San Francisco, Houston Will Host Future Super Bowls

Votes have been tallied, and the host cities for two future Super Bowls have been decided by the owners earlier today: San Francisco and Houston.

The two large, warm-weather cities have great football atmospheres in addition to great football franchises. San Francisco will play host to Super Bowl L (SB 50) in 2016, while Houston plays host to Super Bowl LI (SB 51).

Now, obviously this is a few years down the road as we still have yet to witness the 2014 (New York) and 2015 (Phoenix) Super Bowls, but I'm just glad that we will not have to sit through another year of knowing that Miami will once again be hosting a Super Bowl.

New Orleans, the host of this past Super Bowl, and Miami have combined for 20 Super Bowls (10 each). Enough is enough. We get it, the National Football League loves South Beach. But can't we spread the love around a little? I'm not exactly the most thrilled about Houston hosting its third, but it sure beats the hell out of Miami.

The Bay Area hosted one other Super Bowl, SB XIX in 1985 between the Dolphins and Niners, though I don't actually count that as a San Francisco hosting. The game was played in Stanford Stadium in Stanford, CA. So, not technically San Francisco, just considered the Bay Area. Though, once again, this will not technically be a San Francisco-hosted stadium, it's close enough. The game will be played in the Niners' future Levi's Stadium, which is set to be built in Santa Clara, California.

As for Houston, Super Bowl LI will be played in Reliant Stadium for the first time since 2004, when the Patriots defeated the Panthers 32-29.

The best news of the day continues to be the state of Miami's hosting. The voting came down to the two aforementioned stadiums and the Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium. I've never been to Miami, and I'm sure it's a really nice area for the beach and night life, but I'm just glad the wealth is being spread around the National Football League a little more.

Huge win for San Francisco, a couple of months following a devastating Super Bowl loss.

One more thing: Does anyone else feel strange calling it "Super Bowl L" and "Super Bowl LI," or is that just me? Ditch the roman numerals or keep them around? You tell me––tough to go against history, I must say, but 'Super Bowl L' just doesn't roll off the tongue.

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

"What Just Happened?": Recapping a Wild Weekend of Football

The Divisional round slate of games trumped last weekend's wild card games by a long shot. But I guess that's to be expected when you have the top four teams in the postseason squaring off against four teams who just picked up some extra self-confidence a week prior.

Plenty of shocking outcomes and high-scoring games to talk about today. Here's what we learned after this weekend:

Ravens upset No. 1 seeded Broncos at Mile High

This was an instant classic. On one hand we have arguably the best team in the postseason and an MVP candidate/Hall of Fame-bound quarterback looking to further cement his legacy. On the other, we have a motivated and rejuvenated Baltimore defense whose legendary linebacker was facing possibly his last game ever. What did we get? A shocking upset that went into double overtime.

We, along with all 18 NFL Network analysts, picked the 13-3 Broncos to manhandle the Ray Lewis-led Ravens. Instead, we got a match-up for the ages and finally saw quarterback Joe Flacco step up and prove he can keep up with the big boys of the league.

Running back Ray Rice got his touches and went for 131 on the ground while adding a touchdown, but what impressed me the most was the fact that Flacco stuck in there and was able to out-pass Peyton Manning (Flacco: 18/34, 331 yards, 3 TDs, 116.2 rating; Manning: 28/43, 290 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 88.3 rating). Denver failed to put any pressure on Flacco as they sacked him just one time all game, and he was able to hit WR Torrey Smith on a couple of clutch touchdowns.

I mentioned that it would take a flawless game from Flacco for Baltimore to pull this one out (which even then I wasn't so sure they'd manage to do so), and that's exactly what he did. Shocking, right? That's not the only shocking feat we saw on either side. Denver stayed in the game because of great special teams play from former Houston returner Trindon Holliday. The 5'5" Holliday returned a punt 90 yards for a TD and a kickoff 104 yards for a TD in the game, accounting for close to half of the points.

The game was back-and-forth from the start, as each team traded touchdowns all the way through. This game, which didn't end until Justin Tucker nailed a 47-yard field goal with 13:18 to play in the second overtime period, saw five different ties and never saw a team leading by anymore than seven points. Down 35-28 with under a minute to play in the game, Flacco hit Jacoby Jones (another former Texans return man) on a 70-yard TD bomb to tie the game with :31 to play.

The play saw a blown coverage on Denver's defense and could have easily been avoided had he not taken a bad angle. Either way, Baltimore was back in it and finally came away with the victory thanks to Tucker.

Key mistakes was the difference in this game. A Manning interception returned for a TD (there was a questionable pass interference non-call on the play that may have overturned the play) early in the game cost the Broncos seven points. Two interceptions and 10 penalties for 87 yards made all the difference in the world as Flacco and his Baltimore offense managed to take advantage of those opportunities and make the most of them.

Key Stats:

*This was the first double overtime game since the Panthers defeated the Rams 29-23 in two overtimes on January 10, 2004.

*Flacco improves to 7-4 in postseason, recording his second career 300-yard passing game in the playoffs. His 3 TDs are a career-high in postseason play.

*Ray Lewis made 17 combined tackles

*In Peyton's 20th career postseason start he falls to 9-11 and it was the eighth different time that he's been one-and-done in the postseason.

Kaerpernick, Niners Pull Away from Packers in 2nd Half

The Saturday night cap was poised to be yet another great match-up, and that's exactly how it started out. Much like the previous game in Denver, this one saw multiple tie games and lead changes, as the two teams swapped touchdowns and field goals on its way to four ties, three of which came in the opening half.

Green Bay got the scoring going with a 52-yard Sam Shields interception touchdown. Second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick came right back, however, scoring and tying the game at seven with a 20-yard TD dash. DuJuan Harris, Green Bay's leading rusher with 52 yards on 11 carries, gave the Pack the lead back late in the first quarter with an 18-yard TD run. Back-to-back Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree touchdowns gave San Fran the 21-14 lead as Crabtree broke out for the game of his life (9 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TDs in his third career postseason game).

Aaron Rodgers isn't the kind of quarterback to step down, especially against an unproven, 25-year old Kaepernick. Rodgers came back out and led the Pack on a 69-yard drive, capped with a 20-yard strike to James Jones. Tied once again at 21. But just before the half Kaepernick one-upped the Super Bowl champion Rodgers, driving the Niners 79 yards down the field to set up a 36-yard field goal from seasoned veteran kicker David Akers.

Green Bay managed to tie the game for a fourth time on its second drive of the second half, setting up a 31-yard Mason Crosby field goal. But, it was all downhill from there. Green Bay couldn't seem to stop the running game, between running back Frank Gore (119 yards yards, 1 TD on 19 carries) or the speedy Kaepernick. Kaepernick has been a running threat all season, topping 400 yards with 5 TDs in his seven starts. On Saturday night vs. Green Bay, there were gapping holes which Kaepernick exploited. He finished the game with an NFL record 181 yards on the ground, adding two touchdowns 20 and 56 yards out. The rushing total is an NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game. Any game, not just a postseason game. Michael Vick was the previous record holder.

The Niners' 21 unanswered points in the second half gave San Francisco a 45-31 victory. Not only did Kaepernick outplay Rodgers, but the 49ers held the ball for 38 minutes and completely dominated all facets of the second half. Green Bay's late 3-yard TD pass from Rodgers to Greg Jennings was a result of San Francisco's defense slacking off, and I'd consider it garbage yards/points. It made Aaron's stats look slightly better, but I believe that the score of the game doesn't even tell the entire story. A great first half, but San Francisco absolutely blew the Pack out of the water in the second half.

In the fourth quarter, Kaepernick led an 11-play scoring drive that took nearly 8 minutes. Nine of those plays were running plays by Kaepernick, Gore and Anthony Dixon. By game's end, three different running backs, in addition to Kaepernick, had run the ball at some point in the game. Truthfully, I'm a little concerned for Atlanta's 21st-ranked run defense next week. San Francisco's running game looks to be unstoppable, and I clearly underestimated Kaepernick this past weekend.

Key Stats

*San Francisco combined for 323 yards and 4 TDs on the ground between four different runners. That's the most, by far, allowed by the Packers all season long. As a team, that's 7.5 yards per rush over 43 carries. Green Bay's rushing defense (17th) was ranked slightly higher than the Atlanta Falcons' this past season.

*Like I already stated, Kaepernick's 181 rushing yards is an NFL record for a quarterback in a single game. Any game. Vick previously held the record.

*The total plays of the game: San Fran 75, Green Bay 56

*Aldon Smith didn't record a single sack for the Niners (Patrick Willis had team's lone sack), and he recorded just two tackles all game, with one QB hit. Imagine what damage could be done if he can get to Matt Ryan next week?

Falcons Fend off the NFL's Newest "Comeback Kid" in Seattle's Rookie Wilson

Matt "Matty Ice" Ryan appears to have finally gotten that monkey off his back. As did future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, who is likely to retire after the season. Ryan, 27, was in the same draft class as Joe Flacco. But, unlike Joe, Matt is still winless in the postseason. Until yesterday of course.

It didn't come without a bit of a nail-biter, however. After another slow start from Seattle, who was looking to defeat two east coast teams on the road in the past two weeks, the Seahawks didn't give up without a fight.

Seattle's first four possessions ended with two punts, a Marshawn Lynch fumble and a turnover on downs, which came deep in Atlanta territory after head coach Pete Carroll elected to go for it on 4th & 1 (while down 10-0) instead of playing it safe and kicking a field goal. On Seattle's fifth possession of the game, rookie quarterback Russell Wilson drove the 'Hawks down the field on 13 plays but, with no timeouts left, Wilson was sacked for -9 yards on 3rd & 11 at the ATL 11-yard line. Unable to spike the ball and kick a field goal since it was already 4th down, the rookie attempted to just run one more play but the clock ran out prior to the snap. Seattle went into the locker room at the half down 20-0 and with an awful taste in its mouth.

Matt Ryan appeared to be on cruise control to his first postseason victory in four tries, throwing two TD passes to Gonzalez and Roddy White in the 20-point first half. But Wilson came right out of the locker room and led Seattle on a 9 play, 78-yard scoring drive capped off with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate. The scoreboard read 20-7, which gave the visiting 'Hawks hope. But that hope was short-lived as Ryan came out a couple minutes later and marched the Falcons into the end zone on a 5-yard pass to Jason Snelling, capping the 80-yard drive.

This drive is what appeared to put the Seahawks out of the game, despite it still being early in the third quarter. Seattle's No. 10 rushing defense couldn't seem to stop Atlanta's 29th-ranked rushing attack, led by veteran Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers. On 26 carries throughout the game, Atlanta combiend for 167 yards, which was good enough for 6.4 yards per carry.

But Wilson had yet to give up, as he led his offense to two consecutive scoring drives. It started with a one-yard run from Wilson early in the fourth, and was able to continue thanks to a key interception by safety Earl Thomas. Following the rare Matty Ryan mistake, the Seattle offense went 62 yards on four plays, as Wilson hit tight end Zach Miller in the end zone for a 3-yard TD strike. It was now early in the fourth and suddenly Seattle saw themselves down just six points, 27-21.

Seattle's defense finally stepped up its game in the fourth quarter stopping the Atlanta offense to three-and-outs on two consecutive drives and setting up the offense at its own 39-yard line with 3:00 to play. Managing to move up and down the field with seemingly no problems at all in the second half of play, Wilson once again led the Seahawks on a 60+ yard drive and capped it with a game-changing 2-yard rushing touchdown from Marshawn Lynch. After confirming the play in the booth upstairs, a Ryan Longwell extra point gave the Seahawks its first lead of the day, 28-27.

Once again, we saw the incredible take place in the Georgia Dome. Matt Ryan came away with a clutch 3-yard drive with :31 to play, throwing passes of 22 and 19 yards to Harry Douglas and Gonzalez. This set up a game-winning 49-yard field goal from Matt Bryant to send the Falcons to the NFC Championship game next Sunday afternoon.

Key Stats:

*Next weekend is only the third NFC Championship appearance in Atlanta's 47-year history (1-1 in previous two championship games). They are 7-11 in postseason play, and 3-5 in the Divisional round of the postseason.

*This game was Matt Ryan's first postseason victory (1-3) and first postseason game with 3 TDs. His rating of 93.7 is the best he's posted in the playoffs.

*Atlanta ran for 100 yards as a team only six times all season, and their 167 yards in Sunday's win over Seattle was the most in 2012-13 by 21 yards. They went 6-0 in games in which they ran for over 100 yards.

*As a rookie, Wilson posted a 102.4 rating with 572 yards, 3 TDs and just one interception in his first two postseason starts. He also ran for 127 yards and a TD in his two games against Washington and Atlanta while his Seahawks put up an average of 26.0 points per game (39 of the 52 points came in the second half, and there were zero first quarter points). Not bad for a rookie, huh?

*The win was the first postseason win for ATL tight end Tony Gonzalez in his illustrious 16-year Hall of Fame career (he's now 1-5 with the Chiefs and Falcons). The 13-time Pro Bowler is expected to retire at the end of the season, so next week could be both his and Lewis' final game. If not, then Super Bowl Sunday will be.

Patriots manhandle Texans, Move on to Host AFC Championship in 2011 Rematch with Baltimore

The first two possessions for New England's offense was a little alarming, and it looked as if the Texans defense could maintain the tempo and slow down Tom Brady's roll. Ehh, not so much once the second quarter rolled around.

Sure, the Houston defense forced a three-and-out on the opening drive while putting up three points thanks to a Shayne Graham field goal with its first offensive possession. Another punt on the second New England drive gave J.J. Watt and Houston confidence, and the Texans trailed just 7-3 at the end of the first.

But Houston quarterback Matt Schaub appeared a little too cautious with the ball and, because of that, Houston had several early drives stall and were forced to punt. Settling for two first half Graham field goals diminished the offense's confidence as they trailed 17-13 heading into the half. A scoreless third quarter for the Texans allowed the Pats to jump 31-13, and then extend that lead to 38-13 early in the fourth quarter.

New England's running backs had busy days. The youngsters Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen combined for 124 yards on the ground in addition to two rushing TDs a piece. The hardly-used Vereen (62 carries in 13 games this year) added in two receiving touchdowns from Brady (Brady threw for 344 yards and 3 TDs on the day), totaling a career-high 3 TDs for the game. Already down by 25 points, Houston's 15 fourth quarter points made no difference as the Pats rolled to a 41-28 victory. Putting up 41 points on the 10th-best scoring defense, in a postseason game no less, is pretty impressive. Even if it is the New England Patriots.

There's really not much to say about this one, as this was expected. Watt and Brooks Reed got Brady on the ground early in the game, but that was the only sack of the day. Despite being hit 7 times, Brady stood in the pocket and hit five different receivers for the second-most passing yards in his 23-game postseason career.

There is one big headline that came from this game and will have a major impact on next weekend's match-up at Gillette Stadium, and that's that tight end Rob Gronkowski re-broke his forearm and will miss the rest of the postseason. He may even require a second surgery on it. This injury is likely to effect the beginning of next season as well, although I expect him to be just fine by the time September rolls around. Luckily for New England, Gronk didn't have an impact in yesterday's game (he was re-injured on the only play he was thrown to), so maybe they'll be able to manage without him next week.

Key Stats:

*The victory is the 17th of Brady's postseason career, surpassing Joe Montana (Tom's childhood idol) on the all-time postseason wins list by a quarterback.

*In this game Brady also became just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for 40 postseason touchdowns. He now has 41 of them in his 23 starts. Joe Montana and Brett Favre were the other two to accomplish this feat. Montana had 45 in 23 starts while Favre had 44 in 24 starts.

*Thanks to his 8 catch, 131 yard performance, Wes Welker now has 61 receptions for 569 yards and 3 TDs in his eight game postseason career. All coming with New England, the Patriots are 5-3 in those games.

*Arian Foster's 1-yard TD run gives him at least one in each of his four career postseason starts over the last two seasons. Houston is 2-2 in those games and he has a total of 6 touchdowns (five rushing, 1 receiving).

- - - - -

There's no doubt we witnessed some of the best weekend of playoff football in a long time, as we had a much higher scoring slate of games than the previous week. Each of the eight teams managed to put at least 28 points up on the scoreboard and we got to see the highest-scoring weekend of playoff football, with 276 total points being scored throughout the four games. That's an average of 34.5 per team.

What a weekend. But the best part about this is Championship Sunday may even top the excitement we witnessed these last two days.

The 49ers will look to avenge last year's NFC Championship loss to the Giants as they travel to Atlanta to take on the top seeded Falcons (3 p.m. eastern time on FOX). On the AFC side of things, the Ravens will look to get its revenge on the Patriots after falling just short of the Super Bowl, at the hands of the Pats, in last year's AFC Championship game (6:30 p.m. eastern time on CBS).

How about that, three of last year's Championship teams managed to get back to the big game for a second consecutive season. There's even a chance we could see another Harbaugh Bowl on Super Sunday.

The All-Out Blitz's game picks will come later on in the week––we need some time to mull over the match-ups.

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Playoff Preview: Sunday's Divisional Match-ups

Rough day in regards to picking games yesterday, as the 10-point underdog Ravens upset the No. 1 Broncos in double overtime and San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick literally ran away with a 45-31 victory in the second half against Green Bay.

But today is a new day, and there are still two more games to be played this weekend. Here is a quick preview of both match-ups.

Sunday January 13, 2013

5 Seahawks @ 1 Falcons

1 pm (eastern time), Georgia Dome

The AFC's No. 1 seed has already gone down, and I think later today the NFC's No. 1 seed will fall as well. People don't seem to be giving the Seahawks any credit for its victory last weekend, but the truth is they are probably one of the hottest teams in the NFC right now. A scary combination of defense (No. 1 in the league) and a running game.

Atlanta's offense put up 30 or more points five times this season and has the league's 6th-best passing offense, but a lack of a capable running game may hold back Matt Ryan and his Falcons. Say all you want about this league now being a pass-happy league, but you still need a great defense and a consistent running game to win playoff games and honestly I don't think this defense will be able to limit Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch on the ground.

Seven of Atlanta's 13 wins this season have been by a touchdown or less and, personally, I always found this Falcons team to be overrated. Ryan is 34-6 at home in his career (including a playoff loss to Green Bay), but the postseason has been a different story as he's gone 0-3 with 4 interceptions and a 71.2 rating.

This is a new season, however, and the past postseason games for Ryan do not matter today. With Ryan playing at home, he should have a decent game, but Atlanta's 29th-best running game is likely to be non-existent against Seattle's No. 10 run defense.

On offense, I'm expecting to see rookie Russell Wilson at his finest and we should see a lot of plays coming out of the pistol with some option runs, because Atlanta hasn't seem to be able to stop the opposition on the ground this season. No turnvers from Wilson, and this offense could put up 30-40 points inside Atlanta's dome. Sorry Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta TE), but I think you'll fall to 0-6 in your postseason career today.

Prediction: Seahawks 34, Falcons 24

3 Texans @ 2 Patriots

4:30 pm, Gillette Stadium

Earlier this season, just a couple of weeks ago actually, Tom Brady carved up Houston's 10th-ranked defense for 42 points on the primetime Monday night stage. It was all downhill for Houston after that, as they finished the season 1-2 and backed into the postseason. They had a shot for a couple weeks to clinch home-field advantage and a first round bye, but failed to do so.

A sloppy 19-13 Wild Card victory over Cincinnati last week got Houston to this point, but it's not looking too promising for Matt Schaub's Texans. Of course, the Ravens already proved us all wrong this weekend, so perhaps the Texans can do it again today? I'm playing it safe and going with New England, who always seem to have the highest-scoring offense year-in and year-out.

Going against Brady and head coach Bill Belichick in the postseason is not a smart move. With a 16-6 record in his illustrious postseason career, Brady's level of play elevates once January and February rolls around. In past seasons New England was a pass-oriented team that never really worked at establishing the run, but with Stevan Ridley on the field this season, New England has been a much more rounded offense. On less than 300 rushing attempts, the 23-year old Ridley broke out with 1,263 yards and 12 TDs on the ground.

Arian Foster running for 100+ yards is likely today against New England's defense, but we've seen that a 100-yard rusher isn't going to automatically put a team in great position to beat the Pats. We've seen that all season, as the Patriots have gone 7-3 this season when allowing 100 or more yards on the ground. Nope, Matt Schaub will actually need to make some plays in the passing game (and limit INTs) in order to come away with a win today. A couple of big plays on defense from J.J. Watt or Connor Barwin wouldn't hurt either.

Though he was voted to a Pro Bowl this season, I always thought of Matt Schaub as more of a game-manager in this offense. But if he wants to prove his worth to me today, he'll need to make some big plays. I don't think Houston's defense will be able to limit the damage that Brady leaves, and the Pats will advance to the AFC Championship against Baltimore for the second consecutive season.

Prediction: Patriots 35, Texans 21

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

16 Bold Predictions for NFL Divisional Round Weekend

We've already discussed our predictions for today's two Divisional round games between Baltimore and Denver, and Green Bay and San Francisco. But, we have yet to discuss the possible happenings during the weekend's four games.

Will Ray Rice break 100 yards against Denver's defense? Can J.J. Watt get 2-3 sacks on New England's Tom Brady? How about Colin Kaepernick: can he throw 200 yards and run for another 100 against Green Bay?

Here are a couple of stats or feats that we, the All-Out Blitz, believe will happen throughout today's and tomorrow's four games (sorted by games):

Baltimore at Denver

*Bernard Pierce out-rushes Ray Rice for the second consecutive week, but neither breaks 100 yards for the game.

*Ray Lewis makes 10+ tackles again, but Baltimore's defense fails to force any Denver turnovers.

*Joe Flacco throws for 200 yards and a touchdown, but also throws two picks and is sacked four times in the loss.

*Peyton Manning throws for 300 yards and 3 TDs, while WRs Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker both manage 100+ receiving yards.

*Von Miller records two of Denver's four sacks and Champ Bailey makes his third career postseason interception.

Green Bay at San Francisco

*Green Bay's defense keeps Kaepernick to under 200 passing yards and Frank Gore to under 100 rushing yards for the game.

*Aaron Rodgers spreads the ball around the field, hitting 10 different receivers for over 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

*Clay Matthews puts pressure on Kaepernick, recording 2 sacks and just causing an overall ruckus against San Fran's offensive line. In seven career postseason games, Matthews has recorded 24 total tackles and 6.5 sacks.

*Aldon Smith records the only two sacks of Green Bay's Rodgers, and San Fran fails to force any turnovers for just the third time all season (Week 6 against New York and Week 13 against St. Louis).

Seattle at Atlanta

*Matt Ryan throws three interceptions against Seattle's defense, and Atlanta gains under 80 combined rushing yards as a team.

*Both Julio Jones and Roddy White are limited to under 100 yards through the air as TE Tony Gonzalez is Atlanta's leading receiver. Unfortunately, the future Hall of Fame tight end will fall to 0-6 in his postseason career.

*Marshawn Lynch will bring extra Skittles to the game and break out for 150 rushing yards and two TDs for Seattle.

*Russell Wilson plays mistake-free football in the dome, as he hands Atlanta its fourth consecutive playoff loss.

Houston at New England

*Houston's J.J. Watt sacks Tom Brady twice, despite the Texans allowing 400 total yards and 30+ points to New England's offense.

*Arian Foster breaks 100 yards for Houston but Matt Schaub is sacked three times and throws two picks, which New England turns into 14 points.

*Tom Brady throws for 300 yards and 3 TDs against Houston's 10th-ranked scoring defense, improving to 4-1 all-time against the Texans (first meeting in the postseason).

Do you have any bold predictions for this weekend's games? If so, share them here!

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Wild Card Preview: Cincinnati vs. Houston Round 2

It's game day! The postseason starts today and the All-Out Blitz is just now getting around to deciding who will win each game. This year we'll be doing it a little bit different and previewing each game with separate posts.

First things first, and that's today's 4:30 pm (eastern time) matchup between the No. 6 seeded Bengals (10-6) and the No. 3 seeded Texans (12-4). Facing each other in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, will the Bengals get revenge? Or will the Texans win the rematch as well?

Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans

4:30 PM, Reliant Stadium

Favorite: Houston by 5

Cincinnati is riding a three-game win streak against Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, while going 7-1 in the second half of the season to make the playoffs following a 3-5 start to the season. Houston has struggled recently, dropping three of its final four games, but all three losses came to playoff teams (Patriots, Vikings, Colts).

Despite being just a win away from the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and blowing its chance at clinching home-field advantage, Houston has a great shot at winning this if they can produce on offense. Getting the ball to running back Arian Foster early and often, while keeping the ball out of Matt Schaub's hands, can do wonders for this Houston offense today.

Offensive 2012 Stats

Cincinnati: 12th-ranked scoring, 17th-ranked passing, 18th-ranked rushing

Houston: 8th-ranked scoring, 11th-ranked passing, 8th-ranked rushing

Defensive 2012 Stats

Cincinnati: 8th-ranked scoring, 7th-ranked passing, 12th-ranked rushing

Houston: 10th-ranked scoring, 16th-ranked passing, 7th-ranked rushing

The numbers on both offense and defense are very close between these two, but I think the difference will be the running game. Cincy has run for just 61 yards on the ground in the past two weeks and they will be up against a top 10 rushing defense. There have just been four games this season in which Houston was held to under 100 yards on the ground and just two games in which Houston's defense didn't force a turnover.

With second-year quarterback Andy Dalton (16 interceptions, 46 sacks in 2012) under center against this Houston defense, I believe J.J. Watt & Co. will attack the Cincinnati offense enough to limit Dalton's effectiveness. Defense and a solid running game win championships, and that's how Houston will knock off the Bengals in the Wild Card round for the second consecutive season.

Things to Remember While Watching

*Houston beat Cincinnati 31-10 in the first round of the AFC playoffs last year at Reliant Stadium.

*This is Matt Schaub's first postseason start of his 9-year career (didn't play in last January's game due to injury, then-rookie T.J. Yates made the start for Houston).

*This is just the third postseason game in franchise history for the Houston Texans. Being in the league since 2002, last season was Houston's first appearance and they went 1-1.

*Cincinnati has not won a playoff game since the 1990-91 season. Postseason appearances came in 2011, 2009 and 2005, but were all one-and-done seasons when it came time for the playoffs. Cincy's last playoff victory? A 41-14 victory over the Houston Oilers on January 6, 1991. Exactly 21 years from tomorrow.

*The overall regular season series is currently tied 3-3.

Key Players for Each Team

Cincinnati

*BenJarvus Green-Ellis: Sure, the Bengals have won consecutive games to end the season despite the nonexistent running game. Green-Ellis is listed as probably for the game after missing last week, and he will need to be 100% healthy, and effective, in order to take the pressure off the young Dalton. You know the Texans will be bringing the heat on Dalton, and finishing with anything less than 80 yards on the ground could prove catastrophic for Cincy's offense.

*Geno Atkins: The monstrous defensive tackle has made his second consecutive Pro Bowl team in his three-year career. And it was well-deserved. But he will need another great game against Houston's O-line to give the Bengals a shot. The pass-rushing d-tackle will be making Schaub's game hell, but a role in stopping the run is just as important today against Houston.

*Vontaze Burfict: As you can tell, defense is more important for the Bengals in this game. If the offense underachieves again this week, as they have been, the defense will need to bring its A-game to limit Houston's smash-mouth offensive attack. Undrafted rookie Burfict has led the team in tackles this season and has a shot at making headlines by keeping Foster and the rest of Houston's backs to under 100 yards. Doing so may be the only way Cincinnati has a chance at winning.

Houston

*Matt Schaub: I'm certain that Schaub will be throwing less than 30 passes in this game, but he's listed as a key player because of what he can't do in this game in order to win. Turnovers. Schaub simply needs to protect the ball and limit mistakes. Conservative passing attack is what I'd expect from Rick Dennison's offense.

*Arian Foster: It's all about the running game vs. front seven in today's match-up. Last season Foster came up big in his two postseason games, rushing for a combined 285 yards and 3 TDs against Cincinnati and Baltimore. Coming just two TDs shy of breaking his career-high this season, Foster has been running as strong as ever this season and I would expect 120 yards and a TD from him in today's game.

*J.J. Watt: What Watt does early in this game could set the tone for the Texans defensively, and play a huge role on how Dalton fares in the rest of the game. If he can get to Dalton early and rattle him, it's game over for the Cincinnati offense.

As you can probably tell, I've been favoring the Texans in this match-up. Though Houston has backed into the postseason and fallen to the No. 3 seed, these Texans are an overall superior team to the Bengals. A lack of a rushing attack recently will come back to bite the Bengals in this game.

Final Prediction: Texans 31, Bengals 17

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Recapping Week 15: AFC Playoff Picture Experiences Shake-up

Heading into this past weekend, the Baltimore Ravens had a perfect shot at proving they belong with the top dogs in the American Football Conference. Taking on Peyton Manning and the then-10-3 Denver Broncos, a banged up Baltimore defense seemed poised for the challenge.

Needing a victory to clinch the AFC North title, Baltimore struggled early and often against Denver's 5th-ranked overall defense. The firing of Cam Cameron as the team's offensive coordinator earlier that week was supposed to fix the offensive problems, promoting Jim Caldwell as the OC and play-caller. With Ray Rice receiving just 12 carries throughout the entire game, Joe Flacco clearly struggled to get anything going.

If Baltimore wants to make it deep into the postseason, they will need to get Rice the ball early and often. I'm talking, 25-30 carries a game. With an All-Pro playmaker at your disposal, it's hard to understand why coach John Harbaugh has not done anything to address this problem yet.

During Baltimore's current 3-game losing streak, Rice has received just 44 carries (average of 14.6 per game) while Flacco has averaged nearly 32 pass attempts during those games. While Flacco's stat line looks near-perfect in the overtime loss to Washington (16/21, 182 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 121.4 rating), in the other two games he completed under 50% of his passes.

The truth is that Flacco has been one of the most inconsistent quarterbacks in the game this season, and has overthrown more receivers than a fifth-year quarterback should be.

There have been five instances in which Flacco had attempted 40 or more passes and Rice had received under 20 carries (at PHI, vs. CLE, at HOU and vs. DEN) this season, and Baltimore went 1-3 over that span while being outscored 117-76.

Need more proof that Ray Rice needs the ball in his hands more and Flacco should be throwing less often? I have one more vital piece of information for you: On six different occasions this season Joe has completed under 60% of his passes, and BAL's record during those six games is 2-4. Flacco has a combined 6 TDs and 6 INTs. During those two wins the defense surrendered just 19 combined points to the Chiefs (2-12) and the Chargers (5-9).

Hopefully, for Baltimore's sake, Caldwell will come to his senses and get Rice the ball early and often. He will need to in order to break Baltimore's current 3-game losing streak this weekend. All Baltimore needs is a victory over the next two games to clinch the AFC North for the third consecutive season. They did, however, manage to back into the postseason this past Sunday with the Dallas Cowboys' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime.

In other news...

Houston Captures Second Consecutive AFC South Title

With a 29-17 victory over rookie quarterback Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts (9-5), the Houston Texans (12-2) managed to capture its second straight (and second overall) AFC South division title. The victory came in stunning fashion, too, coming off a disappointing 42-14 defeat at the hands of the Patriots (10-4) a week prior, Houston's offense was clicking on all cylinders again.

Arian Foster ran for a season-high 165 yards and quarterback Matt Schaub threw for 261 more. Thanks to 5 total sacks of Luck, the Texans managed to keep its spot as the team with the best record in the AFC. Three of those five sacks were recorded by Defensive Player of the Year favorite J.J. Watt, who managed to tie San Francisco's Aldon Smith for most in the league, with 19.5. With two games to play, both Watt and Smith are just 3.5 sacks away from breaking Michael Strahan's single-season sack record of 22.5, set in 2001.

Luckily for the Colts, they still hold the No. 5 seed in the playoff picture and will get another shot at the Texans in a Week 17 showdown at home. This week against the Chiefs the Colts can clinch a Wild Card spot with a win or a Steelers loss to the Bengals.

Houston can clinch a first round bye and the No. 1 seed with a win over Minnesota or Indianapolis.

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh: Week 16 Game to Watch

Regardless of what happens in the New York/Baltimore game, all eyes will be on Cincy (8-6) and Pittsburgh (7-7) Heinz Field this Sunday. With only three remaining teams that can clinch the final 2 spots in the AFC playoffs, this is the most important game left in the conference this season.

Cincinnati easily handled the Eagles on Thursday night, pulling away with a 34-13 victory and inching one game closer to Baltimore. Pittsburgh missed out on a huge opportunity with an overtime loss to Tony Romo's Dallas Cowboys. But, luckily for a frustrated Ben Roethlisberger, he can still clinch the sixth seed with wins over the Bengals and Browns these last two weeks.

It really will be a must-win game for the Steelers on Sunday. A win, and they control their own destiny Week 17, needing just a win over the Browns (they would hold the tiebreaker over the Bengals). But a loss would mean Cincinnati would clinch a Wild Card spot, and the Colts (whether they win or lose against the Chiefs) would capture the final available playoff spot.

Cincinnati is certainly the dark horse to squeeze into the postseason, despite winning 5 of its last 6 games. The victories over that span have come against just one playoff contender (New York Giants, 31-13). The rest of them: Kansas City (2-12), Oakland (4-10), San Diego (5-9) and Philadelphia (4-10) have a combined 15-41 record in 2012. A last-second loss to the Cowboys (8-6) two weeks ago, 20-19, has proven costly for the Bengals and may be the game everyone looks at if they lose to Pittsburgh on Sunday and miss the postseason.

The Bengals are 5-2 on the road this year, but are on a 5-game skid against the Steelers right now and haven't beat them and haven't beaten them on the road since November 15, 2009. Andy Dalton has improved vastly in his second season under center (62.5 comp %, 26 TDs, 14 INTs, 89.4 rating) and is just 86 passing yards away from surpassing his 3,398 rookie performance, but will need solid protection from his offensive line if he plans on recording his first career victory against Pittsburgh (0-3 all-time).

Establishing the run game with BenJarvus Green-Ellis early and often will be key and will allow Cincinnati to set-up the play-action pass and keep Dalton comfortable under center. Pittsburgh, to make up for its depleted defense, will need to play mistake-free football. That's exactly what they were able to do against Dallas prior to Antonio Brown's fumble on a punt return late in the game. If Brown doesn't fumble, Pittsburgh had a great shot at winning the game without going into overtime.

Must-win for both teams, obviously. But even bigger for Pittsburgh, as a loss will eliminate them from playoff contention.

New York Jets Embarrassed on Monday Night; Eliminated from Playoffs

Thanks to a porous performance from the offense (6-8) against the Tennessee Titans on national television, the Jets were officially eliminated from the AFC playoff picture last night. Both offenses, to tell you the truth, looked horrendous. But luckily for Jake Locker's Titans, Mark Sanchez (54.8 comp %, 2,678 yards, 13 TDs, 17 INTs, 67.9 rating) stole the show.

Sanchez's four interceptions and game-ending fumble with under 30 seconds to play led to a disappointing playoff run and basically a disappointing season. Sanchez, who should have been benched for good after 3rd stringer quarterback Greg McElroy led the Jets to a 7-6 win over Arizona two weeks ago, was finally benched by head coach Rex Ryan earlier today.

McElroy (5/7, 29 yards, 1 TD, 118.5 rating in 1 game this season) will make his first career start against the Chargers on Sunday. Long overdue for the second-year quarterback out of Alabama? Yes, I think so. All of New York would agree––well, half of New York anyways, I'm sure Giants fans love watching Sanchez.

The Jets offense had ample opportunities to put points on the board, as the defense managed to stall the Titans offense plenty of times, sacking Jake Locker four times and forcing 10 Tennessee punts. They even managed to limit them to just 12 first downs and, aside from one mistake that allowed Chris Johnson to run for a 94-yard touchdown in the second quarter, the front 7 limited CJ to just 28 yards on his 20 other rushing attempts. No turnovers were forced, but Tennessee committed 14 penalties for 111 yards, giving New York second chances and stalling offensive drives.

With just over two minutes to play, New York had the ball at Tennessee's 23-yard line (down by four points). Sanchez made the decision to lob a pass over the middle to tight end Jeff Cumberland, in triple coverage, as Tennessee's Michael Griffin picked off Sanchez for the fourth time of the game. It appeared to end the Jets' night, but after three Chris Johnson runs managed just four yards, the Jets had forced a 3 & out and set Sanchez up with 1st and 10 on Tennessee's 25-yard line (punter Brett Kern shanked a punt in his own end zone).

What does Sanchez do with this gift from heaven? Fumbles the snap out of shotgun formation on his first play. Game over.

I'm not even near being a Jets fan and we here at All-Out Blitz have gotten very frustrated watching this offense. Despite all of this guaranteed money Sanchez is due, I wouldn't be surprised if New York's front office somehow tried to dispose of him this offseason. Especially if McElroy is able to get something going in these final two games.

Rant over.

AFC Playoff Scenarios

*Texans clinch home-field advantage throughout playoffs with a win over Minnesota OR Denver and New England both lose.

*Broncos clinch first round bye with win over Cleveland AND Jaguars beat the Patriots.

*Ravens clinch AFC North with win over Giants.

*Colts clinch wild card with win over Kansas City OR Bengals beat Steelers

*Bengals clinch wild card with win over Pittsburgh.

*Steelers clinch wild card with wins over Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Up next...Recapping Week 15: NFC Playoff Race Coming Down to Final 2 Weeks

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Thanksgiving Day Recap: What Have we Learned?

Unfortunately I was unable to post a preview of the three Turkey day games (happy belated Thanksgiving, by the way!). But I happened to go 3-0 on the day in terms of picking the games, so that's a positive––check out the "picks" tab if you don't believe me.

Thanks to some interesting football games, there is plenty that Thanksgiving day taught us and there's so much to take away from what we witnessed. Here's a start:

Parity, Parity, Parity

The 12:30 pm ET game between Houston and Detroit has proven even further that the National Football League is full of parity this season. This has made it extra tough to pick out a true No. 1 team in the league.

Early on, the Houston Texans were without a doubt the clear No. 1 team coming out of the AFC. Starting the season 5-0 and not allowing a team to put up any more than 25 points, Houston appeared to be on its way to an easy division title. They have continued to pull away with victories and are 10-1 on the season, but injuries to the defensive squad (Brian Cushing has been out for the season since Week 5; Johnathan Joseph missed Thursday's game due to hamstring injury) have exposed them.

The Texans' lone loss came at home against the Packers, a game in which Houston 427 yards and 42 points. The last two weeks, including Thursday, resulted in two overtime victories––43-37 over Jacksonville and 34-31 over Detroit––but very easily could have put Houston at 8-3 and just two games ahead of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South.

Despite being the first team in the league to reach 10 wins, the Texans' defense has been exposed and could be in trouble when they get around to preparing for the 8-3, high-flying offense of the New England Patriots on Monday night, December 10. Keep your eye on the AFC South over these last 5 weeks of the season, especially considering Houston still has three division games remaining.

Ndamukong Suh has yet to change his style of play

I'm not saying whether or not it was on purpose, but the fact that it was Ndamukong Suh who happened to be the Detroit Lion defensive lineman that kicked Houston's quarterback Matt Schaub in the family jewels on Thursday seems a little fishy to me.

It appeared to be an accident, in my opinion, but the league has decided to review the play and decide whether it warrants a fine or not. If you're going to suspend Ed Reed for three safety rules violations over three seasons (though the 1-game suspension was reduced to a $50,000 fine), then why not suspend Suh for a game if the commish finds this to be a dirty play?

I'm just throwing ideas out there. It's one thing to play until you hear the whistle and play aggressively, but I would consider Suh's actions over-aggressive and unneeded. Suh, 25, is now in his 3rd NFL season and, as of last December, had been flagged for 9 personal fouls for his over-aggressive style of play and exactly one year ago today (on Thanksgiving vs. Packers) Suh stomped on Green Bay's offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. He was suspended two games for the act.

In his first year and a half in the league he had been fined a total of $42,500 by the league. To top it all off, the a players' poll conducted by The Sporting News revealed Suh to be the league's dirtiest player. After 2+ seasons of this, he has clearly yet to change his attitude. At this point, I don't think he will ever change. It makes for interesting football, that's for sure.

NFC East will come down to the wire: Does Dallas still have a shot at the playoffs?

A 28-3 halftime lead for the Skins seemingly put the game away for Washington, until Dallas' Tony Romo came out in the 2nd half and put up 28 points. The deficit, however, was too large for the Cowboys, who ran for just 35 yards on the day. The Washington victory tied them with Dallas for second in the NFC East at 5-6.

Robert Griffin III continues to impress for the Skins, and is in the heart of the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. But with three more divisional match-ups and a tough game in Baltimore remaining on its schedule, the road to a postseason appearance looks to be rocky.

Clearly the East is still up for grabs as they are both just a half game behind the 6-4 Giants, but at this point the Cowboys, surprisingly, look to have the best shot at capturing the East. Despite the loss to Washington at home, the 'Boys have the easiest remaining schedule (vs. Philly, @ Cincy, vs. Pitt, vs. NO, @ Wash.). Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Washington are all win-able games for Dallas if their offense shows up and, depending on whether Pittsburgh has Ben Roethlisberger or not, they can compete with both the Steelers and Saints.

As for the Giants, they are already on a two game losing streak prior to the Week 11 bye and they still have a tough road ahead of them: vs. Green Bay (primetime), @ Washington (primetime), vs. New Orleans, @ Atlanta, @ Baltimore, vs. Philadelphia.

But, these are the Giants, you can never count them out of it in December. Not to mention the Cowboys and Skins have both been somewhat inconsistent this season. So this is clearly anyone's division, even the 3-7 Eagles have a slim shot at turning things around (doubtful). But my money is on the Cowboys getting things together down the stretch.

The Patriots once again have the scariest offense in NFL; Jets are done

I was expecting a rout of the Jets, but not on the defensive side of the ball. In New England's 49-19 embarrassment of the New York Jets on Thanksgiving night, New England put up 14 points on defensive touchdowns while forcing a season-high 5 turnovers and sacking Mark Sanchez twice.

Tom Brady and the offense put up staggering numbers too, of course, against New York's 14th-ranked scoring defense. The offense's 323 passing yards, 3 TDs and 152 rushing yards, 2 TDs was enough for a 30-point victory over the division rival. With 407 points in 11 games is an NFL-best, with the 2nd-ranked Texans putting up only 327 on the season.

The Patriots will get the chance to insert its dominance of the AFC in two weeks when they take on 10-1 Houston in primetime on Monday night. It will once again be up to the defense to step it up and make plays if they wish to make a Super Bowl run down the stretch. The offense is right where it's been for years.

As for the now-4-7 Jets, they've gone so far as to embarrass the infamous fan "Fireman Ed" so much that he left the game at halftime and deleted his Twitter account, according to ESPN. Wow, is the only word that can clearly describe the Jets' current state. Fans have been calling for Tim Tebow to take over the starting role, but Mark Sanchez isn't anywhere near the only problem with New York's squad.

My suggestion to New York: clean house after the season. Rex Ryan has had his chance and hasn't gotten the job done. I think it's time for a huge change within the Jets' organization and it all starts with Ryan.

Week 12 action is sure to reveal many more lessons:

*How will rookie signal caller Andrew Luck react to last week's beating. If he is able to bounce back against the Bills, he can savor his chances of winning OROY and stay in the hunt for Wild Card.

*Is starting Chad Henne going to save the rest of the Jags' season?

*Can Pittsburgh win with Charlie Batch under center, and what impact will the Plaxico Burress signing have?

*After last week's loss to San Fran's Colin Kaepernick, can Chicago's defense bounce back against the league's leading rusher (Adrian Peterson)?

*Is Tampa a contender coming out of the NFC South? They will get their shot at proving they belong with a chance to upset the 9-1 Falcons.

*49ers @ Saints: Rematch of last year's NFC Divisional showdown.

Note: We do not own the above images/video. No copyright infringement intended.

Is There Anything More Intimidating on the Football Field than A Bloody Face?

If that's not the face of intimidation, then I'm not so sure what is.

Brian Cushing, the leader of Houston's fourth-ranked defense in 2011, knows a thing or two about being bloodied on the football field. Back on November 6, against the Cleveland Browns, Cushing found himself in the middle of a post-play tussle with a Browns lineman. Right after being pushed from behind by the player while walking away, Cushing took off his helmet as he turned around to face the said Brown player, guard Shawn Lauvao. Unfortunately for Cushing, Lauvao head-butted him (looked unintentional as Lauvao simply got in Cushing's face).

The picture above was the end result: An angry, bloody Cushing. Houston went on to easily win the game, 30-12, to improve to 6-3 on their way to a franchise-best 10-6 season, a division title and the first playoff appearance in Texans' history.

Despite losing All Pro defensive end/outside linebacker Mario Williams, who signed elsewhere (Buffalo) this offseason, the Cushing-led Texans will be on the prowl once again in 2012. I expect even bigger things as this defense continues to mature and add depth.

A couple of days ago I expressed how confident I am in the Carolina Panthers as the favorites in the NFC South, and now I am expressing how much confidence I have in Houston capturing a second consecutive AFC South division title.

I do not own the above image. No copyright infringement intended.

Houston Texans Free Agency Frenzy: Who Will Stay and Who will go?

Today marks the first day that NFL teams can place the franchise tag on one of their free agent players this offseason. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that every team will place the tag on a player today, because they have until the beginning of March to do so. But we could see a couple teams start to make a decision.

This also means we can start to focus more on the actual offseason, meaning free agency and scouting for the upcoming April draft (Scouting Combine in Indianapolis begins on Wednesday).

One key team I will be watching closely this offseason, in addition to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, would have to be the Houston Texans.

The defending AFC South division champions have two huge impact players lined up to hit the free agency market, and there's a slight chance they could only bring one of those two players back for the 2012-13 season.

Bouncing back after a season-ending injury this season after just five games seems likely for free agent DE/OLB Mario Williams, who is looking to sign a long-term contract with his rookie contract expiring. The two-time Pro Bowler would cost Houston $23 million if he was to be franchise tagged, so it's highly likely he could test the free agent waters, in my opinion.

Houston's other impact player that could walk is running back Arian Foster, also coming off his rookie contract. Foster is a restricted free agent, but he may still receive offers from other teams. If he isn't franchised for some odd reason, Houston could still match any offers he gets from other teams.

All this being said, I would like to think that Houston will retain Foster, the 25-year old back who has run for 2,840 yards and 26 TDs the past two seasons, and let Super Mario walk. Again, Williams played just five games this season before suffering a season-ending torn pectoral muscle in a 25-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders. In six seasons, Williams started 82 games, recording 192 tackles, 53 sacks, 11 passes defensed and 11 forced fumbles.

One of the team's best pass rushers will certainly be missed if they let him go, but there's no question they have proven this season that they can still play top-tier defense without him in the lineup.

Thanks to some breakout performances from young guys such as rookies J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed, in addition to hard-hitting inside linebacker Brian Cushing, the Texans ranked second in overall defense (yards) and fourth in scoring defense on their way to a franchise-record 10-win season.

As for the offensive side of the ball, Matt Schaub should return as the opening day starter at quarterback in 2012 despite rookie T.J. Yates doing a fine job filling in for the injured Schaub. With the duo in Foster and Ben Tate continuing to gain ground, the only huge hole on offense seems to be at the receiver position.

Andre Johnson, Houston's 30-year old five-time Pro Bowl wideout, battled a right hamstring injury all season long, starting just seven games in 2011. He, aside from veteran Kevin Walter and tight end Owen Daniels, is pretty much the only all-star caliber talent Schaub has in the passing game. None of the receiving corps will hit the market, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Houston go after a target or two either in free agency or through the draft.

On the line, center Chris Meyers is a free agent as well, but I have no reason to believe that he wont be brought back this offseason. Other than that, Houston's line seems to be pretty solidified for 2012, with tackles Duane Brown and Eric Winston, and guards Wade Smith and Mike Brisiel anchoring the offensive line for Gary Kubiak's squad.

Don't be surprised if Mario Williams signs a record-breaking contract with a team other than Houston, and we see Houston with a top three rushing attack led by Foster and Tate again in 2012.

Photo credit

Williams: Bob Levey/Getty Images

Foster: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

AFC Championship is Anyone's Game at this Point

The AFC North division champion Baltimore Ravens are heading to Foxboro, Mass. this Sunday to face the No. 1 seeded New England Patriots for a chance to play in the Super Bowl in Indianapolis in February.

Baltimore's stingy defense helped them overcome the Houston Texans' hard-hitting defense and its five sacks of quarterback Joe Flacco, who was also hit on six additional plays and had seven passes defensed against Houston's fourth-ranked overall defense.

Flacco has been a bit of a disappointment this season, as he has been very inconsistent throughout the season, sometimes not even bringing his A game against teams with losing records such as Jacksonville and Seattle. A pair of rookie Texans–DE J.J. Watt and LB Brooks Reed–each recorded 2.5 sacks and combined for 15 solo tackles, including four TFLs (tackles for a loss) against Baltimore's passing attack.

Like I had said in my Preview for this game, the Ravens would win but they would need Ray Rice to get plenty of touches in order for them to do so. Well, he did. He carried the ball 21 times for 60 yards and caught four passes for 20 yards. Clearly he received his fair share of touches, but he wasn't very effective with the ball in his hands (2.9 Y/A, 5.0 Y/R).

I ended up only being half right about the outcome of the game: I picked the winner, but Baltimore's 20-13 victory came because of a dominating defensive effort against rookie signal caller T.J. Yates.

Overall Yates looked closer to a veteran quarterback than a rookie at times. His three interceptions were devastating and led to either BAL points or, as his last one sailed into veteran safety Ed Reed's hands, sealed the victory. Baltimore dropped numerous other possible INT's, which were simple rookie mistakes on Yates' part. But T.J. made a couple of throws that only a handful of QBs are normally able to execute.

This brings me to my next point. If you watched the first AFC matchup of the weekend then I'm sure you noticed how on point Tom Brady was with all of his throws. He was on fire, going 26/34 for 363 yards and 6 TDs with one interception. His five first half TD passes set the postseason record for most in a single half, and his six total tied the postseason record for a single game.

Denver's pass rush struggled to even lay a hand on him (two QB hits, two PDs, 0 sacks) and Brady had no trouble finding tight end Rob Gronkowski in the end zone on three different occasions.

Baltimore's pass rush is far more dangerous than that of Denver, but that doesn't mean Brady is going to turn the ball over. Flacco got his chances at putting the ball in the end zone thanks to the four turnovers his defense forced on Houston. New England, however, doesn't turn the ball over. In fact, they did that just 17 times this entire season (third-least in the league).

Say what you want about New England's porous pass defense, but they have thrived all season on forcing turnovers, much like Baltimore's D, and Flacco's offense is far more vulnerable than New England when it comes to losing the football.

Here's how you know your team is in trouble: Ed Reed made an appearance on The Blitz on SiriusXM's NFL Radio and he made it clear that the Ravens needed to step up as a team this Sunday against the Patriots. He hinted towards the idea that Joe Flacco looked a little rattled by Houston's defense, and that the offense needed to make improvements if they expected to win against New England.


Before this weekend's slate of games I had New England over Denver, Baltimore over Houston, and then Baltimore defeating the Patriots in the Championship game for a trip to the Super Bowl. But after watching New England destroy the Broncos defense with 45 points Saturday night, I may have to re-think my pick.

That's why I will be waiting until the very end of the week to make my two picks. Not only is the AFC game tough to call, but both the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers lit up the scoreboards against their respective Divisional round opponents. With my 6-2 postseason record on the line, I will be taking every second I have to re-evaluate these two match-ups.

Who do you have representing each Conference in Super Bowl XLVI?

Photo credit
Joe Flacco: Rob Carr/Getty Images
Brandon Spikes: Al Bello/Getty Images

Divisional Round Preview: Sunday's Games

We're halfway there as two more teams were eliminated Saturday night. San Francisco lived on after knocking off the third-seeded Saints with a late game-winning touchdown from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis while the Pats blew out the Tim Tebow-led Broncos.

A full recap and review of Saturday's Divisional round games will be coming soon, but for now I will bring you my preview of Sunday afternoon's games as we find out who the other two teams will be playing next Sunday.

I went 2-0 in today's games, let's see if I can go 2-0 on Sunday and improve my playoff record to 6-2.

#3 Houston at #2 Baltimore--Sunday January 15, 2012 1 PM ET

Both of these two teams are so similar in style of play: hard-nose, smashmouth defense who can put up points on the board and be the difference in a game and an explosive running game. With a third-string rookie quarterback under center for Houston, I can imagine that Houston will run the ball early and often.

If I'm Baltimore's John Harbaugh, I'm not so sure if I can fully trust Joe Flacco with the ball in his hands considering how streaky and inconsistent he has been this season. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron needs to find as many ways as possible to get the ball to running back Ray Rice.

Flacco plays better when he isn't put under pressure and giving Rice his carries gives Baltimore a much better chance at moving the ball efficiently and getting points on the board. Fun for for you: in Baltimore's four losses this season Rice averaged just 9.0 carries per game without any rushing TDs (had one through the air). Why it has taken this long for Harbaugh/Cameron to realize this? I have no clue, but I'm sure they've picked up on it by now.

Arian Foster and Ben Tate, who is making his homecoming back to MD (grew up in Salisbury, MD), combined for the second-best rushing attack this season and will be game-changers in this matchup. Both defenses can stop the run, however, and rookies J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed, and Brian Cushing and Jonathan Joseph for Houston are sure to have big days against Flacco if Baltimore can't protect him adequately.

Bottom line: Houston has a great shot at upsetting the No. 2 seed on the road (Baltimore won meeting earlier this season, 29-14, at M&T Bank Stadium on Oct. 16), but I think Ray Rice will be too much, and Terrell Suggs will have a big day against the young T.J. Yates.

My Prediction: Ravens 28, Texans 17
Whatifsports.com's Prediction: Ravens 23, Texans 19

#4 New York at #1 Green Bay--Sunday January 15, 2012 4:30 PM ET

I called the San Francisco game, which may count as an upset for some people, but this will be the bigger upset and I can sense it happening tomorrow.

New York Giants' Eli Manning is coming off a league-leading 25 interception season last year, but has thrown for a career-high 4,933 yards with 29 TDs. He's played well all season on his way to his second career Pro Bowl selection in eight years. He, along with breakout wideout Victor Cruz, is the reason New York's offense has been so efficient this season.

Between the fact that I have discovered the formula to beating Aaron Rodgers and the Packers and the level that New York's defense (particularly the front 7) have been playing as of late, I think we have a game.

New York was one of the worst running games in the league this season, but in the previous six games the Giants have surpasses 100 yards on the ground and have controlled ball games with a perfect balance between pounding the ball with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw and airing it out with Manning, Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. They really opened up the middle of the field last week against Atlanta, and they certainly have the ability to do so against Green Bay's 32nd-ranked pass defense tomorrow.

All Manning needs to do is protect the football, meaning no turnovers, and the NY defense needs to put as much pressure on Rodgers (the MVP favorite) as possible. How exactly did the Chiefs beat the Pack? Control the tempo and keep Rodgers off the field. Kansas City ran the ball 39 times for 139 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay, possessing the ball for 36 of the 60 minutes of play.

Now that's how you keep Rodgers off the field, and that's how you beat Green Bay. Tamba Hali pressured Rodgers all day long (3 sacks on the day), and I expect NY's Tuck, Umenyoria and Pierre-Paul have a field day against Rodgers. Don't forget: NY nearly upended the Pack in Week 13, losing just 38-35.

My Prediction: Giants 35, Packers 31
Whatifsports.com's Prediction: Packers 28, Giants 23

Photo credit
Ray Rice: Rob Carr/Getty Images
Justin Tuck: Al Bello/Getty Images

Bengals/Texans: Battle of the Rookie QBs

In just under an hour the 2011-12 NFL playoffs will kick-off with a very noteworthy match-up in Houston between the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans.

In 10 seasons, this is the Houston Texans' first-ever playoff appearance and the Bengals are seeking its first postseason win since 1990. Something's gotta give, right? The last time a playoff game was played in Houston Joe Montana was in a Kansas City Chief uniform as he defeated the Houston Oilers 28-20 on January 16, 1994.

This match-up also features a showdown between two rookie signal callers for the first time in playoff history, pretty impressive huh?

Both Houston's T.J. Yates and Cincy's Andy Dalton have turned heads with their leadership as rookies, and according to teammates neither have shown weaknesses in allowing the atmosphere of the playoff get to them. This week during practice, anyways. Come game time could be a whole different story.

The play of the quarterbacks, in my opinion, will not be the deciding factor in this game however. Rather, it will be the running game (and defense) that makes the difference. Houston has the league's second-best rushing attack, in terms of yardage at least, and Arian Foster is certain to get a huge workload today against Cincy's 10th-ranked run defense.

Houston is top five in overall (4th), pass (3rd) and run (4th) defense and will make for a rough day for Cedric Benson (1,067 yards, 6 TDs, 3.9 Y/A in regular season) and the Bengals' 19th-ranked running game. Without an efficient running attack there will be a lot of pressure on Dalton, and I think Houston's linebacking corps, led by Brian Cushing, will be too much for the young guy.

Houston, in its first playoff game in franchise history, will get the W today and live to play another week.

Photo credit

Cushing: Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images

Bengals, Texans and Broncos Back into AFC Playoffs

Last Sunday three of the six AFC playoff teams lost its matchup. Two of those hadn't even clinched a spot yet, meaning they received help from other teams to get in to the second season.

Houston and Cincinnati, throwing it down one-on-one this weekend (Saturday January 7, 2012 at 4:30 PM ET in Houston), are both currently being led by rookie signal callers. Cincinnati's Andy Dalton was one of two rookie QBs to throw for 3,000 or more yards this season–first time in history that has happened.

As for Houston, rookie T.J. Yates will be making his sixth career start this Saturday, and it's clear that Houston has relied heavily on the run. Yates has thrown for just 949 yards and three touchdowns on 134 pass attempts, but has protected the ball well (just three INTs). But after leaving last week's game against the Titans with an apparent shoulder injury, his status for Saturday is uncertain.

It's been said he's likely to play, but even if he does I have a feeling he wont be 100%. There's no doubt these two rookie quarterbacks will be under the microscope when they go head-to-head in Houston's first-ever playoff game. Cincinnati will be looking to win its first playoff game since 1990.

Both teams have struggled as of late. Cincinnati fell, 24-16, to division rival Baltimore in Week 17 and has gone 2-3 in the last five games. Houston is currently riding a three-game skid, finishing the season 10-6. There's no doubt that this matchup, however, may be one of the most intriguing of the weekend, with Cincy sporting a 5-3 road record and Houston boasting a 5-3 record at home. Houston plays great defense and has the second-best running game in the league.

Backing in or not, these teams have set the stage for a classic AFC playoff battle on Saturday afternoon.

Denver was the third AFC team to "back into the playoffs," clinching the AFC West division despite a 7-3 loss to Kansas City. With the help of San Diego (38-26 win over Oakland) Denver captured the title with an 8-8 record–Oakland and San Diego went 8-8 as well, but Denver holds the tiebreaker.

Tim Tebow, after starting his second professional season with a 7-1 record as starter and five 4th-qtr comebacks, has played three consecutive forgettable games as Denver nearly lost its playoff chances.

Over the three-game span, Tebow, who received much of the credit for Denver's win streak despite great support from the defense and running game, completed 41% of his passes for just one passing touchdown (three on ground) and four interceptions. His defense allowed 40 points on two different occasions (41 vs. NE, 40 vs. Buf), but at the same time he managed just 13.3 points on average in those games.

The truth of the matter in Denver is that it appears as though defenses have cracked the code in stopping the offense designed around Tebow, and losing three straight by such deficits is no way to enter the playoffs, especially against a team of Pittsburgh's caliber.

They do have a couple things going for them against Pittsburgh, however. Not only will they get to host the game at Mile High, but they also have the benefit of playing a banged up Steeler squad. Ben Roethlisberger is likely to start, but there's no way his ankle will be 100%, plus running back Rashard Mendenhall and safety Ryan Clark have both been ruled out of the game.

Denver's No. 1 rushing attack will need to show up to play in order to take the pressure off the struggling Tebow. Though he only got the ball in to the end zone five times in 2011 (four rushing, one receiving), running back Willis McGahee is finally healthy and ready to go. He reached the 1,000-yard mark this season for the first time since 2007, his first season in Baltimore.

Denver is only 4-3 this season in games that the one-time Pro Bowler rushes for over 100 yards, but they are 3-0 in games that he runs for a touchdown. Meaning one thing: get him the ball in red zone and goal-line situations. In Week's 15 and 16 McGahee ran the ball just 22 combined times. I find it rather silly to try and rely so much on Tebow when you have a guy of McGahee's caliber sitting in the backfield waiting to get his hands on the ball.

If Denver wants a shot to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers it would be smart of them to give McGahee the ball early and often. Other than that, Denver will be a one-and-done this postseason.

Photo credit
T.J. Yates: Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images
Willis McGahee: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Houston Makes History, Poised for Playoff Run

The Houston Texans made franchise history this past Sunday in a couple of different categories.

Not only did rookie quarterback T.J. Yates–in his second career professional start–lead Houston on a last-minute, game-winning scoring drive to come from behind and defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-19, but he also happened to lead the 10-3 Texans to its first-ever playoff appearance.

The victory, and Tennessee's 22-17 loss to New Orleans shortly afterwards, allowed Yates' Texans to clinch the AFC South division for the first time since entering the league as an expansion team in 2002.

After what seemed to be a long 13 weeks, constantly battling numerous injuries to key players, the 2011 Texans have finally reached a milestone the previous nine Texans teams failed to do. And the scary part about it may in fact be that they could make a deep run in the postseason.

Without All Pro outside linebacker Mario Williams, Houston's leading sacker over the last four seasons, who has been out of the lineup since being placed on the injured reserve on October 10 (pectoral), the Texans' defense has yet to lose a step.

As a defensive unit, Houston is currently ranked No. 1 in total yardage allowed (3,574), fourth in scoring (16.0 PPG), third in passing yards (2,385), t-third in passing TDs (13), fourth in rushing yards (1,189), t-third in rushing TDs (6) and t-fifth in turnovers forced (25).

That's top six in each of the eight statistical categories that I believe are most vital in having a successful defensive unit. One that would be durable enough, with overall talent across the board, to make a run at a championship. We've seen teams with great defenses win championships without a very strong quarterback before, and I think this squad is capable of repeating history.

Just think: '85 Bears, '00 Ravens, '07 Giants. They all had quarterbacks that played average football–at best–all season, but thanks to strong support from the running game and history-making defenses (Da Bears and Ravens) were able to hoist the Lombardi trophy at the end of the season.

'85 McMahon: 56.9%, 2,392 yards, 15 TD, 11 INT, 82.6 QBR in 11 starts

'00 Dilfer: 59.3%, 1,502 yards, 12 TD, 11 INT, 76.6 QBR in eight starts

'07 Manning: 56.1%, 3,336 yards, 23 TD, 20 INT, 73.9 QBR in 16 starts

The difference between these teams and other teams, not just the Super Bowl championship, was the fact that they relied more heavily on the running game than the arm of their passer. Not to mention, of course, a great defense that helped pull off some improbable wins in some cases (*cough, cough* Giants over Pats in 2007 Super Bowl *cough, cough*).

What has impressed me so far in Yates' first two starts is not that he has thrown spectacular passes in tight coverage, because he hasn't really had to do much of that quite yet. Rather, it's that he's been protecting the football and limited the turnovers to a minimal. Other than his two lost fumbles and one interception over the last two weeks, Yates has shown he has the leadership to rally the team around him.

Just three turnovers in two games for a guy that was practically thrown overboard in to a pond of sharks, being a rookie quarterback with minimal experience and all, is pretty impressive I'd say.

If Yates can continue to protect the ball and simply manage the game we could be seeing more record-breaking performances from this team in the coming weeks. I have yet to even mention that he threw 44 passes in this past weekend's victory–Houston's franchise-record seventh straight.

Arian Foster, Ben Tate and Derrick Ward lead one of the NFL's most potent rushing attacks. Foster's 957 yards and eight TDs leaves him on the verge of his second consecutive 1,000-yard, double-digit TD season–he led the league in both categories last season as a second-year pro.

Speaking of second-year pro, backup Ben Tate, playing his first complete season after missing all of last year due to injury, has added 820 yards and three TDs on the ground. Tate, carrying the ball 146 times this season, has put up a yards per carry average of 5.6, which is the best in the league.

So even without Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Schaub (2,479 yards, 15 TD, 6 INT, 96.8 QBR in 10 starts), backup quarterback Matt Leinart (57 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT on 13 pass attempts), All Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson (31 Rec., 471 yards, 2 TD in six starts) on offense, this team has the ability to drive down the field and put points up on the board via the run game.

And on defense? Well, it looks like they have been doing just fine without Williams' 192 tackles, 53 sacks and 11 forced fumbles since his '06 rookie season. Linebackers Connor Barwin (career-high 9.5 sacks) and rookie Brooks Reed (6.0 sacks) have stepped it up in replace of Williams. With 36, Houston currently has the sixth-most QB sacks in the league and continue to turn the ball over often.

Houston has the right formula, and is easily the team to beat in the AFC right now. It will be a joy for any football follower to finally get to witness the Texans in the playoffs this year.

Photo credit

T.J. Yates: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Brooks Reed: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images