The Inside Scoop, Predictions on Divisional NFL Playoff Games

The most exciting match-up of the second week of the NFL playoffs has to be the Jacksonville Jaguars taking on the New England Patriots. The game will be held in Foxboro, New England and even though the Patriots went 16-0 during the regular season, they face a difficult test in Jacksonville. I picked the Jaguars to win last week against the Steelers and I am tempted to do so again this week. The Patriots showed their vulnerability in the last month of the NFL regular season as they nearly lost to the Ravens, Eagles and Giants.

In fact for most of the Giants game in Week 17, the Patriots were outplayed badly, winning the game in the second half. The Patriots are favored to win this game at home but I'm going to go with the Jaguars for this game. ESPN analyst Jeremy Green is picking the Jaguars to win the game and so am I. The Jaguars running attack of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew will put constant pressure on a New England defense that had some trouble against Brandon Jacobs of the Giants in the last regular season game. With a good ground game and a quarterback in David Gerrard who doesn't commit turnovers, the Jaguars will compete throughout the game. The Jaguars defense is also very good and the team is road tested. The Jaguars are the pick to win by 3 points.

Other games:

Colts vs. Chargers: This is another exciting and interesting game in the AFC. The Colts are the #2 seed and will have home field advantage. I am tempted to pick the Chargers here because they have so much talent on both sides of the ball but I am sticking with the Colts. Peyton Manning will be tough to beat and Charger quarterback Phillip Rivers has been suspect throughout the entire regular season. In my view, he has played much worse than last year when he was a Pro Bowl player. The Colts defense is also much better than in past years led by Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders who patrols the secondary and delivers hard hits on wide receivers.

Seahawks vs Packers: This game features a former head coach and backup quarterback facing their former teams as Mike Holmgren and Matt Hassleback head back to Green Bay. The Packers had 3 losses during the regular season and looked really bad playing the Chicago Bears. The Seahawks don't have as good of a special teams and by now the Packers have emphasized better play in their special teams unit. Brett Favre will continue the magic and will cruise to victory against the Seahawks. Seattle running back Sean Alexander has looked slower than in recent years and since the game is being played in the frozen tundra, the Packers will be tough to beat.

Cowboys vs. Giants: This is my second upset pick of the weekend. Coming from New York, I will admit that I am biased towards the Giants. However, just look at how good the Giants have been playing recently. They almost beat the Patriots in a game they had nothing to lose and they convincingly beat the Buccaneers on the road. The Giants defense has played very well and Eli Manning has slowly improved his play. The Cowboys will air it out to Terrell Owens and will score a lot of points. The Giants look rejuvenated and I give a lot of credit to coach Tom Coughlin. Terrell Owens is playing with an injured ankle and the Giants have all the momentum entering this game. Despite the fact that the Cowboys beat the Giants in the regular season, the playoffs are usually about who has the momentum and the Giants are definitely that team.