Holy moly, last weekend was insane! Sure, we were only 2-2 with our picks, but every matchup was great, every game played out well, and every single minute was exciting. We had one team win by 17, but the other three matchups were all within 3 points (1, 2, and 3 points, actually….). We also saw only one home team win (Indianapolis), and they had to stage the second largest comeback in NFL Playoff history. So…what does this mean? Nothing. It means absolutely nothing.

The Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs is one of the most exciting weekends of the year. You still have 4 games spanning 2 days, and you get to see teams that may have upset last week go into the stadiums of the league’s best teams and try to repeat their success. Oh, and did we mention that most are rematches of previous games this season? Put on the helmet kids, because this is going to be fun.

Sunday, January 12

1:05 p.m. ET – San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers

If you are not excited for this game, you haven’t been paying attention to the NFL. Two of the premier, exciting young quarterbacks, both with strong arms and outstanding running ability, will come to town with two of the NFL’s Top 3 defenses. This is gonna be a slobberknocker.

The Teams:

When a Wild Card team is 12-4, you know that they are battle-tested. The San Francisco 49ers are just that, as they play in the NFC West (the league’s toughest division) where there are no easy games. They are getting healthy, and are toting a 7-game win streak. Their defense? Amazing. They have the best linebackers in the league and a stout defensive line that have forced 30 turnovers (7^th), are 7^th in passing yards allowed, 4^th in rushing yards allowed, and have sacked the opponents quarterback 38 times. Plus they have one of the most exciting offenses in the league, as Frank Gore can punish a defense, Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis are near impossible to cover, and Colin Kaepernick can run if no one’s open. If you haven’t heard, they are pretty good.

But this is going to be a tough matchup as they will face the Carolina Panthers, who have won 10 of their last 11 games. That’s right, the team started out 1-and-3, and then only lost one more. While their division was down this year (a combined 31-11), winning in the NFL is tough, and they did it with the 2^nd ranked rushing defense, 6^th ranked passing offense, and 2^nd in yards allowed. Oh, and they had 60 sacks as a team. SIXTY. 6-0. That’s the first in the league. This defense is really good. Their offense, however, is a bit questionable. Cam Newton is electric (boogy-woogy), and can win the game on his own. The problem is, their leading rusher was DeAngelo Williams, who only had 843 yards, and their best receiver Steve Smith may not play.

All of that being said, though, the 49ers had to travel to Green Bay last week, went home, and now travel all the way to the East Coast again. That could be enough of an x-factor to help the Panthers squeak this one out.

EDITOR NOTE: We feel sorry for whoever wins, as they are going to get physically beat up, and may have to travel to Seattle next week.

Winner: San Francisco has a better offense, but home field may help the Panthers…

The Mascots:

We talked about the facial hair situation of the 49er miner mascot last week (it’s totally reminiscent of The Santa Clause), but he has a problem now, as he is going up against a FREAKING PANTHER. You know anything about Panthers? THEY KILL THINGS.

Winner: The Panthers. They might be the scariest one left in the playoffs.

The Beer:

San Francisco is pretty awesome, but Carolina has a little help – even though they are based in Charlotte, they are named for both North and South Carolina. What does that mean? Well, Travel+Leisure ranked Charleston, SC as #17 in “America’s Best Beer Cities,” and CNN put Asheville, NC as #8 in their “8 best beer towns in the USA” article. Asheville has also been voted “Beer City USA” three years in a row (lost 2013 to Grand Rapids). San Francisco did make #11 on the Travel+Leisure list and #2 on the CNN list.

Winner: This is tough, but weighing them evenly, we will have to go with San Francisco. Their one town has more sway than either of the others – plus, Charlotte isn’t on any of these lists…

Prediction:

San Francisco 17, Carolina 15

Sunday, January 12

4:40 p.m. ET – San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos

Did you see what San Diego did last week? Then let’s all take a moment to bask in this. But now they travel to their Division Rival’s home field. This should get interesting.

The Teams:

Who imagined the Bolts would get here? Probably the same people who think they will win this week. Guys, the Chargers are 4-4 on the road this year, and even with the health of Melvin Ingram adding some much needed strength to the NFL’s 23^rd ranked defense, it is going to be hard for the Chargers to stop Peyton. This game will be the exact opposite of the NFC games, as the strengths of these teams are their offenses, and expect Philip Rivers to be slinging the ball all over the place. If the Broncos can’t stop Keenan Allen (which the Chiefs were able to do), San Diego will have a shot.

But, Peyton can’t win in the playoffs, and he certainly can’t win outside in the playoffs. Prior to their December 12^th win in Tennessee, there were a lot of people saying he couldn’t win in the cold at all: “Manning’s teams had lost seven of the 10 regular-season and postseason games in which the temperature was 32 degrees or colder. He had thrown 12 interceptions in those games to 11 touchdowns, his completion percentage was 59.4 in those games (career percentage: 65.4), and his 214.1 yards per game total was quite a bit below his career average of 269.5.” (SI.com). But he has won in the playoffs – as he took the Colts to the title in Super Bowl XLI. And now, he is on track to be the best QB of all time – all he needs is that second ring. And he may just do that with arguably the best receiver corps he has ever had.

Winner: The Broncos have the superior team.

The Mascots:

This is the worst. A freaking horse versus a freaking fake lightning bolt guy. I’m not even going to say anything. But… there is this….

Winner: The San Diego Super Chargers, San Diego….CHARGERS!

The Beer:

Let me preface this with: I love San Diego (the city, not the team…), and their beer. But this is Denver we’re talking about. Travel+Leisure list? Denver is #2, San Diego is #7. CNN list? Denver is #5, San Diego is missing. And even though California is the #1 state on the USA Today 10 best craft brew states in America article, Colorado is #3. This is the closest one we’ve had…

Winner: We had to run some Goodwill Hunting numbers to get this, but it’s Denver.

Prediction:

Denver 45, San Diego 31