Championship Sunday Predictions

It's hard to believe, but the football season is almost over. Every year it seems like we just watched Week 1 and it's somehow the Super Bowl. To me, the football season ends on Championship Sunday. That is because the Super Bowl is an overblown entertainment event, with a game in there somewhere. But lets get on with it! The predictions for Championship Sunday!

-New England 35, San Diego 17
The magic will run out for the San Diego "Super" Chargers in New England. It was really an amazing win for them last week being all banged up in Indianapolis. I don't see a miracle like that happening again in the building of the unbeaten Patriots. Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson will probably start, but the question is how long will they be able to go? Had this been during the regular season, both would probably have missed this week and maybe next. So, that really hampers their offense. The Chargers' defense gave up over 400 yards last week to Peyton Manning, so that doesn't sound the least bit encouraging with their defense going up against Tom Brady. I will be rooting hard for the Chargers, but I really would be shocked if the Chargers make this a game. Perhaps with the Patriots aging defense they can keep it close for a quarter or two, but I really think the plethora of injuries will keep this from being an upset. Even if San Diego was healthy, I would be shocked.

-Green Bay 23, NY Giants 16
Is there any better site for a NFC Championship than Lambeau Field? Maybe the players would say so with single-digits forcasted, haha. But there really is no better venue in all of football to watch a football game. There is so much history in Green Bay, and it represents old time football to a tee. I am really looking forward to this game, as I think it is very hard to predict. I can see all sorts of scenarios playing out. That is because there are a lot of questions coming into this game. Will Eli Manning be able to play in extremely difficult weather conditions? Will Brandon Jacobs/Ahmad Bradshaw be effective against the Packers' front line? Will the Giants' secondary be able to hold up like they were last week @ Dallas? Will Brett Favre and the Packers play tight with a golden opportunity at home to make the Super Bowl? However those play out, I really expect this to be a great football game. I will predict the Pack to win at home. This is because I think Favre will play well, and Eli will struggle a bit in the extremely cold conditions. The Giants need their running game to really give them an edge, as they definitely have a potential advantage here. I know Ryan Grant had 200 yards rushing last week, but he won't do that this week. The Giants will also need their pass rush to be effective like it was in the 4th quarter at Dallas. If it isn't, Favre will carve up their depleted secondary. 48 hours til kickoff!

Pat Morgan