We’re just a couple of games away from determining who will represent the AFC and the NFC in Super Bowl 50 on February 7, as the NFL’s four remaining teams in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy prepare to duke it out this coming Sunday.
[sc:NFL-NFC250 ]The two matches slated this weekend promise to be star-studded and highly-entertaining affairs, just as the internet’s pundits would also attest. But who exactly did the experts predict will win from each conference? Let’s take a look below at three notable sites’ inputs for the pair of riveting matchups ahead.
Afterwards, head on over to our complete preview and sleeper picks for the conference championship games for further analysis of Sunday’s decked lineup of the NFL postseason’s penultimate round.
[sc:Football ]2015-16 NFL Conference Championship Round Expert Picks
Bleacher Report
| Game | Prediction |
|---|---|
| New England Patriots at Denver Broncos | Denver, 26-24 |
| Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers | Carolina, 28-21 |
[sc:NFL250]Jared Johnson of Bleacher Report – like the rest of the experts in this here column – picked the Carolina Panthers (currently the slim +190 leading favorites to take home this season’s Lombardi Trophy) to win the NFC title and advance to the Super Bowl for just the second time in franchise history.
Johnson praised both the Panthers and the Cards for having well-rounded squads on both sides of the ball, even if their respective Divisional Round matches were won in relatively less-than-impressive fashion. Carolina jumped out to a 31-point, first half lead against the Seahawks before nearly squandering that huge advantage and still emerging victorious. Meanwhile, Arizona needed an extra period (and a lucky “double” coin toss as well) to secure their spot in the NFC Championship game.
Knowing that both teams are about neck-and-neck in passing offense and overall defense, Johnson stated that Sunday’s showdown in Charlotte will be won by the team with a better running game. The Panthers have the edge over the Cards in that department based on recent results.
Despite having to start in his first game since dealing with a broken foot, running back Jonathan Stewart carried the brunt of the Panthers’ offensive load with 106 rushing yards and a pair of TDs to lead the Panthers to victory over the Seahawks, and that was against the league’s best defense against the run from the regular season all the more. Inversely, the Cardinals’ backfield duo of David Johnson and Andre Ellington combined for just 38 yards on the ground against Green Bay’s meager 21st-ranked run defense.
Inquisitr
| Game | Prediction |
|---|---|
| New England Patriots at Denver Broncos | New England, 27-17 |
| Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers | Carolina, 30-24 |
With health and stability finally restored on offense, Inquisitr’s Phillip Dengler was quick to pull the trigger and declare the New England Patriots as victors over the Denver Broncos this Sunday.
Dengler noted that the Patriots hobbled their way towards the playoffs with a 2-3 record in the last five regular season games, but Tom Brady and New England’s passing game came back to life in the Divisional Round with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski back in the starting lineup. Brady just torched the Chiefs’ supposedly stingy secondary for 302 passing yards this past Saturday, with Edelman hauling in 10 catches for 100 yards, and Gronk with 83 receiving yards and a couple of TDs of his own.
On the other hand, Denver’s aerial attack did just enough to prevail over the Steelers on Sunday, with Peyton Manning throwing for just 222 yards and no touchdowns. Manning is undoubtedly one of football’s all-time greats, but his performances at this stage of his career has been far from his MVP form. Plus, the Broncos’ top-ranked overall defense from the regular season buckled against the Steelers, who were even playing without prolific wideout Antonio Brown and with a banged-up Ben Roethlisberger under center, yet still racked up 396 yards of total offense.
The Source
| Game | Prediction |
|---|---|
| New England Patriots at Denver Broncos | Denver, 26-27 |
| Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers | Carolina, 34-20 |
Fear not, Broncos fans; two of the three experts we’ve rounded-up here sided with Denver and not New England this weekend, including The Source’s Antonio “Ontoneyo” Valenzuela. Although the Broncos are +3.5 home underdogs in this Sunday’s epic showdown, Ontoneyo argued that while the QB battle between Brady and the aged Manning isn’t even close at this point, Denver’s running game and defensive unit both trump those of New England’s.
First off, the Patriots don’t run the ball that often given that they’re quarterback is, well… Tom Brady. Then there’s the Pats’ defense, which currently has a lot of question marks at key positions due to injuries, most notably in the defensive front. That should be enough reason to believe that Manning will do just fine being his team’s game-manager and hand over the offensive workload to the backfield tandem of C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman to give the Broncos a much-balanced offensive attack.
Let’s even put things in better perspective: in the Week 12 clash between these two teams, Anderson and Hillman combined for 172 rushing yards and three TDs to give the Broncos the win over New England, and that was even with Brock Osweiler as their starting QB, not Manning. To make matters worse, the Patriots already had starting front-seven members Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Jerod Mayo and Dont’a Hightower active in that regular season contest, and each of them are now nursing some form of an injury leading up to Sunday’s blockbuster matchup.
Create a betting account now to cash in from both of these stellar NFL Conference Championship matchups before its too late.
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