Vote for your pick to win Super Bowl XLVIII! Will Peyton Manning and the Broncos be victorious, or will the Seahawks and their gritty defense pull it out? Make your selections and let us know who you think will win the Super Bowl.
A few weeks ago, the Houston Texans were minutes away from beating the Seattle Seahawks, a team that many have picked to not only win the NFC West, but to make it to the Super Bowl. Former Ravens safety Ed Reed even hyped the game as a potential Super Bowl matchup. And then Matt Schaub all but handed the Seahawks a chance to win in overtime. Instead of taking the sack, he threw an ill-advised pass that was easily intercepted by Richard Sherman and run back for a touchdown. A week after that crushing defeat, Schaub didn’t wait until the end of the game to throw things away for the Texans. Three plays into the first drive, Schaub was picked off by 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock and, like the turning point of the Seattle matchup, the interception was also run back for a touchdown. It was Schaub’s fourth game in a row with a pick six. Schaub’s poor play continued to hamper Houston’s attempts to get back into the game, and after three interceptions the veteran quarterback was benched and T.J. Yates was left to helm a sinking ship.
For the matchup against the Rams, Texan’s coach Gary Kubiak is sticking with Schaub, and as unpopular a decision as that may be back in Houston, where Schaub’s jersey was burned in the stadium parking lot after the loss to Seattle, I don’t see Yates as a true alternative. However, I don’t think Kubiak will wait long to bench his inconsistent starter if Schaub’s mistakes continue to plague the Texans against the Rams. If he throws yet another interception, expect Yates to be under center for the next drive.
While the serious threat of losing his starting job hangs over his head, Schaub has everything going for him to return to form (and maybe even the favor of the Houston fans) against the Rams. The St. Louis defense has only three interceptions all year; by contrast, the 49ers snagged three just last weekend against Schaub. St. Louis may also be without cornerback Cortland Finnegan for the second week in a row, which can only help the struggling Texans quarterback. Even Las Vegas has the game going in the Texans’ favor. This could very well be a definitive week for Schaub’s career, as Kubiak said it was a “tough decision” to stick with him after the woeful play in San Francisco. Another bad outing against an NFC West team will only make only make that decision tougher. All Schaub has to do is not throw a pick and beat up on the lowly Rams. If he can’t do that, maybe it really is time for a change in Houston.
Prediction: Texans win 21-10.
Tennessee Titans vs. Seattle Seahawks
Even though the Titans beat the Seahawks at CenturyLink the last time they played in 2010, I just don’t see any way the Titans pull off a win this week. First off, that win was three seasons ago, and both teams look drastically different now. Secondly, Ryan Fitzpatrick is again playing in the place of the injured Jake Locker, and while he put up a touchdown against the Chiefs last week, he also gave up two interceptions. Finally, the Seahawks haven’t lost at CenturyLink for ten consecutive home games, and I don’t see the Titans as the team to end that streak. Honestly, short of the Denver Broncos or perhaps the New Orleans Saints avenging that completely unexpected playoff defeat in 2011, I don’t see anyone who is going to threaten the Seahawks or the 12th Man in Seattle.
I don’t know if there’s all the much more than needs to be said.
Prediction: Seahawks win 28-6.
Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco has righted the ship—convincing wins over both the Rams and the Texans have quieted critics who saw the 49ers slumping into irrelevancy this season. That said, the team is not living up to their full potential: injuries and absences continue to plague the lineup, and Colin Kaepernick, who still has the NFL’s best-selling jersey, even edging out Peyton Manning in that category, has not looked like the upstart backup quarterback who beat out Alex Smith for the starting job last year, destroyed Green Bay in the playoffs, and was mere yards away from securing the 49ers sixth Super Bowl victory.
This matchup will come down to how well two strong defenses play against each other, with both having a lot to feel confident about after the Cardinals roughed up the Panthers last week, sacking Cam Newton seven times and picking off three of his passes, and the 49ers routed the Texans, taking full advantage of Schaub’s recent poor play and stifling a once proud offense. If the Cardinals can neutralize a resurgent Frank Gore and take advantage of Kaepernick’s pedestrian play of late, this could easily become a close and bruising contest.
While San Francisco has history on its side in this contest, the game is really going to come down to the 49ers’ defense continuing to play at a high level without a number of impact starters, and Kaepernick returning to the form of last year. For weeks now, Kaepernick’s foot has made its way onto the injury report, which now begs the questions as to whether this has anything to do with the nimble quarterback rarely breaking out of the pocket as he did so frequently and effectively last season. If his foot is hampering his running game, Kaepernick needs to find the consistency in his passing game that he demonstrated against the Packers on opening day. Patrick Peterson will likely shadow Anquan Boldin all afternoon, so Vernon Davis and others will need to find ways to get open. While the 49ers defense has more than proven itself the last few games, San Francisco needs to show that they can do more than just hand the ball off to Frank Gore.
Here are our records up to this point: Caleb: 15-8 Carter: 15-8
Thursday Night Football: Buffalo Bills vs. Cleveland Browns Both teams have shown promise this year and improvement. Both teams have started off the year 2-2. E.J Manuel so far this year is 74-130, with 856 TDs. Hoyer is going into his 3rd start of the season where he already has 590 passing yards with 5 TDs as well. Carter's Pick's: Bills 24, Browns 17 Caleb's Pick: Browns 21, Bills 17
Sunday's Game (1pm est) New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears The Bears have started off as one of the best teams in the NFL and Jay Cutler has had a career year so far throwing for 1010 yards and 8 TDs. With the return of Sean Payton the Saints have been phenomenal, and Drew Brees has returned to top form going 111-166 for 1434 yards and, 10 TDs. Carter's Pick: Saints 34, Bears 31 Caleb's Pick: Saints 35, Bears 27
Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers The Packers have started off on a bit of a rough patch going 1-2 this year. Although the Pack have started off rough, Aaron Rodgers has been strong going 81-122, with 1057 yds and 8 TDs. The Lions have been top notch this year going 3-1, Reggie Bush busted out last week rushing for 100+yds and, Stafford has found his favorite receiver 21 times this year for 312 yards. Calvin Johnson is on pace for another 1500+ yard receiving year. Carter's Pick: Packers 45, Lions 34 Caleb's Pick: Packers 38, Lions 31
Sunday Afternoon Games (4pm est)
Denver Broncos vs. Dallas Cowboys The Cowboys have been a little better than most people expected. DeMarco Murray already has 356 rushing yards, Romo has 1017 yds and 8 TDs, and the defense is playing solid. The Broncos have by far been the best team in the NFL. Peyton Manning has been putting up the best numbers of his career going 117 of 156 with 1470 passing yards with 16 TDs in just four games. Carter's Pick: Broncos 45, Cowboys 21 Caleb's Pick: Broncos 42, Cowboys 24
Sunday Night Football (8:30pm est)
Houston Texans vs. San Francisco 49ers Both teams have had a hard time finding their strides from last year, with both teams starting off 2-2. The 49ers look posed to turn it around this week as Colin Kaepernick has found his new favorite target in Anquan Boldin. Boldin has 372 yds of receiving this year so far and has really filled the void left by Michael Crabtree. Texans have been playing pretty good considering their 2-2 start, but their problem has been consistency. Arian Foster has 292 rushing yds and Andre Johnson has 368 receiving yds. Carter's Pick: 49ers 35, Texans 31 Caleb's Pick: 49ers 28, Texans 24
Sunday Night Football (11:35pm est)
San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders This game was moved to a late slot due to the MLB playoffs. The Chargers came up short to the Titans two weeks ago, but came out last week strong and defeated the Cowboys. Rivers has been his typical self going 105-142 with 1199 yards and finding his favorite target Antonio Gates for 364 of those yards. The Raiders have been a different team this year with QB Terrelle Pryor under center. Pryor has done well in his 1st 3 starts, going 53-81 with 624 yards and 2 TDs through the air, and has 28 carries for 198 yards on the ground. I think once this team forms properly and finds its tempo they could start causing problems in the AFC West. Carter's Pick: Chargers 24, Raiders 17 Caleb's Pick: Raiders 21, Chargers 20 Monday Night Football (8:30pm est)
Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Jets The Falcons have been one of this year's most disappointing teams so far, starting off the season 1-3 and not living up to their preseason hype. Last week they played sloppy football and were defeated at home by the Patriots. The Falcons have the talent, and should start to bounce back this week and grab some momentum. The Jets have been a unique team this year after rookie QB Geno Smith took the helm. Smith has went 78-136 with 1090 passing yds and 4 TDs, but 8 INTS through his 1st 4 NFL games. Smith carries a lot of the burden, but his help elsewhere has been struggling. His top receiver Santonio Holmes only has 10 rec for 243 yards and 1 TD, and that just won't cut it. Carter's Pick: Falcons 38, Jets 20 Caleb's Pick: Falcons 28, Jets 13
After Week 2 here are our results. Carter: 10-5 Caleb: 10-5
Thursday Night Football
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams Both of these teams are starting 1-2, and it may have been expected for the Rams, but it was the last thing we expected from the 49ers. As of right now Kaepernick Is 53-94 with 689 yards, and Bradford is 88-141 with 891 yards. Both teams need to bring their "A" game to see who can get back to .500 first. Carter's Pick: 49ers 45, Rams 21 Caleb's Pick: 49ers 24, Rams 14
Sunday 1pm Games Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions
Lions and Tigers and Bears O MY!! Both of these teams are off to a great start the Lions are 2-1 and the Bears are 3-0. Jay Cutler is having a career year this year with completing almost 70% of his passes. On the other side Mathew Stafford and Megatron are doing what they do best. Stafford has 1020 yards already this season and Calvin Johnson has 268 of those yards. Carter's Pick: Bears 34, Lions 31 Caleb's Pick: Bears 28, Lions 24
New York Giants vs. Kansas City Chiefs
No this is not an error, the Giants are 0-3 and the CHIEFS are 3-0! The Giants have been turnover machines. Manning has thrown as many interceptions as he has TDs and they have been held to under 150 rushing yards through 3 games! The Chiefs have done a complete 180 from last year. With the acquisitions of Alex Smith and new HC Andy Reid, the Chiefs have been remarkable up to this point so far! Carter's Pick: Chiefs 38, Giants 10 Caleb's Pick: Giants 27, Chiefs 21
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings
Both of these teams are off to an 0-3 start. The Steelers are currently in their first three game losing streak under head coach Mike Tomlin. Both teams have looked ugly, but between Christian Ponder and Adrian Peterson not getting anything going and the Steelers just getting embarrassed on National TV last week, I couldn't tell you who's worse! Who gets their first win of the season? Carter's Pick: Vikings 21, Steelers 10 Caleb's Pick: Vikings 28, Steelers 21
Sunday 4pm Games
New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans.
The Titans have been one of the more interesting teams this year so far. After shocking the Steelers in week 1, taking the Texans to OT in week 2, and then putting together an unbelievable drive with seconds left to knock of the Chargers, the Titans have now garnered national attention. The Jets haven't been to shabby either. Geno Smith has made several rookie mistakes, but he does look better than Mr. Buttfumble (a.k.a. Mark Sanchez). Carter's Pick: TItans 24, Jets 17 Caleb's Pick: Titans 27, Jets 14
Dallas Cowboys vs. San Diego Chargers
The Cowboys have been decent this year up to this point, and are currently on top of the weak NFC East. DeMarco Murray already had 286 rushing yards this year and if Dez Bryant can stay healthy then we could see the Cowboys reach the playoffs this year. The Chargers are the Chargers not to good not to bad they could win or lose on any given Sunday. Carter's Pick: Cowboys 31, Chargers 20 Caleb's Pick: Cowboys 28, Chargers 24
Sunday Night Football (8:00pm)
New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons.
The New England Patriots have been an interesting team to watch this year. Without Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and Gronk, Tom Brady has had to play some of the best football of his career to put the Patriots at 3-0. The only question is can he do it all year? The fight and struggle could wear on the veteran Brady. Atlanta Falcons have come across some controversy up to this point after having "one of the best rosters in the league". After the acquisition of Stephen Jackson this off-season, the Falcons were thought to rule the NFC, but after injury has taken Jackson out for 2 -3 more weeks and Roddy White hasn't been fully healthy since week 1 it will be interesting to see how this games goes. Carter's Pick Falcons 27, Patriots 24 Caleb's Pick: Falcons 28, Patriots 17
Monday Night Football
Miami Dolphins vs. New Orleans Saints
Monday Night Football returns to the Super Dome, and "Who Dat" nation is going to be going crazy with the Saints of the their 3-0 start. It will be interesting to see how the Dolphins handle that kind of scene. The Dolphins have been one of the talks of the AFC after starting off 3-0 and coming back to knock off the Falcons last week. Carter's Pick: Dolphins 33, Saints 28 Caleb's Pick: Saints 35, Dolphins 17
Thursday Night Football (NFL Network) 9/19 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles The Kansas City Chiefs have shown a much needed improvement under new Head Coach Andy Reid and new QB Alex Smith. In their two games this year Smith has completed right over 50% of his passes and he has also thrown 4 TD's. RB Charles has also rushed for 132 yards this season. The Eagles felll last week after shocking the world in week 1. San Diego knocked off the eagles with a 33-30 win. Michael Vick looks a lot like the old Michael Vick and has already thrown for 631 yards in the first 2 games, but Chip Kelly's high octane offense may have been figured out already? Carter's Pick: Chiefs 30, Eagles 24 Caleb's Pick: Eagles 35, Chiefs 31
Sunday Football (1:00pm est) Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals The Bengals and the Packers are expected to be top teams in their rightful divisions this year. Both teams suffered a rough loss in week 1 but rebounded nicely in the week 2. The Packers flexed their muscles as they knocked off the Washington Redskins 38-20. The Bengals looked a little sloppy, but they did beat the Steelers on Monday Night Football and give the Steelers their first ever 0-2 start in the Mike Tomlin era. Carter's Pick: Packers 31, Bengals 17 Caleb's Pick: Packers 38, Bengals 28
San Diego Chargers vs. Tennessee Titans The Titans have been a little bit of a surprise team this year so far. The Titans started off the season by knocking off the Steelers and even though they did lose last week they showed signs of promise and improvement when they took the Houston Texans into the NFL's first overtime game of the season. The Chargers are a lot like the Titans they seem to have the pieces but things never click. Rivers has already thrown for 600+ yards this year and Mathews has rushed for 106. Carters's Pick: Titans 24, Chargers 21 Caleb's Pick: Titans 21, Chargers 17
Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens The Texans have started off 2-0 for the 2nd straight year, but unlike last year they look like they may get tested this year. Last week the Titans took them to overtime and made them pull out a close game in overtime. The Ravens have already suffered their first loss of the season in week 1 when Peyton Manning moved his Passing Academy to Denver and threw 7 TDs against the reigning Super Bowl Champs. This also marks the return of Ed Reed to the Baltimore, where he spent the first decade of his career. Carter's Pick: Texans 38, Ravens 14 Caleb's Pick: Texans 28, Ravens 17
Sunday Midday Football (4:25pm est) Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins The Dolphins have been another team to shock the world so far this year as they have started 2-0 for the first time in along time!! Ryan Tannehill has already thrown for 591 yards and 2 TD's. The Falcons got showed up in week 1 as they were defeated by the Saints 23-17. In week 2 they Matt Ryan and Julio Jones took over. Ryan connected with Jone on 11 of his 33 passes for a career high 183 receiving yards. If Ryan and Jones can take over again we could see the same as we did last week but with Roddy White and Stephen Jackson possibly out we could see the Dolphins going 3-0! Carter's Pick: Falcons 24, Dolphins 21 Caleb's Pick: Falcons 28, Dolphins 21
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets The New York Jets have been the laughing stock of the NFL since the Mark Sanchez butt fumble last year. Surprisingly this year the Jets have shown some fight with Rookie QB Geno Smith taking the helm. Smith has already passed for 470 yards this year. On the other side we have another Rookie QB in E.J. Manuel. A lot of people criticized the Bills for taking Manuel over Smith in the draft this year but it seems to have played to the Bills favor for Manuel has completed almost 75 percent of his passes this year has 446 yards and 3 TD's Carter's Pick: Bills 24, Jets 10. Caleb's Pick: Jets 21, Bills 17
Sunday Night Football (8:30pm est) Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers The Steelers are off to their worse start under HC Mike Tomlin after losing in Week 1 to the Titans and last week to the Bengals. It will be interesting to see how Big Ben and rest of the team rebound. The Bears are as sharp as ever with Cutler is having a career year so far he already has 532 yards passing, and 5 TD's. Carter's Pick: Bears 45, Steelers 14 Caleb's Pick: Bears 31, Steelers 21 Monday Night Football (8:30pm est) Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos The Raiders have shown some improvement under control of new QB Terrell Pryor. Pryor so far this year has 353 yards passing and has helped McFadden reach 178 yards already this year on just 34 rushes. The Broncos on the other hand have been making a run for the best team in the NFL. Manning looks to be in the best form he has ever been. Already throwing a league high 9 TDs and 769 yards. Carter's Pick: Broncos 42, Raiders 17 Caleb's Pick: Broncos 45, Raiders 21
Starting this week we are going to pick 6-8 games NFL games.
Sunday 1:00pm Games
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans Tennessee is coming off a pretty big win vs. the Steelers. Jake Locker went 11-20 with 125 yards and while he didn't throw any interceptions he also didn't throw a touchdown either. Houston's Matt Schaub went 34-45 and threw3 TD's for 346 yards. Carter's Pick: Texans 31, Titans 10 Calebs Pick: Texans 21, Titans 13
Atlanta Falcons vs. St. Louis Rams Atlanta is coming off of a big loss to the N.O Saints and they will be looking to get the ball rolling. Sam Bradford and Rams look to continue where the left off last week with a 27-24 win over the Cardinals. Carter's Pick: Falcons 38, Rams 21 Caleb's Pick: Falcons 28, Rams 17 Washington Redskins vs. Green Bay Packers Green Bay is coming off of a tough loss to the San Francisco 49ers where Aaron Rodgers threw for 333 yards and 3 TDs. The Redskins as well, are coming off of big loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. RGIII looked a little shaky throwing 2 interceptions but he did complete 30 of his 49 passes. Carter's Pick: Packers 45, Redskins 24 Caleb's Pick: Packers 38, Redskins 28 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Dallas Cowboys. Dallas is coming off a huge Sunday Night Football performance where they upset the N.Y Giants 36-31. The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a huge win off the Jacksonville Jaguars. Alex Smith went 21-34 in his Chiefs debut. Carter's Pick: Chiefs 21, Cowboys 17 Caleb's Pick: Cowboys 28, Chiefs 21
Sunday 4:30 Game
Denver Broncos vs. New York Giants. Its the Manning Bowl. Peyton has won both games so far and, last week Peyton put on a clinic throwing 7 TD's for 462 yards. Younger brother Eli is coming off a rough loss to the Cowboys where he only completed 27 of his 42 passes and threw 3 interceptions. Carter's Pick: Giants 42, Broncos 38 Caleb's Pick: Broncos 35, Giants 24
Sunday Night Game.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers are coming off a big win vs. Green Bay. Kaepernick completed 27/39 for 412 yards and 3 TDs and Anquan Boldin had 13 receptions for 208 yards in his 49ers debut. Seattle came up with a close win to Cam Newton and the Panthers. Russell Wilson completed 25/33 for 320 and 1 TD but, if the Seahawks give up 253 yards of offense again it could be a rough night for them. Carter's Pick: 49ers 38, Seahawks 13 Caleb's Pick: 49ers 21, Seahawks 16 Monday Night Football
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals The Steelers are coming off a devastating loss the Titans where they only score 9 points. The Bengals as well are coming off a tough loss where they fail to the Chicago Bears 24-21. Both teams have a lot to prove this week. Carter's Pick: Bengals 28, Steelers 10 Caleb's Pick: Bengals 24, Steelers 17
As we all know already the teams for the Super Bowl have been set. The San Francisco 49ers will faceoff against the Baltimore Ravens in what could turn out as one of the most anticipated Super Bowls in recent History! For one reason Its brother vs. brother. The Head Coaches for each team are brothers John and Jim Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is the Head Coach for the Baltimore Ravens while Jim Harbaugh is the Head Coach for the 49ers. The Harbaugh Bowl as some are calling it could be one of the most unique Super Bowls. Not only are they the first Brothers to be head coaches and coach against each other in the Super Bowl but, the Brothers will host a press conference together. It would mark the first time opposing coaches have ever held a press conference together. On top of all the emotion from the Harbaugh brothers there will be another emotion....
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis announced at the begining of the post season that he would retire at seasons end. Well Ray Lewis has reached the peak of the mountain and has the oppurtunity to go out like very few before him with winning a Super Bowl. Ray Lewis already leads the teams in the playoffs with most tackles. Coming off a torn bicep that is pretty remarkable. Another humerous and interesting fact is Ray Lewis's very first career sack back in 1996 was against then Indianapolis Colts QB.... Jim Harbaugh. Thats right the Brother of his Head Coach, the HC of the 49ers.
So with saying that how will the game go? which brother will prevail? Will John come out victorious or will will he fall to his younger brother? Will Ray go out the same way he came in to the league sacking a Harbaugh.... No one knows the only thing we do know is that Jack Harbaugh the father of the two brothers is probably the happiest father on the planet. Be sure to tune in to the game Sun. Feb 3.
Now that the wild-card round of the playoffs has concluded, who do you believe will make the super bowl out of the 8 remaining teams? Vote as many times as you want!