Its finally time. The playoffs are finally upon us. Here’s my picks for every round leading up to the grand finale.

Wild Card Weekend

Bengals at Texans – The Bengals are hot, and the Texans are not. That being said, Houston is a much more complete football team, and a much more viable contender. If TJ Yates could lead the Texans to a win in this matchup last postseason, I’ll take my chances with the Texans this year. Winner: Texans

Vikings at Packers – I was wrong about the Vikings this year. Even without Percy Harvin, they took advantage of the complete demise of the Bears and snuck into the playoffs. Adrian Peterson is running like no back has run before, and has a great matchup in front of him against an awful Green Bay defense. That being said, Aaron Rodgers isn’t ready to go out in the first round, and is going to bring it this week. No way to the Vikings upset the Pack in Lambeau. Winner: Packers

Colts at Ravens – Its been an amazing run for the Colts this year. But it isn’t their year. The Ravens, although they have not looked great in the last few weeks, are a scary good football team, and with Ray’s recent announcement of his retirement, they will be playing more inspired then ever, and possibly even more inspired then the Chuck Strong Colts. Ravens take this one. Winner: Ravens

Seahawks at Redskins – This has been the most puzzling matchup to me when I hear people talk about it. The Seahawks are SCARY GOOD… at home. They are a great team, but one of the worst road teams in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Redskins have won 7 straight games, and everyone is talking about how hot the Seahawks are. The Seahawks are going to walk into the nations capitol and get beat in stunning fashion by RGIII and friends. Winner: Redskins

Conference Semifinals

Texans at Patriots – We’ve seen this one before. And I think we will see a similar result, but not as outrageous as last time. The Texans are gonna bring it to this one. But they won’t bring enough to stop the Patriots. Winner: Patriots

Packers at 49ers – Just like both of last years playoff games in San Francisco, this one will be one of the best games of the playoffs. The Packers are great. The Niners are great. In a goliath vs goliath matchup, Colin Kaepernick will have his coming out party and defeat the defenseless Pack. Winner: 49ers

Ravens at Broncos – I don’t wanna pick against Baltimore, but I can’t pick them here. They haven’t been hot, and Denver has been smoking hot during the second half of the season. Peyton will torch the Baltimore defense and take his team to the AFC Championship. Winner: Broncos

Redskins at Falcons – If anybody has been reading my blog (even though there hasn’t been a post since ‘Nam) you know that I’m not on the Atlanta bandwagon. And I’m not ready to hop on just yet. This is a team that played all their starters last week and still lost to Tampa Bay. And I’ll say it again, the Redskins are on the most overlooked 7 game win streak of all time. People think RGIII is good. After this, people will know that he is great. Hail to the Redskins. Winner: Redskins

 Conference Championships

Patriots at Broncos – On a cold sunday in Denver, Brady and Manning will meet again for one, possibly final, playoff showdown. Denver is ready. They learned what losing to the Patriots felt like last season with Tebow, and now with Manning, their ready to go all the way. But New England won’t let it happen. They beat Denver once this season, and they will do it again. Winner: Patriots 

Redskins at 49ers – Barring a Ted Ginn injury forcing Kyle Williams to start returning punts again, nothing will stop the 49ers from getting to the promised land this season. Not even a dangerous rookie QB, a stud rookie running back, and one of the leagues hottest team. Patrick Willis and the leagues best defense will shut down the Skins and the Niners will return to the Super Bowl at long last. Winner: 49ers

Super Bowl XLVII

49ers vs Patriots – Joe Montana. Steve Young. Colin Kaepernick? Can this young QB who only got his job because of a concussion cement his name with those two hall of fame quarterbacks? Is it finally the year that San Francisco returns to glory? Will Tom Brady slip up in a third straight superbowl loss? The answer to all of these? No. I’m a believer in Kap, I’m a believer in the 49ers, but I’m a bigger believer in Tom Brady. One of the leagues all time greatest quarterbacks will find a way to torch the great San Francisco defense. The Patriots won’t be denied again. On a late February night in New Orleans, Bill Belichick will finally get his first ring, and the Patriots will hoist the Lombardi trophy once again. Winner: Patriots

I’ll be posting my season wrap up and awards soon. Stay tuned.