Championship of Champions

Will Matty Ice send the Georgia Dome off on a high note?

The 2016 NFL season started unpredictably.  The two of us missed handfuls of games that we thought were obvious wins for the eventual loser, and it took us quite sometime to get accustomed to the state of the NFL this year.

Parity seemed to reign supreme.  Following the Week 13 slate of games, three divisions were led by teams that were within two games of the .500 mark.  (Two at 7-5 and one at 6-6.)

The NFL appeared to be a mess of mediocre teams all vying for a spot in the playoffs.

And then those playoffs arrived, and the cream rose to the top like it always does.  The big dogs in the yard barked the loudest, and here we are at the final four: New England, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and Atlanta.

The Falcons are the only outlier in the bunch.  New England with QB Tom Brady have won four Super Bowls, Pittsburgh with QB Ben Roethlisberger have won two, and Green Bay with QB Aaron Rodgers have won one.  All three of the those teams are perennial contenders with those QBs at the helm, and it will be up to Matt Ryan and his Falcons to knock off the NFL's equilibrium this season.

Here are our picks for the Conference Championships:


Stally's Eight-Point Pick
@New England over Pittsburgh

Stally: This isn't intended to be a homer pick for my Patriots.  I have a lot of respect for the Steelers offense, which boasts arguably the top WR (Antonio Brown) and top RB (Le'Veon Bell) in the NFL.  But, fantasy studs don't win Super Bowls.  Bill Belichick wins Super Bowls.

Belichick's Patriots have beat Roethlisberger with regularity over the years, and there's no reason to expect that to change.  The Steelers beat Kansas City despite failing to score a single touchdown, and that weakness will hurt them significantly against the Patriots defense, which has long been known for it's bend-but-don't-break style and gave up the fewest points in the league during the regular season.

If the Steelers are going to pull off the upset, it won't be because of its playmakers, it will be because the defense figures out a way to frustrate Tom Brady.  Ben and the offense certainly won't get shutout, but they'll be slowed down enough that if Brady has his way, the Patriots will win this one by more than a score.  That's how I see it playing out.

Score Prediction: New England 31, Pittsburgh 20

Austen: I am going in the total opposite direction and taking the Steelers with full confidence. The Steelers defense has been wildly underrated and has helped carry this team, even when they only kicked field goals against the Chiefs. The Patriots offense is not to be compared to the Chiefs, but the Patriots weakness is still their offensive line. The Steelers have what it takes to dominate the Patriots up front on both offense and defense, and I think that will be the deciding factor. 

Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown both have the ability to take over any game, and Bell's last two playoff games BOTH set Pittsburgh playoff records for rushing yards (and the Steelers have some pretty great running backs in the history books). There has not been a player in the NFL that is more dazzling than Bell this season. 

This game is going to be tight to the finish and each team is lead by a quarterback who is known for miraculous fourth quarter come backs. These are definitely the best two teams in the AFC and it is going to fun as hell watching these two battle it out. 

Score Prediction: Pittsburgh 30, New England 28

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
@Atlanta over Green Bay

Austen: So far, this has been the year of the Falcons. Matt Ryan is almost definitely going to win the MVP award. Vic Beasley lead the NFL in sacks in his second year. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman make up the best running back duo the NFL has seen in years. And Julio Jones is, well, Julio Jones. Ryan has always been significantly better in the Georgia Dome than on the road. This is the last game ever to be play in the Georgia Dome, and that fans are going to be going absolutely insane for this game. 

That being said, Aaron Rodgers can simply make plays that no other human on earth can. What he will be able to cook up against a mediocre (at best) Falcons defense is anyone's guess. However, the Packers offense is dealing with a staggering amount of injuries, most importantly three of their top four receivers are questionable. Rodgers himself missed practice due to an illness as well. Still, I expect this team to put up 30-40 points. 

I have wavered back and forth on this one all week, but I am not letting the fact that the Cowboys were the better team and lost last week effect my judgement on this matchup. I am taking the better team at home that has a quarterback playing as well as any quarterback in the league (including Rodgers). Done and done.

Score Prediction: Atlanta 45, Green Bay 41

Stally: Defense wasn't in high demand the first time these two teams met on October 30 when Atlanta won 33-32.  It will be of even less importance in this one.

Matt Ryan led the Falcons offense to a historically good season, and Aaron Rodgers isn't yet ready to call the fire department to put out his offense which is on fire.  Neither team has a lot to brag about defensively and will struggle mightily to shut the two offenses down.  This could easily be a game where you start counting possessions with about 6-8 minutes to go and figure out who's more likely to run the two-minute drill to win the game.

In the end, I think it will be Rodgers and his big-game experience that pulls off that feat to win the game.

Score Prediction: Green Bay 45, Atlanta 42