are not the Cincinnati Bengals.   San Diego is nothing more than a small obstacle in Peyton Manning's march to the Super Bowl.   Forget it SD, you're going home.

Denver         42
San Diego    17