With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the carcasses of Super Bowl hopefuls are already littering the sidelines. The defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers have watched their chances disappear and with their performance Sunday against San Francisco, Arizona doesn’t look like they’ve got another magical run in them.
The same can be said for the Baltimore Ravens, the team a good majority of the experts felt were ready to take that next step. The problem is that next step was backward in 2009.
So who really are the favorites to win it all as we sit here today talking about it? Well as much as I admire the job that Jim Caldwell has done taking over for Tony Dungy and leading the Colts to a 13-0 record, I don’t think they’re the team to beat in the AFC. Too many flaws on the defensive side of the ball and too much youth surrounding Payton Manning when it comes down to making the plays when it counts in the playoffs.
Throw in the fact that the weight of being undefeated will keep the pressure on them as the regular season winds down. No, the team to beat is San Diego. The Chargers have it working this year and the only thing that can get in their way is a failure to be able to run the ball in critical junctures of a game. They aren’t the running team they once were, they rely on Phillip Rivers and his receiving corps, but Ladainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles must be able to run when necessary for the Chargers and Norv Turner to reach Miami.
In the NFC all signs would seem to point to New Orleans. Drew Brees is having another spectacular season, the offense is nearly unstoppable at 35 points per game and the Saints have a defense most everyone else in the NFC would be thrilled to have. But there’s that undefeated monkey on their back as well. In the last two weeks they’ve survived by the skin of their teeth, so a loss appears to be coming and how they react to that may determine how they play in the playoffs, They need that home field advantage though and it looks like they’ll get it.
Philadelphia has proven time and time again they can make it happen in playoff time. Despite the fact they destroyed the Giants last week, they won’t have home field advantage to help them when it counts
Minnesota and Brett Favre are having a magical season as well and with Adrian Peterson to carry the rock, they can survive indoors and out. With a defense led by sack man Jared Allen, as long as coach Brad Childress remembers to run football and just have Favre lead and throw when necessary and not all the time, the Vikings should win the NFC. Favre can take them to the Super Bowl promise land, but Minnesota doesn’t want to force him to win games unless they have too.
This will be a running week to week commentary the rest of the way, so my picks could change. Who do you think will make it?
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