NFL Conference Championship Previews

I put off starting this post longer than I typically do because I was so bummed out about going 0-for-4 on picks last weekend (making me 3/8 total), that I wondered if the conference championships were just better off being left alone. Alas, it has still only been 2 weeks since I went a solid 3/4 in the wildcard round and it's not like I can't break this super horrible picking streak I've been on. It's safe to say that after my atrocious bowl picks (16/42) and these disappointing playoff results, I am in full basketball mode. Thanks to the great slate of games on MLK Day and the race between Golden State and San Antonio for 70 wins, this NBA season is still ridiculously entertaining despite a lack of great teams outside of the obvious top 4 right now (Spurs, Warriors, Thunder and Cavaliers) and basketball continues to prove why it is the best sport around despite games like Andre Drummond's Wednesday night from hell (13/36 at the free throw line). I'd rather watch Hack-A-____ strategies over Danny Amendola's illegal hit from last round any day.

Here are my Conference Championship predictions and mini-previews...

Patriots 27 - Broncos 16

Greg M. Cooper - USA TODAY Sports
Julian Edelman is coming off of a 10-catch, 100-yard performance in his first game in two months.

The 2015 Denver Broncos are the luckiest NFL team since the 2011 Denver Broncos (TEBOW!). Denver has now won ten games this season by one score including last week's victory over a depleted Steelers offense. Much like Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning got to make one ridiculous play that was not at all indicative of his performance last Sunday that ended up being the deciding factor in a one-score game against Pittsburgh (sound familiar?). New England barely ended the Chiefs season thanks to Andy Reid: Clock Management Guru striking again. Julian Edelman and his route running made a return and clearly boosted Tom Brady's performance along with team morale as the Pats are now 11-0 with Edelman (2-4 without). Defensively, New England just placed Linebacker Jerod Mayo on injured reserve (which does not mean nearly as much as it did three Mayo IR stints ago) and the team really just needs to shut down Denver's run game (expect a big Jamie Collins game). Denver's defense might be the best in the league right now but, DB Chris Harris Jr. still has a lingering shoulder injury that might require some help from Denver's Safeties. The game is in Denver so, watch out for some field goals (thanks elevation levels!). Ultimately, this is the last time we get to see Brady versus Manning (hopefully) and what would be a more appropriate result than seeing Peyton's dreams of returning to the Super Bowl crushed again? If Denver wants to win, they'll bring in Brock Osweiler and establish some consistency in their passing game for once.

Panthers 38 - Cardinals 13

These two men (Luke Kuechly & Larry Fitzgerald) will define this game.

In a rematch of last season's godawful wildcard game, the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals both look to return to the Super Bowl for their second appearances in franchise history. Carolina was on track to totally demolish Seattle until they got too conservative and turned a 31-0 shutout into a 31-24 final. Arizona gave everybody in Arizona, Wisconsin and everyone at NBC heart attacks with the best playoff game quite possibly ever in their 26-20 OT win over Green Bay. One thing that was noticeably off last week was Carson Palmer, who reverted to his Oakland days with some of the throws he practically begged the Packers to intercept. If Palmer can't play well against Green Bay's defense, why would he against Carolina's immovable defense? Forget that Larry Fitzgerald is the terminator hellbent on winning a Super Bowl before his legs give out, if Palmer can't find him, John Brown or Michael Floyd, Arizona is in big trouble. David Johnson has quietly taken a backseat in Bruce Arians' game-plan the past two weeks and it's unlikely he'll break 100 yards even if they remember how good he is at some point before the clock hits 0:00. The thing we are seeing this year that was not around in 2014 is a fully healthy Cam Newton throwing strikes to pretty much anyone. Jonathan Stewart has reinvigorated his career these past few months and Arizona's run defense does occasionally break, leaving 60 yards of space for Eddie "Jerome Bettis 2.0" Lacy to run through. Injury-wise, Carolina will be without DE Jared Allen and Arizona is still rediscovering what life without the honey badger (Tyrann Matieu) is like and it's nowhere near as enjoyable for them as an active honey badger. 

So, enjoy the Conference Championships even if they turn into blowouts and don't blame me for picking against your bandwagon team and that result becoming true.