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.

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Greatest Player of All-Time Tournament: Championship

Exactly one month ago today we introduced our great little idea for a "March Madness" tournament. We introduced all 64 of the seedings in four different "regions" and then introduced each of the First Round match-ups for you to begin your voting.

Now, a month later, we've finally cut down the 64 all-time greats to just two: Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders. A No. 1 seed (and the top seed of the entire tourney) and a No. 2 seed in Sanders.

This could be the toughest match-up of the entire tournament; yes, tougher than deciding between picking Jim Brown and Barry Sanders in the Final Four. But, trust me, you made the right decision in Sanders. Sure, Brown was the most dominant runner of his era by far. But Sanders was the type of player who could have been dominant in any era, using his speed, shiftiness and quick feet to make every potential tackler miss. When arguing for Sanders, all I would have to mention is the team and offensive line he played behind.

I guess that previous paragraph kind of reveals who my vote will be going towards in this final match-up, which means yes, I'll be voting against the most productive wide receiver the NFL has ever seen.

I'll remind you all once one last time how to cast your votes:

1. Leave your picks in the comments section below this article (you can do so anonymously if you would like).

2. Leave your picks on our Facebook or Tumblr page.

3. Tweet us your picks @AllOutBlitz1

4. Email us your picks at benheck77@yahoo.com

5. Or you may even send us a text message at 443-988-8597.

Championship

1 Jerry Rice vs. 2 Barry Sanders

Rice: By far the greatest wide receiver this game has ever seen. His numbers are incomparable to the rest of the wideouts both current and past. With 22,895 career yards, Rice is nearly 7,000 ahead of the second-place Terrell Owens. Going to 13 Pro Bowls and named to 10 First-Team All Pro squads over his 21 seasons, there's no doubt Rice's records will stand for years to come. Have I mentioned that the Hall of Famer has 208 total touchdowns and won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers.

Sanders: In our humble opinion, we'd say Sanders is the greatest running back of all-time. Though historians would likely argue against that statement and say it's between Payton and Brown and stat geeks would say it's Emmitt Smith (solely based on his all-time yards and TD numbers). But, looking at the bigger picture: Is there really anyone who can compare? Barry has the best highlight reel-worthy runs, played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league at the time, meaning he had little talent around him. Not to mention he's likely run for the most negative yardage in NFL history, but still managed 15,000+ yards for his career.

VOTE AWAY!

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Smith to Chiefs: Reaction to Kansas City's Acquisition of Alex Smith

The biggest news thus far in the 2013 NFL off-season has nothing to do with contract negotiations, franchise tags and college prospects at the Combine. No, instead it's all about the first major trade of the 2013 season: Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs.

On Wednesday, the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers agreed to trade backup quarterback Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for its 2nd round pick in this year's draft and a conditional mid-round pick in 2014.

Though the trade will not be made official until the beginning of the new league year on March 12, the deal is all but done.

With new head coach Andy Reid taking over the reins in Kansas City, it's fitting that the franchise starts over with a new quarterback under center. The former No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft revitalized his doomed career by carrying the Niners offense to the NFC Championship in 2011. Smith entered 2012 with high hopes, but a concussion suffered against St. Louis in early November ended his campaign.

Second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick took over the job while Smith sat out, and the rest is history. The 25-year old Kaepernick used both his arm and his legs to take the Niners all the way to the Super Bowl in just his second season in the league.

Smith seemingly lost his job unfairly to the younger Colin, but that's just how this league works. You get hurt, sit out a couple games and risk losing your job to someone who does it better. It's tough to say whether the 49ers still could have made the Super Bowl with Smith under center all season (I vote no), but either way Kaepernick did what he had to do to stay the starter.

That's why it didn't take long for Smith to find a new job. The Niners knew he wouldn't be happy sitting on the bench and that there would be other teams willing to make a move for him. Reid wanted his own quarterback as he begins a new era in Kansas City, and he was willing to give up a couple of draft picks to accomplish this.

I personally believe this was a great move for both sides. Kansas City gets its franchise quarterback who, by the way, is still only 28. So he could give the Chiefs a good 5-6 years. But also the Niners get a couple of picks for a guy who would have been riding the bench anyways. Win-win.

It's also been reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Chiefs are expecting to cut Matt Cassel once the trade goes through. It looks like even the Cardinals could be winners in this deal: it'll allow them to snatch up Cassel via free agency.

Anyone else getting excited to see how the 2013 Chiefs' offense looks? Depending on what happens to wideout Dwayne Bowe, of course, who will hit the free agent market in a couple of weeks.

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Lights Out: Flacco-Led Ravens Capture 2nd Super Bowl Title over San Francisco

Super Bowl XLVII was a tale of two halves. And by two halves, I mean pre-power outage and post-power outage.

This year's Super Bowl will certainly be a memorable one, and likely not because Ray Lewis went out with a second ring on his "last ride" or because Joe Flacco finally proved his worth and captured a Super Bowl MVP award.

It'll be memorable because of a 34 minute power outage that the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans experienced two minutes into the third quarter. I'd like to think that Beyonce's powerful halftime performance had something to do with the outage, although commissioner Goodell has come out and stated that she was not the cause. At the same time, though, the league still is unsure of the cause...so we'll go with Beyonce blowing out a fuse. It sounds cool.

Leading 21-6 at the half, and then coming back out of the tunnel and witnessing Jacoby Jones return the second half kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown had Baltimore fans going crazy––the stadium was at least half purple. The return was originally ruled a 109-yarder, but that was later changed to 108. Either way though, it's not only a Super Bowl record for longest return, but a postseason record.

Just minutes away from the infamous power outage at this point, Baltimore had a 28-6 lead and a jubilant crowd on their side. What could possibly go wrong? But just prior to a 3rd & 13 play from their own 40-yard line, half of the stadiums lights went out on the Niners.

Speculation rose, and the CBS analysts began thinking that the outage would benefit San Francisco the most as they'd get to slow the game down and kill Baltimore's momentum. Following the delay, quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw an incomplete pass intended for backup tight end Delanie Walker, forcing an Andy Lee punt.

But following a short-living four-play drive from the Ravens, San Francisco got the ball back and managed to drive 80 yards on seven plays and Kaepernick capped the three-minute drive with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree.

The atmosphere inside the dome had changed quite a bit at this time, and the Niners defense stepped up as well, forcing a three & out from Joe Flacco. A 32-yard return for Ted Ginn Jr. off a Sam Koch punt put the ball at Baltimore's 20-yard line. Two plays later running back Frank Gore put the ball in the end zone for the Niners.

Baltimore's offense hadn't gotten anything going on its previous two drives of the quarter, and this time after catching a swing pass from Flacco, running back Ray Rice fumbled the ball deep in his own territory. San Francisco cornerback Tarell Brown both forced and recovered the ball at the BAL 24.

Despite the great field position, Baltimore's defense stepped up and forced a field goal try from 34-yards out. Splitting the uprights, the score was now 28-23 Baltimore. In just over four minutes of play, the Niners had put up 17 points with 3:14 to play in the third quarter.

Baltimore had begun to put the ball on the ground, and on the following drive ran the ball seven times to four passing plays on the 11-play scoring drive which ended with a Justin Tucker 19-yard field goal. On a 3rd & 1 play from San Francisco's 1-yard line, there was a borderline no-call in which Isaac Sopoaga hit Flacco out of bounds.

Some wanted a roughing the passer call, others wanted a late hit. But Flacco was on the run so roughing the passer could not be called since he was then considered a runner. And I thought Sopoaga's momentum took him into Flacco and that he wasn't far enough out of bounds to warrant a flag. So personally I thought it was the right no-call, because it could have made the difference in the game. In a Super Bowl, don't you want the players to make or break the game? I thought so.

So with one of many controversial calls aside, Baltimore took the three points and still held the lead early into the fourth quarter, 31-23. With the way Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco offense had been moving the ball in the second half, however, Baltimore knew an 8-point lead wasn't safe. After a LaMichael James 28-yard kickoff return, Kaepernick got to work. A 32-yard pass to the legendary Randy Moss (though he's clearly past his prime) was the key play of the five-play scoring drive, because three plays later Kaepernick managed to run the ball in from 15 yards out for a touchdown––longest TD run for a quarterback in Super Bowl history.

Unfortunately the two-point conversion failed, so San Francisco still found themselves down two points with 10 minutes to play.

During Baltimore's ensuing 9-play drive, penalties were key for the Niners' defense and proved costly. Facing a 3rd & 9 early in the drive, San Francisco was looking to stop Flacco on a three and out but defensive back Chris Culliver was flagged for a defensive PI on wideout Torrey Smith, giving Baltimore an automatic first down and another chance to put points on the board. Baltimore continued to slowly chip away at the Niner defense, and once again the Niners were penalized on an offsides penalty on 3rd & 7. The five-yard penalty gave BAL a more doable 3rd & 2 and, even though they still failed to convert on the play, the penalty gave Tucker a more manageable 38-yard field goal.

The drive took over five minutes of game clock, but 4:19 was still plenty to work with for the San Francisco offense. Starting at their own 20, the Niners chipped away at Baltimore and drove all the way down to the BAL 5-yard line while trailing by five. Three consecutive incomplete passes, all intended for Michael Crabtree, gave the ball up on downs with under two minutes to play. The final play of that sequence was once again controversial.

It appeared as though Baltimore cornerback Jimmy Smith had held onto Crabtree with the ball in the air. Again, no flag thrown and the drive was over. Considering that, while being held, Crabtree pushed Smith to the ground I believe the officials saw that and donned the play as two guys getting tangled up. I don't believe that they had actually gotten "tangled up," but I certainly agree with the no-call. Both guys had been pushing each other, so it's tough to call defensive holding when one player is as guilty as the other. Gotta just let these guys play when we're at the biggest stage of them all.

But just out of curiosity, I can't be the only one puzzled by the play-calling, right? Kaepernick and Frank Gore's legs were at Jim Harbaugh's disposal, and he decides to go through the air on three straight plays? There was plenty of time left on the clock and the Niners still had one timeout. Why not try to pound the ball in from five yards out? Confusing.

But either way, Baltimore was stopped on a three and out and forced to punt. Backed up in their own territory and worried about Ginn Jr. returning a short punt for a touchdown, the Ravens made the decision to take a safety and free kick it back to the Niners. Smart decision. Punter Sam Koch held onto the ball for as long as possible before running into the end zone for a safety. It's now 34-31 Baltimore and the Niners have just :04 left on the clock.

Ginn's 31-yard return wasn't enough for a touchdown, clearly, and the Ravens began its celebration, winning the franchise's 2nd Super Bowl title 12 years after celebrating its first.

I find it funny that people are trying to call for a conspiracy theory when talking about the power going out. Yes, the Niners may have picked up momentum and nearly successfully mounted the best comeback in Super Bowl history. But maybe if you had actually watched football this season you'd understand that the 49ers have been a second half team all season long:

Under Kaepernick (10 starts including postseason/SB)

1st half: 121 points (12.1/game)

2nd half: 167 points (16.7/game)

Under Kaepernick (3 starts in postseason/SB)

1st half: 44 (14.6/game)

2nd half: 60 (20/game)

In Super Bowl vs. Ravens

1st half: 6

2nd half: 25

At the biggest stage, it's not often you see a team completely buckle in like the Niners did in the first half, so I knew they'd put some points on the board. Did I know they'd outscore Baltimore 25-13 in the second half? No not really. But it's a good thing they did, because this game may end up going down in the top 10 for best Super Bowls.

Joe Flacco, as I predicted prior to the game, captured the Most Valuable Player award. He put up one of the most prolific single-season postseasons in league history, finishing with a near-perfect statline:

73/126, 58 comp %, 1,140 yards (285 per game), 11 TD, 0 INT, 117.2 rating (106.2+ rating in each of his four starts)

Flacco's performance tied both Joe Montana and Kurt Warner for most touchdowns in a single postseason, and he also tied Montana for the record of most touchdowns without an interception in a complete season. Flacco and Steve Young are now tied for third-place all-time with a 117.2 rating in a single-postseason (only counts Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks).

It's fair to say that Flacco has deserved a long-time contract from Baltimore after this season. His agent has already come out and say that he deserves to be the highest-paid quarterback. I certainly don't agree with this statement, but there's no doubt he deserves a big-time contract. Either way, there's a chance that the Ravens may use the franchise tag on Flacco this season so that they have more time to hash out a deal.

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Super Bowl Sunday: Previewing the Ravens/Niners Match-up

Today is finally the day. We're just about 3 1/2 hours away from kick-off of Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, and the All-Out Blitz is just now making its SB pick public.

I tried not to give in to the two-week-long hoopla surrounding the city of New Orleans, and watched a limited amount of coverage of the big game ever since the major networks such as ESPN and NFL Network arrived in New Orleans.

It's all hype. That's all it is.

I wanted to be able to quickly discuss some of the headlines without beating a dead horse for two weeks. So now that we're only a couple hours away, I thought it'd be a nice time to give my take on the headlines, and the match-up itself.

Super Bowl XLVII Headlines:

*Harbaugh brothers

This is one of the multiple obvious headlines, so I'll make it quick. Yes, it's the first time that two brothers have ever faced off in the Super Bowl. And yes they have faced each other one time before as head coaches––last Thanksgiving. John got the best of his little brother Jim as the Ravens defeated the 49ers 16-6 at home.

Fans are deeming this one the "Harbowl" or the "Harbaugh Bowl." Call it whatever you want, but I think I'll just stick to calling it by it's actual name. The Super Bowl.

*Ray Lewis' last ride

Win or lose, 17-year veteran linebacker Ray Lewis is hanging up his cleats for a microphone following this evening's game. He won a Super Bowl MVP trophy early in his career, so who knows maybe he'll finish his career with one as well. One thing is for sure, Kaepernick better watch out for No. 52 tonight.

*Alex Smith is benched for Colin Kaepernick and the young 25-year old's 10th career start is a Super Bowl

Let's face it, Colin looks like a 14-year old kid out of uniform. But once he steps onto that field he puts fear in opposing defenses. Well not exactly the kind of fear that Lewis and SF linebacker Patrick Willis puts in opposing offenses. But it's still a form of fear. Kaepernick ran the pistol offense just as well as RGIII and Russell Wilson did this season, and his 105.9 QB rating in two postseason games shows he's just as effective through the air.

*Baltimore defense vs. San Francisco defense

Both of the defenses will be facing different challenges. San Francisco will need to put pressure on Joe Flacco and force mistakes (which they will then need to capitalize on), while Baltimore will be focused on keeping Kaepernick in the pocket. Unfortunately for both sides, doing so doesn't necessarily mean success.

Flacco has recently thrived under pressure over the last few games, while Kaepernick has proven effective through the air and completed nearly 80% of his pass attempts and ran the ball just two times in a victory over Atlanta. San Francisco's overall defense was ranked No. 2 during the regular season, Baltimore's No. 12, but today brings completely different challenges.

*Joe Flacco's brilliant postseason success

Baltimore's Flacco has garnered quite a few critics over the years, including myself. But in the midst of an expiring contract following this season, he's stepped his game up a few notches––especially in his three postseason games. Normally the success of this offense would be based on the amount of touches and the effectiveness of Ray Rice, but as of late he's been coming out of the backfield and catching passes more often than he's been running the ball.

This may also have to do with the success of backup running back Bernard Pierce. But either way, Flacco has played lights out with the ball in his hands. Ever since the firing of Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator, Flacco has been trusted with the offense. With 8 TDs and 0 interceptions in his three postseason games this season, Flacco is now just three touchdowns away from surpassing Joe Montana for most in a single postseason. Interesting.

The Game

Finally we've gotten to the actual game and the match-ups, and frankly this has to be the potential to be one of the best Super Bowls in years. And that's saying a lot considering the Super Bowls recently.

All eyes will undoubtedly be on Joe Flacco, Colin Kaepernick and Ray Lewis, Patrick Willis. With two game-changing running backs in the backfield––Ray Rice and Frank Gore––one would think that both offenses will come out and run early and often to establish a heavy-dose on the ground. I have a feeling that that wont be the case tonight, however. The game will come down to the signal callers, and whichever plays a mistake-free game will come out winners.

San Francisco has a top 3 run defense, so why wouldn't offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell want to come out of the tunnel and put the ball right in Flacco's hands from the start. He's proven over the last month that he's ready to handle the reins of the offense. Lining Torrey Smith out wide and letting him test out free saftey Dashon Goldson's range is what I would do early. Rice is great coming out of the backfield and catching passes, but I believe Pierce will end up being a more effective option at running back tonight as well.

As for San Francisco's offense, Kaepernick will need to keep the ball in his hands a little more often this time around. With 16 rushing attempts in a 45-31 Divisional round shellacking of the Packers, why wouldn't you let the young kid spread the field out and use his legs to tire out Baltimore's defense. At this point, I think that's the best option they have. Baltimore's defense shut down future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in two consecutive games, but they are both pocket passers.

Completely different ball game here.

Baltimore's defense has only faced one team that uses the pistol offense to its advantage this season, and that was in a 31-28 overtime loss to Washington. Allowing 268 passing yards and 179 rushing yards––423 total yards––Baltimore's defense clearly struggled, and they only forced one Washington turnover.

Bottom line: Both teams have great defenses, capable rushing offenses and great quarterbacks. But Flacco has been seemingly unstoppable and has limited all mistakes, which is something that used to haunt him. Baltimore has had an extra week to prepare for Kaepernick's style of play and have great game film from a December game in which Seattle exposed San Francisco's offense (won 42-13 two days before Christmas).

So here it goes, Baltimore pulls one out and wins its second Super Bowl in franchise history...12 years following its first one.

Final score: Baltimore 24, San Francisco 21

MVP: Joe Flacco (it feels weird saying that).

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Championship Sunday Preview: All-Out Blitz's Picks

It's here, the second-most important day of the NFL season: Conference Championship Sunday. We're now about a half an hour away from kick-off in Atlanta, with the second game kicking off in Foxboro 3.5 hours after that.

So far this postseason we've put up a 5-3 record when it comes to picking games. Starting out strong with a 4-0 Wild Card record, but then hitting a free fall after a 1-3 Divisional round record last week.

There are 3 major games left in the 2012-13 NFL season, with two of them coming today. Here's our Conference Championship preview and game picks.

San Francisco @ Atlanta

3pm (eastern time), Georgia Dome

Ah, yes. Two teams that I highly underestimated in last week's Divisional round. Unfortunately I will be forced to pick against one of these two teams for a second consecutive week. And it's going to be very tough to go against these Niners after dismantling Green Bay's defense both on the ground and in the air.

Second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick set records against the Pack, running for the most yards in a single game by a quarterback (181) with 2 TDs in addition to passing for 263 yards and 2 more TDs. Atlanta's Matt Ryan had an elite first half of play against Seattle's top-ranked defense, putting the Falcons ahead 20-0. But the second half was a different story.

Atlanta's defense allowed rookie Russell Wilson to lead the 'Hawks to 28 second-half points, including 21 unanswered in the fourth quarter. While the 'Hawks mounted a comeback, Ryan threw two picks for the Dirty Birds.

Luckily, Ryan's final drive ended in a game-winning 49-yard field goal from Matt Bryant with :08 to play. But there's no doubt the Falcons backed into the win and didn't play a full four quarters of elite football. Against San Francisco, they will absolutely need to play flawless football, because Kaepernick and the Niners' offense proved that they can score quickly and rather easily. San Fran's 21 fourth quarter points, led by 323 total rushing yards throughout the game, is a scary feat that will keep Atlanta's 21st-ranked rushing defense on its toes.

Unfortunately for Matt Ryan, who has proved to be an elite regular season quarterback in his five-year career, the Falcons aren't likely to reproduce its 167 yard rushing performance. In 17 games this season, Atlanta has broken the 100-yard mark just seven times. The Falcons have clearly been forced to rely on Matty Ice's right arm and top-tier receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones, but San Francisco's hard-nosed defense has also limited opposing offenses to under 200 yards passing on eight different occasions this season.

San Francisco's No. 2 overall defense has recorded 38 sacks, forced 25 turnovers and limited opposing rushers to just 1,507 yards (4th in league) this season, with quarterbacks posting just a 78.0 QB rating. There's no doubt that they'll put the pressure on Ryan and force some errant throws. The question is, did the Falcons figure out the correct formula for stopping Kaepernick? Because the Packers surely couldn't find an answer for him last week both in the passing and run game.

Prediction: I'm not going against these Niners, I'll take them in a close one over Matt Ryan's Falcons. San Fran wins on the road, 38-31.

Baltimore @ New England

6:30pm (eastern time), Gillette Stadium

It's rather disappointing that the current temperature in Foxboro is an unseasonably 53 degrees. Between one game in a dome, and the other approaching 60 degrees outside, we wont witness any cold games such as last week's BAL/DEN or HOU/NE games. But this is the matchup to watch, nonetheless.

It's Ray Lewis' final showdown with New England's head coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as he and his Baltimore defense will fight for one final game two weeks from today.

All-time the Patriots lead the series between these two teams by a count of 7-2, including the postseason (1-1 in the postseason). But, as of lately, the head-to-head matchup has been somewhat of a stalemate. Week 2 of this season Baltimore got the best of Tom Brady & Co. thanks in part to a game-winning field goal from rookie kicker Justin Tucker.

In the postseason, this game last season the Ravens traveled to Foxboro and were knocked off a game shy of the Super Bowl after then-Baltimore kicker Billy Cundiff missed a potential game-tying 31-yard field. New England won 23-20 and went on to fall to Eli Manning's Giants in the Super Bowl.

Eight days after upsetting the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos, 38-35 in double overtime, the Ravens get set to knock off the No. 2 seed in New England as 9-9.5 point underdogs yet again. In that game the Ravens overcame vital special teams mistakes (allowing two Trindon Holliday return TDs) and quarterback Joe Flacco proved all of his critics that he can take the reins and lead the team to a postseason victory.

It was, by far, Flacco's finest postseason performance, throwing for 331 yards and 3 TDs in the victory. But, most importantly, he limited his mistakes and showed confidence. Ray Rice's 131 yards was key late in the game and the offense managed to take advantage of Denver's mistakes and hold on for the victory.

However, this week may be a little different. Yet another elite postseason quarterback will square off with Flacco as Brady and his high-powered offense take the field against Ray Lewis. But, lately the Ravens have been able to get pressure on quarterbacks and I'd expect pass-rusher Paul Kruger to have another big day against Brady. Houston failed to force any turnovers, and that cost them big time, surrendering 40+ points to the Pats in the 41-28 loss.

Baltimore allowed 35 points last week, but that didn't matter as Flacco and his offense managed to keep up with Peyton and force a couple of turnovers. If Baltimore's defense can force some Brady mistakes, which I believe will end up happening with the pressure that will be put on him all game, then they have a good shot at knocking off another top AFC team today.

I picked against Baltimore last week, but I don't think I can do that again this week and they'll hold on for a second consecutive road postseason win. I mean, I had the Ravens in the Super Bowl (losing to the Packers) back in August, so I might as well just stick with my preseason pick.

Prediction: Another high-scoring game in this evening's AFC Championship. Baltimore prevails, 31-28.

According to our predictions, we'll be seeing an all-Harbaugh Super Bowl in New Orleans two weeks from today. It'd be a very interesting storyline, don't get me wrong. I just hope that (if it happens) the topic isn't worn out. Two weeks is a very long time between games, and there's always something that the media chooses to talk about for the full two weeks.

It's highly possible that we could either see the final games from two legends: Ray Lewis and ATL's Tony Gonzalez, who is also likely to retire at the end of the season. Both will end up being first ballot Hall of Famers and are in consideration for the best all-time at their respective positions. Wouldn't it be an interesting storyline if they ended up in a Super Bowl showdown? If anyone deserves a Super Bowl ring, it's Tony G. Sorry I can't pick Atlanta, Tony!

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"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.

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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!

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Playoff Preview: Saturday's Divisional Round Match-ups

Last week the All-Out Blitz went 4-0 in our Wild Card picks. Can we improve to 8-0 after this weekend? Here's a look at our picks for today's first two Divisional round match-ups, which we are now just over three hours away from!

Saturday January 12, 2013

4 Ravens @ 1 Broncos

4:30 pm (eastern time), Sports Authority Field at Mile High

Heading into halftime last Sunday against the Colts Baltimore led 10-6, but the offense came out in the second half and took the game over. Joe Flacco led the attack with a spectacular showing (12/23. 282 yards, 2 TDs), which I admit is not something I was expecting to see. I predicted that a Baltimore victory would come through a heavy dose of Ray Rice, but it was actually Rice's backup rookie Bernard Pierce who stole the show against Indy.

Rice ran for just 68 yards on 15 carries while losing two fumbles and almost costing Baltimore at critical times in the game, while Pierce stepped in and ran for 103 yards on just 13 carries as the Ravens managed to easily move the ball up and down the field. Flacco hit Anquan Boldin five times in the second half, for 145 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Baltimore felt the presence of returning linebacker Ray Lewis as he made 13 tackles and nearly made an interception early in the game. Paul Kruger put pressure on rookie signal caller Andrew Luck for most of the day, sacking him 2.5 times and Baltimore forced two Luck mistakes. The Colts' offense held the ball for nearly 38 of the game's 60 minutes as Luck set a rookie record for pass attempts in a postseason game (54), but were forced to settle for three Adam Vinatieri field goals and never got into the end zone against Baltimore's stout defense.

This week will be a much different story for Baltimore, as they get a match-up with the No. 4 overall defense on the road. Sure, Flacco and company could handle the Colts and move on with a 24-9 first round victory, but now they are forced to travel to the Mile High and face a much better defense. Indy was ranked 21st in overall defense, 21st in pass defense and 29th in run defense. The Broncos are 4th, 3rd and 3rd and somehow get overlooked as a top defense around the league.

Indianapolis didn't exactly have a standout pass rusher on its squad this season (Robert Mathis' 8.0 sacks led the team), but the Broncos have two guys in Von Miller (18.5 sacks this season) and Elvis Dumervil (11.0) who don't waste any time getting after opposing QBs and eating them for lunch. Mathis got to Flacco just once last week, but if I'm Flacco I'm not exactly looking forward to this match-up in Denver.

How can the Ravens pull off a victory today? Mistake-free. If this offense makes just one mistake, they aren't winning this game. Peyton Manning and his No. 2 scoring offense will make Baltimore pay dearly for any mistakes they make on the offensive side of the ball. Going for his 5th career MVP trophy this season (hopefully Adrian Peterson will win it instead), Manning is playing a strong as ever right now and has turned Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker into Pro Bowl-worthy wideouts.

Prediction: Broncos 31, Ravens 14

3 Packers @ 2 Niners

8 pm (eastern time), Candlestick Park

Despite the Vikes not playing with starter Christian Ponder last Saturday night, the Packers' 24-10 victory over Minnesota last Saturday night looked pretty impressive. Quarterback Joe Webb couldn't complete a pass to save his life, and I even think he failed to hit a trash can two feet away from while attempting to throw his Gatorade cup away on the sidelines (no joke). Completing just 11 of 30 attempts, Minnesota's offense once again consisted of: Adrian Peterson running a heavy dose.

After allowing 409 rushing yards to Peterson in the previous two match-ups between these two teams this season, Green Bay surrendered just 99 yards on 22 carries. So anytime you hold AP to under 5.0 yards per carry, you're gonna have a good day. The only time Minnesota got into the end zone was on a 50-yard pass from Webb to Michael Jenkins with under four minutes to play in the game, so you can almost call it garbage yards and points. The game was long over by that time.

Aaron Rodgers (23/33, 274 yards, 1 TD, 104.9 rating) played near-flawless football against Minny's 15th-ranked defense, but tonight will be a bit of a different story. Going up against San Fran's No. 2 defense will be a huge challenge for Rodgers and this offense. But with a banged up Justin Smith and after surrendering 34+ points to New England and Seattle late in the season, it's been proven that it's possible for a high-scoring offense to put up points on the Niners.

San Francisco defeated Green Bay 30-22 in the first game of the season, but there's a huge difference between then and now. First off, Alex Smith was the Niners' quarterback back then while now second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick is under center for San Fran and he has zero postseason experience. Second off, the Packers failed to run the ball effectively (14 attempts for 45 yards). Rodgers was the team's leading rusher in that game, running the ball 5 times for 27 yards while Cedric Benson ran 9 times for 18 yards.

This week will be a whole new story, as the Packers have appeared to have found its guy in the backfield. Second-year back DuJuan Harris ran the ball 34 times for 157 yards and 2 TDs this season, but over the last two weeks he's been the guy for Green Bay, running the ball a total of 117 yards on 31 carries with a touchdown. Harris and Alex Green have been splitting carries and make for a formidable one-two punch alongside Rodgers in the backfield.

Now I wouldn't take Green Bay's backfield over San Francisco's Frank Gore, but the fact the Rodgers may finally have a couple of capable runners coming out of his backfield to accompany his high-flying passing offense is a scary thought. Putting pressure on SF signal caller Kaepernick will be key for the Pack's defense, and I'm not so sure I trust this Niner offense with Kaepernick. I'd take Rodgers and his superb postseason track record (plus experience) ove Kaepernick and the Niners defense any day. Don't forget that Green Bay lost a game to Seattle that they should have won (replacement officials gave Seattle a game-winning TD that should've been ruled an interception at the end of the game), meaning Green Bay would have ended up being a higher seed than San Fran.

San Francisco is favored by 3 points, but I'll take the underdog Packers in this one.

Prediction: Packers 24, 49ers 14

A little later this afternoon I will be posting an article with all of our BOLD predictions for all four games this weekend! Plus, look out for more predictions for tomorrow's games as well.

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Sunday Night Football: Niners Look to Clinch West with a Win

Now that the late games are all in the books and the Baltimore Ravens (10-5) managed to clinch the AFC North title for the second consecutive season with a 33-14 win over the New York Giants (8-7), all focus can be placed on the Sunday night game. And oh boy, will it be a great one.

A lot is on the line for both teams involved: Seattle (9-5) and San Francisco (10-3-1), which is a breath of fresh air. Normally we'd see a late-season San Francisco/Seattle showdown on the schedule and not even give the game a second glance.

This season, however, is a completely different story. The Niners have already clinched a playoff spot with 10 wins, but will have the opportunity to clinch the NFC West division for the second straight season with a victory. The Seahawks find themselves sitting in the 5th seed at the moment, but have yet to clinch a spot. They will need a victory tonight to clinch a playoff spot since the Skins and Vikings both won today as well.

The match-up is so highly anticipated that the NFL rendered the game primetime-worthy and moved the game from 4:15 to the Sunday night slot on NBC.

With two young quarterbacks at the helm for both teams––rookie Russell Wilson for SEA and second-year speedster Colin Kaepernick for SF––the defenses for each team must be licking their chops. The Niners and Seahawks are the league's top two scoring defenses heading into Week 16, and will be bringing their A-games.

Both teams are incredibly similar in all aspects of the game:

San Francisco offense: 26th in passing offense, 2nd in rushing offense, 7th in turnovers

Seattle offense: 27th in passing offense, 3rd in rushing offense, 3rd in turnovers

San Francisco defense: 1st in scoring, 2nd in total yardage, 16th in turnovers

Seattle defense: 2nd in scoring, 3rd in total yardage, 5th in turnovers

With these numbers are win totals eerily similar, it's clear that this game will be a hard-fought game and that the team with the least amount of mistakes will prevail in the end.

Star running backs Marshawn Lynch (1,379 yards, 10 TDs) and Frank Gore (1,118 yards, 7 TDs) have both been having fantastic seasons for their respective teams, and will both obviously need to show up to play tonight to give their team the best chance at coming away with a victory.

Despite all of this, it will be the play of the two young quarterbacks that will have the largest impact on the outcome of tonight's match-up. Seattle's 24-year old rookie Russell Wilson (62.9%, 2,697 yards, 21 TD, 9 INT, 95.5 rating) has gotten better and more comfortable in the pocket as the season has progressed. He has quickly made his case as the dark-horse for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award this season, though he has not shot at winning the honor over Luck or Griffin.

San Francisco's former No. 1 overall pick back in the 2005 NFL draft began the season as the starter after breaking out with a career-year in 2011 and taking the Niners to the NFC Championship. However a concussion in a Week 9 tie to St. Louis knocked him out of the lineup for a couple of weeks.

Niner backup quarterback Colin Kaerpernick, 25, took over the role for the team and hasn't looked back. The dual-threat signal caller has taken the 49ers on a 4-1 run in his first 5 career NFL starts and has won over the fan base. Even with a healthy Smith back, Kaepernick still has the starting role and is poised to prove everyone he should keep the job in front of a primetime crowd tonight.

Though the rookie Wilson has more experience under center this season, I believe Kaepernick (65.6%, 1,289 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 101.4 rating; 379 rushing yards, 5 TDs in 11 games/5 starts this year) proved himself in a 41-34 victory over New England last week. After going into Foxboro last week and putting up 41 and putting up 31 at New Orleans a couple of weeks ago, I have no doubts Kaepernick can outplay Wilson on the road.

Both quarterbacks will have tough nights against these defenses, but with some help from Frank Gore the Niners offense will do just enough and limit mistakes against Chris Clemons, Richard Sherman & Co.

Though Seattle's offense has put up a total of 108 points over the last two weeks, you have to remember that those two games were against Arizona and Buffalo––not the best scoring defense in the league. Aldon Smith (19.5 sacks this season, 3.0 shy of tying Michael Strahan's single-season record of 22.5) will have a field day against the rookie Wilson, as he recorded 3 tackles and 1.0 sack in the 13-6 over Seattle earlier in the season.

Prediction: I'd take San Francisco's defense over Seattle's, though it is really close, and the Niners offense will make fewer critical mistakes. The Niners take this one in a close one, 21-17. Though I'd still love to see the 'Hawks in the postseason.

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Recapping Week 15: The NFC Playoff Picture and Why the Redskins Will Win the East

The NFC at this point is a bit more wide open than the AFC. Three of the four divisions in the AFC have already been spoken for, and one more is on the verge of being claimed as early as this weekend.

The NFC is a different story, with just half of the playoff spots being taken after 15 weeks and only two division titles have been claimed.

In the South, Atlanta already had the division down a couple of weeks ago but are now just one win away (possibly this coming Saturday against Detroit?) from claiming the top seed in the NFC. A convincing 24-0 shutout of the contending New York Giants (8-6) has shown that Matt Ryan's Falcons are still the team to beat in the conference and are two wins ahead of the next team in line, San Francisco (10-3-1).

Here are the headlines from this past weekend in the NFC...

Packers Fend off Bears for NFC North Title; Chicago and Minnesota jockey for playoff spot

At 10-4, Aaron Rodgers and his Packers have taken home the division title for the second consecutive season. With games against Tennessee and Minnesota still left on the schedule, it's possible that the Pack could beat out the Niners for the second seed and a first round bye if the Niners lose to both the Seahawks and Cardinals.

The Bears have hit a sudden wall and, after starting the season at 7-1 and one of the top contenders in the conference, have fallen in 5 of its last 6 games. Now on the outside looking in on the NFC postseason (Chicago and Minnesota are both 8-6, but Vikings hold tiebreaker), the Bears are in dire need of a couple of victories. In order to have a shot, the Bears will need to win both remaining games on the schedule (Detroit and Arizona) and hope the Vikings do not win out.

That will be tough, however, as Adrian Peterson has put the Vikings on his back and carried them to victories despite an underachieving quarterback in Christian Ponder and losing wideout Percy Harvin for the remainder of the season. The Texans and Packers will be seeing a heavy dose of Peterson over the final two weeks and will need to hold him to under 294 yards if they would like to keep him from breaking the single-season rushing record (set by Eric Dickerson in 1984). I'll be looking closer into Peterson's record-breaking chase sometime in the next day or so.

49ers @ Seahawks: Week 16 Game to Watch

Lucky for us, the primetime Sunday night game this weekend will be between the two teams duking it out for the NFC West title. Normally the chase for the Western division title in the NFC is a pretty bland battle, with the winner finishing around 9-7, 10-6. But this year we've seen two young quarterbacks take over the reins and dazzle opponents, making for an unusual exciting finish out West.

Second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick took over for the concussed Alex Smith in San Fran, and hasn't looked back since. In his first five professional starts, the 25-year old Kaepernick has posted a 4-1 record with 7 TDs, 2 INTs and over 1,200 yards. He's pulled off victories against teams such as Chicago, New Orleans and, most recently, the 10-win Patriots on Sunday night, putting up 41 points against one of the AFC's best teams.

The rookie signal caller in Seattle, Russell Wilson, has established himself as the Seahawks' future and is a dark horse candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year this season. Carrying Pete Carroll's 'Hawks to a 9-5 record, Wilson has a shot at once again silencing his critics on Sunday night if he can pull off a victory over the Niners. If the Seahawks win on Sunday, they can clinch a playoff spot. Even if they lose, they can still clinch if the Bears, Vikings and Redskins all lose.

Washington, Dallas Victories, Giants loss means a 3-way tie in East

Did I not tell you this would happen? I believe I did a couple of weeks ago. The "Giant" collapse in New York continued with a 24-0 shutout against the Falcons. Their fourth loss over the last six weeks puts them near the bottom of the list of "in the hunt" teams, at No. 9, while the second Redskins' rookie signal caller came out a victor in his first career start. Dallas' Tony Romo kept his 'Boys in the hunt with a 27-24 overtime victory over Big Ben's Steelers, but it will be Washington that ends up coming out a winner.

The Giants will get a Baltimore team sitting on a 3-game losing streak this Sunday, but with Ray Lewis expected to return I can see the Baltimore defense coming into the game hungry. Very hungry. Another Giants loss and the Cowboys facing the Saints, I believe it will be the Skins who pull out ahead in Week 16, defeating the Eagles in Robert Griffin III's return to action.

At 9-6, it will come down to a Cowboys/Redskins grudge match at Fedex Field in Week 17, a match-up in which the Skins will win, completing the season sweep and wrapping up the NFC East. It's a tough pill to swallow for the Giants, likely finishing out the second half of the season with a 3-5 record and completing 2012 with a 9-7 record. But Eli Manning's inconsistency has held back a team that very easily could be at 10-11 wins right now.

NFC Playoff Scenarios

*Falcons clinch first round bye and No. 1 seed with a win. Can clinch first round bye with a win OR a loss by Green Bay OR a loss by San Francisco.
*49ers clinch NFC West with a win over Seattle. Can clinch first round bye with a win AND the Packers lose.
*Seahawks can clinch a playoff spot with a win over San Francisco.
*Redskins can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Philadelphia AND losses by Giants, Bears and Vikings.
*Giants can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Baltimore AND losses by Redskins, Cowboys, Bears and Vikings.

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Week 11: Injured Quarterbacks on Contending Teams

It's been a busy week for the quarterback position thus far, and it's only Wednesday. This past weekend four different teams witnessed its starting quarterback go down with an injury, two of which have already been ruled out for this Sunday's match-ups with division rivals.

Three of these four teams are contenders and the fourth team is fighting for its playoff chances.

The aforementioned quarterbacks include Philly's Michael Vick (concussion), San Francisco's Alex Smith (concussion), Chicago's Jay Cutler (concussion) and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (right shoulder sprain).

Vick has been ruled out of Sunday's game against Washington, as rookie Nick Foles will make his first career start for the struggling 3-6 Eagles. Foles, filling in for the injured Vick this past Sunday, completed 22 of his 32 pass attempts for 219 yards, 1 TD and an interception against Dallas. The interception was returned 47 yards for a Brandon Carr touchdown.

If Foles can keep the Eagles competitive, who knows how long Vick will end up being out of the lineup. This may have just lost him the starting job if Foles can take advantage of this opportunity.

Smith, before leaving the game, went 7/8 for 72 yards and a TD before Colin Kaepernick took over and threw for 117 yards on the Niners' way to the first tie since the Eagles and Bengals ended in a 13-13 tie during the 2008 regular season.

Smith appears to be doing much better after suffering the concussion on a blow to the head against the Rams. He's been following NFL protocol for concussions, and if he's cleared by a neurologist he could play in San Fran's Monday night game with the Bears.

Speaking of the Bears, news on Cutler in Chicago is similar to that of Smith. It's unclear as to whether or not he'll play but since no significant news has broken that he isn't likely to play, I think we'll see him in uniform. Smith and Cutler's concussions suffered in Week 10 will certainly make for a interesting Week 11 match-up, should they both suit up and play for their respective teams.

The big news this week has without a doubt been Ben Roethlisberger. All of these concussions have been overshadowed by Roethlisberger's right shoulder sprain suffered in Pittsburgh's 16-13 overtime victory over Kansas City on Monday night. His agent claimed that it is an unusual injury, which tells me this may be a little more serious than just a sprain.

Either way, he's been ruled out for Sunday night's game against AFC North rival Baltimore, leaving the door open for former Jaguars starter Byron Leftwich to make his first official start as a Pittsburgh Steeler.

In terms of contending teams being effected by the injured quarterbacks, I don't think the Bears or Niners have much to worry about, even if Josh McCown starts for the Bears and Kaepernick the Niners this Monday. It's the Steelers that have the most to worry about. With no set timetable for Roethlisberger's recovery, it looks as if it will just be a week-to-week basis until team doctors know more.

One thing is for sure, however. If Pittsburgh is forced to rely on the right arm of Leftwich for the long-term, the team's playoff hopes may go down the drain.

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Week 7: NFL Divisional Matchups - Part I

There are six division match-ups scheduled for Week 7. A week sure to be full of excitement as some long-standing and bitter rivals meet head-to-head. Part I will feature an analysis of three of these division matchups.

NFC WEST

Seahawks (4-2) at 49ers (4-2)  Thurs. Oct. 18, 8:20pm EST NFL Network

Two power defenses go head-to-head in their first divisional matchup. Though the Seahawks have shown they can upset offensive juggernauts like the Patriots and Packers, facing the #1 overall ranked defense will present a different challenge. Offensively, the 49ers have the statistical edge. In passing yards per game they average 210 to Seattle's 169; rushing yards 176 to 131; and points per game 25.3 to 18.3. The 49ers rely heavily on the run game with backs Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter and they will attempt to establish the run game early. This will be critical but not easy as the Seahawks are only allowing 70 rushing yards per game. It is also critical to establish a run game early because their passing game is mediocre at best with No. 1 receiver Michael Crabtree.

Defensively, they're a closer matchup with each allowing 15 points per game average. And the 49ers have only allowed five rushing touchdowns since 2011, though the Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was one of them. This matchup will come down to which defense shows up. Both teams will be facing a short week. The Niners are looking to rebound after an embarrassing 26-3 loss to the Giants in Week 6. But the Seahawks have youth and energy, and of course, a stout defense. And under the tutelage of Pete Carroll, they are just young enough to believe they can beat anyone. Expect a low scoring game and possibly more snaps for wide receiver Randy Moss as the 49ers attempt to boost their passing game.

Prediction: 49ers 19 Seahawks 14

NFC SOUTH

Saints (1-4) at Buccaneers (2-3): Sunday October 21, 1:00pm EST Fox

Even without suspended coach Sean Payton, very few people would have predicted that the Saints would be 1-4 and sitting in last place in their division. They are also ranked last in overall defense, allowing 283 passing yards per game and 172 rushing. Look for the Bucs to exploit the Saints defensive weaknesses. Fresh off a 38-10 drubbing of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bucs receiving tandem of Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams seems to be finally clicking. There is also opportunities for backs Doug Martin and LeGarrette Blount to be very real threats out of the backfield. But the Bucs, whose defense ranks 25^th overall, allowing 312 yards passing per game, will struggle to contain the Saints potent passing offense. The Saints will need wide receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jimmy Graham to continue to play at their 2011 levels. The Saints are coming off a bye week in which they hope to build on the success they had in Week 5 against the Chargers. This will be a battle of offenses and no one puts up big numbers better than Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Prediction: Saints 31 Bucs 22

NFC EAST

Redskins (3-3) at Giants (4-2): Sunday October 21, 1:00pm EST Fox

With Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora providing some bulletin board material for the Redskins in the offseason, the stage is set for the first meeting between these two division rivals. Umenyiora said that rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, who is nicknamed RGIII, hasn't yet earned the right to a 'cool' nickname and referred to him as 'Bob Griffin.'  With bulletin board material aside, the Redskins will go into MetLife Stadium to face a team fresh off an impressive 26-3 win over one of the league's best teams, the San Francisco 49ers. In that game, the Giants defense, including LB Mathias Kiwanuka, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, and DT Linval Joseph, continually harassed 49ers QB Alex Smith, particularly in the 4^th quarter, and prevented the 49ers from establishing the run game. The Redskins can expect more of the same.

For the Giants, they will be facing a quarterback in RGIII who has captivated us since his surprising Week 1 win over the Saints right up to his 76-yard run last week against the Vikings. His mobility, accuracy and drive will keep the Redskins in this game. Also rookie running back Alfred Morris has proved an effective every down back that will definitely garner attention. It appears that star receiver Pierre Garcon will continue to be out with a foot injury. Can wide receivers Santana Moss and Leonard Hankerson, along with tight end Fred Davis take up the slack? In the end, the Giants receiving corps, including Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Domenic Hixon, will prove too much for the Redskins weak secondary who have allowed the most yards to opposing receivers. Along with running back Ahmad Bradshaw who has 100+ rushing yards in his last two games, the edge goes to the Giants.

Prediction: Redskins 24 Giants 28

Stay tuned for Part II, featuring Sunday's NYJ/NE, CIN/PIT match-ups and Monday night's Lions/Bears showdown.

Note: statistics quoted (exc. pts per game) are rounded off for clarity


Photo credit
Frank Gore: Jason O. Watson/Getty Images