I covered the AFC and NFC in my previous two posts, now onto playoff seedings and matchups, and my picks for who wins and who goes home.

AFC

1. New England

2. Pittsburgh

3. Indianapolis

4. San Diego

5. Baltimore

6. Houston

NFC

1. Philadelphia

2. Minnesota

3. Atlanta

4. San Francisco

5. New York

6. Carolina (wins tiebreakers)

Wild Card Weekend:

- Houston (6) over Indianapolis (3)

I feel the Texans young, physical defense will be able to halt a Indy offense that will not be as good as it was in 2008.  Schaub, Slaton, and Johnson should be enough for 21 points against an average Indy defense.

- San Diego (4) over Baltimore (5)

Flacco will have a year of experience under his belt, but this Baltimore team still does not have any offensive playmakers.  San Diego will have a healthy defense which will guide them to victory.

- Atlanta (3) over Carolina (6)

This is as simple as defense wins games in the playoffs.  Aside from his magical 2003 run, I've never been sold on Delhomme.

- New York (5) over San Francisco (4)

Singletary does well with his team in the first full season as captain of the ship, but the Giants have too much talent to be put down by winners of the NFC Worst.

Divisional Playoffs

- New England (1) over Houston (6)

Too talented of a team in New England, too young of a team in Houston.

- Pittsburgh (2) over San Diego (4)

A very physical, low scoring game, but Pittsburgh has the D advantage and advances.

- Philadelphia (1) over New York (5)

There's a reason that Philadelphia wins the NFC East.  New York is not dynamic enough without Burress.

- Atlanta (3) over Minnesota (2)

The lone upset.  Matt Ryan steps forward into the next great generation of QB's.

Conference Championships

- New England (1) over Pittsburgh (2)

Perhaps biased, but Brady is the premier big-game QB in the league, and a younger, faster defense of the Patriots handles Big Ben and company.

- Philadelphia (1) over Atlanta (3)

Two #1 seeds making the final round?  No surprise here, as McNabb's championship experience shines through and Philly gets ready for the final round.

 Superbowl XLIV

- New England 30, Philadelphia 17

Brady secures his place among the all-time greats with his 4th title, and New England is unquestionably the team of the decade.

Next post will be awards, and various predictions that I expect to pass.