You Can Pick Your Friends

My playoff picks didn't go as I expected today.  I picked both games correctly yesterday as the Saints and Colts won soundly.  Today was another thing entirely.

The Cowboys came out of the gate strong but turnovers and missed field goals stopped them cold.  The defense couldn't stop the Vikings as the once hot Cowboys cooled off in a big way.

Things were very different on the West Coast where the Jets pulled off the upset against the favored Chargers.  It was a rather low scoring game with the Jets defense holding the Chargers in check until they made it close in the end.  Missed field goals again played a part as Nick Kaeding missed all three attempts.  If he'd made two of them, the Chargers would be headed to Indy.

So I went two and two.  Now to look at next weekend's games.

It's hard not to go with the home teams.  The Vikings stand a chance depending how their defense plays against the Saints' high powered offense.  But the Saints are very tough at home, especially in the playoffs.  I take the Saints in the NFC Championship game.

Three weeks ago, the Jets beat the Colts in Indy and ended their quest for an undefeated season as Coach Jim Caldwell decided to rest his starters with the game far from decided.  There will be no resting this time.  The Jets are on a high right now.  They are playing great football and may also pull the upset.  The Colts players are still ticked off that they lost that game and will likely play with a greater sense of purpose than they would if they'd won.  The Colts will prevail.

That will set up a Saints vs Colts Super Bowl.  I'll get to that pick after next weekend.