The NFC matchup – the Civil War of the FanSided Divisional Smackdown will pit brother against brother, father against son, neighbor against neighbor to determine NFL supremacy.  OK, enough hyperbole, but it’s a great matchup.  I think the offenses are pretty closely matched, with Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees leading the way.  What gives the North the big advantage is the defense.  How would you like to have Julius Peppers and Jared Allen chasing you from the ends with Suh and half the Williams wall stuffing up the middle of the line?

The AFC matchup – the West vs the North – is probably the closest matchup out there.  Both teams are closely matched, but I’m giving the nod to the AFC North on the merits of their defense.  When you’ve got Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu is your secondary, that’s a pretty awesome duo. But don’t take my word for it – go check it out and vote for yourself.

We will advance to the second round next week and will crown our champ just before camps open, so keep checking back at FanSided.com.

The Divisional Round of the playoffs features four re-matches from earlier this season.

Baltimore at Tennessee

Last meeting: The Titans edged the Ravens 13-10 when the teams met back in October.  Rookie QB Joe Flacco’s second interception proved costly late in the 4th quarter as he tried to lead the Ravens back after Kerry Collins took the Titans on the decisive drive with aTD hookup to Alge Crumper with under 2 minutes left.

Breakdown: The Ravens looked really impressive in their defeat of the Dolphins.  The Titans are rested and enter the game with only center Kevin Mawae as a major question mark to play.  As much hype as the Ravens’ defense gets, their offense is actually averaging slightly more yards per game than the Titans.  Coupled with the formidable run defense and opportunistic Ed Reed in the secondary, the Ravens look like the team to beat, yet the Titans enter as a 3 point favorite.  Something just doesn’t seem right.  Everything points to Baltimore, but Tennessee is favored.

Key matchup: Titans rushing attack vs Ravens rush defense.

Prediction: One team has the momentum and the stats while the other is favored.  When it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

Titans 16-13

Arizona at Carolina

Last meeting: Carolina comes back to beat the visiting team which holds double-digit second half lead.  Sound familiar Bears fans?  Carolina did the same to the Cardinals back in October to defeat Arizona 27-23.   Anquan Boldin tallied two touchdowns while rookie running back Tim Hightower added another.  On Carolina’s side, it was Steve Smith’s 65-yard touchdown reception that did the Cards in.

Breakdown: Arizona surprised many (though not this observer) with their opening round win over Atlanta.  The biggest surprise had to be the Cardinals defense, especially the run defense that kept Michael Turner in check.  That defense will need to step up again this week against the Panthers robust running attack that ranked 3rd in the NFL behind the likes of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart.

Key matchup: Arizona rush defense vs Carolina rushing offense.

Prediction: Carolina is 8-0 at home and they’re rested and ready.  Arizona’s run defense was a one week wonder and without Anquan Boldin, not enough offense to keep up with Carolina.

Panthers 31-24

Philadelphia at New York

Last meeting:These two NFC East team split the season series, with the visitor winning each contest.  The Eagles won 20-14 at the Meadowlands in December, while the G-Men beat the Eagles 36-31 in Philly back in November.  In the Eagles win, Westbrook was on the key for the Eagles as he accounted for over 200 total yards and two TD’s.  In the Giants win, Brandon Jacobs tallied 126 rushing yards with 2 TD’s of his own.

Breakdown: Philly pulled off the upset over the Vikings last weekend thanks in large part to the big play.  The pick-6 from the defense and Westrbook’s huge screen pass touchdown sunk the Vikes.  They’ve been on a roll since the benching of McNabb and definitely come in with the momentum.  The Defending Champs from NY have looked mortal in recent weeks.  In each victory, the winner held the opposing rusher well below his normal average.   

Key matchup: Which rusher will outshine which rush defense? 

Prediction: The Giants might be the champs, but the Eagles come in hot.

Eagles 23-21

 San Diego at Pittsburgh

Last meeting:The Steelers outlasted the Chargers 11-10 when the teams last met in November.  This was another controversial game involving the Chargers, though only the gamblers were affected by this questionable call by the officials.   

Breakdown:The Chargers pulled off the upset last week against the Colts thanks to the big effort by the little running back that could, Darren Sproles, who capably filled the shoes for the injured Ladanian Tomlinson.  Pittsburgh faces injury concerns of their own, as QB Ben Roethlisberger recovers from a concussion suffered December 28^thversus the Cleveland Browns.  I expect the Steelers D to beat up the undersized Sproles and keep him in check.

Key matchup: Chargers passing offense vs Pittsburgh pass defense. 

Prediction:  Pittsburgh comes in with the #1 ranked defense. Defense wins championships. 

 Steelers 19-13

Up in the Metrodome, the Philadelphia Eagles ruined Adrian Peterson’s playoff debut as the Vikings fell 26-14.  Last season’s offensive rookie of the year did his part tallying both of the Vikings’ touchdowns.   The Eagles did just enough offensively, when a Donovan McNabb screen pass to Brian Westbrook turned into a backbreaking 71 yard touchdown with just under 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter.  Philadelphia also cashed in a Tarvaris Jackson interception for their other TD.

The next round features 4 games that are rematches from earlier this season.  On Saturday, the Ravens head to Tennessee to face the Titans and the Cardinals head east to Carolina.  Sunday’s action features the Eagles heading to the Meadowlands to face NFC East rival Giants while San Diego heads to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.  I’ll have much more on the matchups later in the week as well as my picks for the Divisional Round.  Hopefully, you didn’t blow your mortgage payment on my picks from last weekend.
BEAR DOWN!!!