1st Round NFL Matchups
AFC
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Jan. 5th)
Cleveland Browns @ San Diego Chargers (Jan. 6th)
NFC
Washington Redskins @ Seattle Seahawks (Jan. 5th)
New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Jan. 6th)
So who will win these first round match ups?
Let’s start with the AFC and see if the home teams have any advantage there. It is tough to go into Pittsburgh and get a win in fron of those Steeler fans, but look for the Jacksonville Jags to do just that. Jacksonville will move on in the playoffs, while the Steelers will play their last game of the season.
The Browns traveling out to San Diego should prove to be a good game. This looks like one that could be a high scoring affair. If LT can get yards on the ground, I like the chances of the Chargers to be able to control the tempo. They must contain Braylon Edwards to be successful, but I will take the Chargers by a field goal in this one. The Cleveland Browns end their season in California.
Now on to the NFC match ups, where we start out in Seattle. Man those fans in Seattle are loud and they are sure to have a part in this game. The Washington Redskins were lucky just to make it into the playoffs and I think their luck is gonna run out next weekend. The Seattle Seahawks had a great tune up game with the Atlanta Falcons and that will carry over into next week as they should easily take care of the Redskins. Seattle Seahawks will advance in the playoffs by 3 touchdowns here.
Now we have Eli Manning trying to go down to Florida and get his team a big win in the South. Eli was just a little too happy in his performance against the Patriots and I’m not sure why, since they lost the game and was the last hurdle in the New England Patriots perferct season in 2007. Tampa Bay has one of the toughest defenses in the NFL and these guys are hungry. They will eat the Giants offense alive and the Giants won’t manage to get in double figures against the Bucs. I see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the N.Y. Giants by a score of 33 to 9. Giants can just go ahead and plan a vacation to Flordia, since they will already be in the sunshine state. Tampa Bay will advance next weekend and don’t expect them to get stopped anytime soon, as this team has Super Bowl talent!
