2014 NFL Playoff Predictions: Patriots, Packers Meet In Super Bowl

Dec 29, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) drops back to pass against the Chicago Bears during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field. The Green Bay Packers win 33-28. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The 2014 NFL playoffs will begin tomorrow afternoon, which makes today a perfect time to post my predictions for the postseason. The NFL playoffs are a really fun time for football fans, and one of the best things about it, is trying to predict what will happen.

Here we go:

Wild Card Round:

Colts over Chiefs

Bengals over Chargers

Saints over Eagles

Packers over Niners

Divisional Round:

Broncos over Colts

Pats over Bengals

Seahawks over Saints

Packers over Panthers

Conference Championship:

Pats over Broncos

Packers over Seahawks

Super Bowl:

Pats over Packers

The way I see it, the AFC is so weak, that I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the six teams make it to the Super Bowl. Every squad has its flaws, and there is no team that will be “expected” to roll through the competition. The two reasons why I feel that the Pats will advance to the Super Bowl, is because of Tom Brady, and because of their running game. LeGarrette Blount has emerged as a dangerous back over the last couple of weeks, and the combination of him, and Stevan Ridley, will prove to be extremely lethal this postseason. Brady won’t have to put the entire team on his shoulders this year, because he will have the luxury of handing the ball off to one his two running backs, and let them do some damage. This will really come in handy in the AFC Championship Game, where keeping the ball away from Peyton Manning will be key. As for Tom Brady, there aren’t many quarterbacks in the history of the NFL that can compete with him, in terms of playoff success, as he has won three Super Bowls, two Super Bowl MVP’s, and 17 playoff games. When you need a late score in the playoffs, there is not a quarterback alive that I would take over Brady, which is why he will lead the Pats back to the big game.

As bad as the AFC is, I could make an argument saying that the NFC is worse. Seattle’s offense can be extremely inconsistent, the Panthers rely far too much on their front seven, the Saints can’t play outside of the dome, and while the Niners are hot, I still don’t completely trust Kaepernick. That leaves the Packers, who have a lot of problems of their own. Their defense gave me absolutely no reason to trust them to get it done in the postseason, but I am going to ride with Green Bay in the NFC. Aaron Rodgers is back at the helm, he has some of his receivers back, and most importantly, they now have a running game. As I mentioned with the Pats, having a running game really makes them dangerous, because it takes a ton of pressure off of Rodgers’ back. He certainly has the talent to do it all on his own, but at some point in the playoffs, you must be able to lean on a running attack, and that is exactly what he can do, in the coming weeks. I think that Rodgers will out-duel both Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson on the road, and guide his team to one of the most unlikely Super Bowl appearances in recent memory.

I have New England beating Green Bay in a close game, for one simple reason. Tom Brady is better than Aaron Rodgers. Both of these teams can run the football, and both of them can’t stop the run. I still believe that their respective running games will be what gets them to the Super Bowl, but they will cancel each other out when they meet. I trust Brady much more in a game like this, especially if it comes down to one last drive. Rodgers is great, there is no denying that. His arm talent is second to none in today’s NFL, and if Peyton and Brady didn’t exist, we would be talking about Rodgers for a long time. But Brady does exist, and if he meets up with Rodgers in a game of this magnitude, you better put your money on number 12 (the one in blue). And anyways, doesn’t it just feel right for this New England team to win it all this year? They have suffered a ridiculous amount of injuries, and most of them have been to their most important players. But they have been extremely resilient, pulling off comeback after comeback all year long. When they should have folded, and just given up, they didn’t. They went out there, gave it their all, and somehow put together a 12-4 season. I think that there is something special in this group of players, and there would be no better ending to this roller-coaster story, than to cap it off with a Super Bowl victory.

And if that’s not enough, what tandem will you take to win the biggest game of the year, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, or Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy?

Three rings, to one. Just look at the numbers.