Breaking Down the AFC Football Conference Playoff Matchups

The AFC playoff picture has finally emerged after 17 weeks of the NFL football season. Here are the match-ups:

Jets at Patriots: This is a very interesting match up that puts New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini against his mentor Bill Bellichek. Mangini was a coordinator with the Patriots and has taken on that winning mentality as head coach of the New York Jets. The game is being held in Foxboro in New England but the good news for the Jets is that they have already beaten the Patriots in New England this season. The game was decided by a very close margin. However, beating the Patriots in Foxboro is en entirely different story. The crowd and atmosphere will be intense and the Patriots, led by their quarterback Tom Brady seem to rise to another level in the playoffs. This will be a very close game and the New York Jets are playing very well now, coming off a 23-3 win over the Oakland Raiders. Still, the Patriots will win this game.

Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts: The Chiefs barely got into the playoffs after the Denver Broncos collapsed in their last season game, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in overtime by a game winning field goal. The Colts have been struggling with the run and in this game expect to see a very heavy dosage of Larry Johnson who is still one of the best running backs in the league. However, I don't think that we will see an upset in this game. Peyton Manning is too good at home in the RCA dome which is one of the hardest places to play on the road. Expect a high scoring game with the Colts winning. The Colts have been 8-0 at home under Peyton Manning.

If the above scenarios occur, then the San Diego Chargers, who had the best record in football after going 14-2, will play the Patriots and the Ravens who only had 3 losses the entire season. My upset in these match-ups will be the Patriots defeating the Baltimore Ravens on the road. However, San Diego is by far the most complete team in football and Tomlinson is having an amazing season. The Chargers will finally make it to the Super Bowl this year behind a powerful run offense and an All-Pro quarterback, Philip Rivers. The Chargers Defense is also very good as they are led by a string of great linebackers and pass rushers with Shawn Merriman.

The Chargers are also my pick to win the Super Bowl. Some people may disagree with me because the Chargers are being led by a rookie quarterback in Philip Rivers. However, as you may recall, the Steelers which won the Super Bowl last year, were led by Rothesburger who was also a rookie quarterback. Like the Steelers, the Chargers have a run based offense in which the ball is not put in the hands of the quarterback very often and also a stout defense.