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2009 NFL Playoff Games: AFC & NFC Championship Preview

Written January 13, 2009 by Evan Altemus

2009-nfl-playoffs-011309 Who would have thought at the beginning of the NFL betting season, or even the playoffs, that these teams would be facing each other in the conference championship games? With that being said, these two contests feature interesting match-ups. The AFC Championship game has two teams that have been playing well all season, mainly because of dominant defenses, while their offenses have scored enough to get the win. Meanwhile, the NFC Championship has two teams that seemed to be at rock bottom just a few weeks ago. Let’s take a deeper look at these match-ups.

Philadelphia will be traveling to Arizona for the NFC Championship game on Sunday. The first thing that comes to mind with the Eagles is their inability to score touchdowns all season, even in the playoffs. In their playoff win at New York, they had to settle for field goals on three separate occasions, despite being deep in Giants territory on all three drives. However, Donovan McNabb is playing with confidence and is playing his best football of the season. While their offense isn’t overwhelming, they have made enough plays to win. Meanwhile, their defense has played well and been the backbone of this team. They did give up 138 yards on the ground to New York, but the defense shut down Eli Manning, especially in the 2nd half. However, better offenses can move the ball on them, and experienced quarterbacks who are capable of dealing with the blitz play much better against the Eagles.

The key to this game though is how well will Arizona play. Philadelphia’s performance will be consistent with their other games this season. They will blitz on defense and try to create turnovers, while throwing the ball down the field and struggling to run on offense. How the Cardinals play will be the main deciding factor in this game. It seems like an obvious statement, but what does it really mean? Arizona is in the NFC Championship game because their defense has made plays and their offense has all of a sudden developed a balanced attack. In fact, ultimately the game will come down to the Cardinals ability to move the ball on offense. That may come down to whether or not Kurt Warner can deal with Jim Johnson’s blitzing schemes. The Cardinals won’t be able to rely on the run, meaning the deciding factor will be Warner’s overall play. The Eagles are 4 point favorites at Arizona this Sunday.

The AFC Championship game features two very similar styles of play. Both teams feature average offenses and the best defenses in the league. The most glaring fact in this game is that Pittsburgh is favored by 6 points, despite having a minuscule total of 33 points. The Ravens offense is going to struggle moving the ball, no doubt. Everyone keeps praising Joe Flacco, but his numbers have been below average. However, he doesn’t turn the ball over which allows his defense to win the game. Just like the NFC Championship game, this game will come down to the offense of one team. Pittsburgh’s offense has been puzzling all season. In several games they have struggled to move the ball, and then all of a sudden they can’t be stopped once they use their two minute offense. The Steelers haven’t been able to run the ball on Baltimore this season, so the game is going to come down to Ben Roethlisberger. If he makes plays and doesn’t turn the ball over, then the Steelers will win and likely cover. However, if Roethlisberger doesn’t play well and turns the ball over, then the Ravens have an excellent chance to win. One concern for Baltimore though is the four injured players they had last week, including starters Terrell Suggs and Jim Leonhard. NFL odds makers have set the line at Pittsburgh -6 over Baltimore.

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