The 2013 NFL playoffs continue this weekend with the Divisional Playoffs round. We are down to eight teams and here is a preview of the four games this weekend and how we got to this point.

2013 NFL Playoffs Update – #6 New Orleans Saints vs. #1 Seattle Seahawks

This game is a rematch of the Monday Night game from week 13 of the NFL season in which the Seahawks embarrassed the Saints by a score of 34-7, the Saints’ worst loss of the season. However, rematches have a tendency to go completely differently. So, the Seahawks should be wary of this. The Saints got to this NFL Playoffs game by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia last Saturday by a score of 26-24. It took a last-second field goal for the Saints to get the win, the franchise’s first road playoff victory ever.

Even though the Saints will be looking for revenge, it won’t be easy at all against the league’s best defense and a pretty potent offense as well that just got better, because Seahawks’ wide receiver Percy Harvin is healthy enough to play in this game. He has missed the majority of the season with an injured hip. All of this combined spells bad luck for the Saints. I like the Seahawks to win this one. The winner will face the winner of our next matchup in our 2013 NFL playoffs update for the NFC Championship and the right to go to the Super Bowl.

2013 NFL Playoffs Update – #5 San Francisco 49ers vs. #2 Carolina Panthers

The rematches continue in our second game from the NFC Playoffs Divisional Rounds. These two teams met in San Francisco in week 10 of the NFL season, with Carolina pulling off the upset, 10-9. However, the 49ers then were not the same 49ers that they are now. They were decimated by injuries, and they are now healthy. That means that the game plan that the Panthers had defensively against Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers won’t work this time around. Kaepernick will have all of his weapons available. Conversely, the Panthers get their top wide receiver, Steve Smith, back from a sprained knee that kept him out of the regular season finale against the Atlanta Falcons. If the Panthers are going to win then they will need him. The only way I see the Panthers getting the victory is to control the ball and keep the 49ers offense on the sideline. The 49ers are the league’s best road team, which means they don’t mind playing away from home And they got here by winning at Green Bay last weekend,  23-20. Add it all up and you have a win for the 49ers in my book.

2013 NFL Playoffs Update – #6 San Diego Chargers vs. #1 Denver Broncos

We switch over to the AFC now, where the winners of these two games will face each other for the 2013 AFC Championship and the right to go to the Super Bowl. But first they have to get there. We start with this weekend’s NFL Playoffs game between the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. The San Diego Chargers surprised everyone by easily beating the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday in Cincinnati, 27-10. The Broncos have been great all season long but one of their 3 losses came at the hands of these same San Diego Chargers in Denver during week 15.

The one thing that is in the Charger’s favor is that they are a pretty decent road team, meaning they can win on the road. Also, the Broncos are good but not great defensively, which means that Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers could find a way to pick them apart. But, on the other side of the ball, the Broncos have the “cerebral assassin” in Peyton Manning. If anyone can pick apart a defense, it’s this guy. The way the Broncos disguise their defensive weaknesses is by piling on the points on offense, forcing the opposing team to have to keep pace by scoring a lot themselves. Most experts would probably say that the Broncos will win this game handily, but I say not so fast. This game will be better than you think. That being said, I do think the Broncos will win.

2013 NFL Playoffs Update – #4 Indianapolis Colts vs. #2 New England Patriots

The last NFL Playoffs game to discuss involves the Indianapolis Colts, who pulled off a come from behind victory last weekend at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, 45-44, in what was the most entertaining game of the weekend, against the New England Patriots. This game takes place in New England tonight. This is a familiar AFC playoff pairing, as these two teams have met on several occasions recently in the playoffs. This time, however, the stars are a little different. It had been Peyton Manning quarterbacking the Colts, but it is now Andrew Luck, one of the best young quarterbacks in the game. Tom Brady is still at the helm of the New England Patriots.

I expect that this game will be a shootout between two of the league’s premier quarterbacks, but who knows? I could be completely fooled. I would expect the Patriots to try and throw short passes and run the ball more to try and keep the Colts’ offense off the field. However, the Patriots are without there star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, who is out for the season with a knee injury. That makes the passing game a little tougher. All in all, I expect the Patriots will pull this one out, but it will be close and it should be a great game.

Who Do You Think Will Win?

This completes this weekend’s NFL playoffs update. Enjoy the games, and may your favorite team win. if you don’t really have a favorite team, or even if you do, who do you think will win this weekend’s games? Check back next week for a look at the NFL Conference Championship games.