Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3.5) – Can I say how much more excited I am to see the AFC playoff games than the NFC? We’ve got two heated divisional rivals and none are likely to be as physical as Steelers vs Ravens. The extra half point makes this game tricky considering that the teams split their two meetings this year and both games were decided by a FG. In fact, the last 7 meetings between these teams have been decided by single digits. I could see this being a FG game. Pick: Ravens
Green Bay Packers At Atlanta Falcons (-1) - There’s an incredible amount of respect being shown to the Packers here and I’m trying to figure out why. They played a sloppy game in Philadelphia and now they’re traveling for the second week in a row into a dome where Atlanta has lost just once this year.The Falcons aren’t even getting the requisite three points here. The line is almost telling you that the Packers are the better team. I don’t buy it. Pick: Falcons
Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears (-9.5) – This line is already at 10 in a few places, which is interesting considering that Seattle has already beaten the Bears in Chicago earlier this season. Still, as big as the Seattle win last week was they won’t have that Qwest field crowd nor a shaky New Orleans defense this week. It’s hard to imagine Matt Hasselbeck turning in the same performance he did last week. At 9.5 I like the Bears, at 10 it’s a little more shaky. Pick: Bears
New York Jets at New England Patriots (-9) – Considering what happened the last time these teams met, it’s somewhat surprising that this line isn’t higher. The Patriots put the Jets to the sword to the tune of 45-3… And yet, the Jets and Rex Ryan are acting like their usual blustery selves trying to get under the Patriots skin this week. All it did last time was make them made and you won’t like the Patriots when they’re mad. Pick: Patriots