The Divisional Round of the 2016 NFL playoffs is officially in the books, and though the route to the eventual winners wasn’t quite what we expected, the end result pretty much was. When all was said and done the top four seeds that started off these playoffs on a bye were victorious, and all four will clash next week for the right to go to this year’s Super Bowl.
Pondering who will be in or will the Super Bowl is a discussion for another day, but right now it’s all about these final four teams, the #1 seed versus the #2 seed and who may come out on top. In the NFC you have the grizzled Carson Palmer going up against the rising Cam Newton, while in the AFC we get one last duel between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Let’s take a closer look at both matchups to get a good idea as to who may move on to participate in Super Bowl 50:
Arizona Cardinals @ Carolina Panthers
This will be the first meeting this year between the top two teams in the NFC. It’s somewhat interesting considering both teams faced each of the teams they just dispatched in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Carolina ended the year with the far better record (15-), but Arizona was in the running for the #1 overall seed going into the final week of the year and still finished a very strong 13-3.
Judging off of this past week, the Cardinals could have a mild issue with quarterback Carson Palmer, who has a finger ailment that may have contributed to some missed throws and more specifically, two interceptions. He and the Arizona offense weren’t quite themselves at home against the Green Bay Packers, and needed overtime to pull off the win they were already favored to get. Coming into Carolina in a similarly sluggish fashion probably wouldn’t end as well.
Carolina, meanwhile, avoided coming out flat in a big way against Seattle in the Divisional Round, as their offense and defense were firing on all cylinders en route to a sick 31-0 lead at the break. The Panthers could have to worry about their ability to finish, however, as they allowed the Seahawks to creep back to within a touchdown in a narrow 31-24 win.
The Panthers have the home field edge, had the better record on the year and were a little more impressive in their only game in the playoffs. They should start out next weekend as the favorite’s and could very well hold on. This game is as close to a toss-up as it gets, though, so we should be in for a very interesting (and possibly even high-scoring) NFC title game.
Pick: Panthers 30, Cardinals 27
New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
Another showdown between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning looms, although few will confuse this coming weekend’s AFC title meeting with past matchups. The main reason why is because Manning has regressed significantly and is no longer the reason for his team’s success. Denver has gotten this far largely due to an elite defense and an improving rushing attack, while Manning did the bare minimum in aiding the Broncos past a very banged up Steelers team in the Divisional Round. In other words, Denver isn’t a bad team, but it’s debatable whether or not they deserve to be where they are right now.
The same can’t be said for the Pats, who convincingly took down an extremely hot Chiefs team at home this past weekend. Tom Brady immediately re-established top notch chemistry with star receivers Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, helping New England to storm out to a 27-13 lead and hold on for the win late. New England exhibited a defense plenty capable of stopping the opposition, while a healthy Patriots offense looked as elite as ever.
Denver got the best of the Pats in a regular season meeting that developed into an overtime thriller earlier this year, but on paper New England still feels like the better team. It could come down to elite offense vs. defense in some experts’ minds, but the real issue is Peyton Manning’s inefficiency and the likelihood of his poor play to hold Denver back enough to allow the Pats to take control of the game. That should still allow for a very tight contest, but the upper hand looks to be in New England’s favor.
Pick: Patriots 20, Broncos 17
At first glance, it feels like this year’s Super Bowl will be a pairing of the Patriots and Panthers, which even ends up being a rematch of a Super Bowl from year’s past. The key difference? Carolina would again be vying for their first ever NFL title, while the Pats would be looking to secure their second straight and fifth overall.
Think these title games go a different way? Tell us in the comments below!
