Ouch.

After going 3-1 in the wildcard round, Sportaphile went 1-3 in the divisional round. I successfully chose Green Bay over Seattle, and it was all downhill from there. I was SURE Indianapolis and Dallas would win, and ended up with egg on my face. Picking against New England was moreso a hatred choice, I can live with that.

Jannelle is a busy woman this week, so I’m not sure if she’ll be able to join me this time around, if she does I’ll edit her picks into this post. But for now it’s just Chuck.

New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers

Chuck Says Green Bay Wins (35-31) Because…
Favre and the Packers are deadly at home. I understand that the New York Giants are on a roll, they’re also peaking and on a nine game road winning streak…. BUT. Green Bay is on a similar tear and are playing lights out football. The Dallas Cowboys may have been 13-3, but the team was clearly not in sync in their last three games. The G-Men are about to run until a buzzsaw, and I predict they won’t be able to hold up. Ryan Grant tore things up the second half of the season and rushed for over 200 yards in his last game. It’s enough to worry about Brett Favre, but when you add in a running threat like Grant you have your hands full. Will New York be able to rattle Brett the way they rattled Tony Romo when times get rough?….. I think not.

San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots
Chuck Says New England Wins (41-28) Because…
I dry heave as I type this… anyone who reads Sportaphile regularly knows I detest this organization with every fiber of my being. I want San Diego to win, I hope they defy all the odds and pull out a second monster upset. However, it’s just not going to happen. New England ate the Chargers for lunch the last time they played, and are simply deadly right now. I can see Asante Samuel running back Phillip Rivers interceptions already…. Will LaDanian Tomlinson FINALLY show up for a playoff game? Can Phillip Rivers or Billy Volek handle the fourth quarter pressure against an undefeated team?