The NFL Championship games are here and it’s going to be like War of the Worlds here. LA coming into Seattle with their aerial invasion. In every battle you must have a group of personnel that think they are Patriots.

New England will invade Denver. Do we know who Jarrett Stidham’s father is from the Evil Empire that created him in the NFL draft? Stidham is with the Rebel alliance with the Broncos infantry. Could Matthew Stafford and Sean Payton get back to the Superbowl and seek their second ring? What kind of Superbowl would have Stidham vs Darnold? Is Drake Maye the second coming of May Day Malone in Boston sports?

We will dissect it all including both championship games. We may find out who is the real Sean McVay.

I had a feeling the Rams’ brilliant mind was from another planet. We have two predictions after the dissection of each match up.

Our predictions are, “Danger danger Will Robinson,” and others who look to us for the 411. Last week in the divisional round we got one match up correct. The Wild Card round we bombed as well getting two correct. Gives us a 3-7 record in 10 match ups so far. The good news is we are due for a perfect 3rd round if you believe that. Take your own, risk but be aware!!!!

ROUND THREE POST SEASON (CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS)

SUNDAY GAMES

AFC TITLE GAME

#2.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (16-3) AT #1.DENVER BRONCOS (15-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Did not play each other.

PLAY OFF HISTORY: Broncos (4-1) Patriots

1987 AFC Divisional Broncos won 22-17

2006 AFC Divisional Broncos won 27-13

2012 AFC Divisional Patriots won 45-10

2014 AFC Championship Broncos won 26-16

2016 AFC Championship Broncos won 20-18

Broncos 2-0 Patriots in AFC Championship game all-time

SUPERBOWL RECORDS

Patriots (6-5), Broncos (3-5)

The Broncos will be riding on a quarterback that has only made 4 NFL starts in his career to get them to the Superbowl.

The Broncos starter Bo Nix is out for the rest of post-season with a broken ankle he suffered against the Bills. Who is Jarrett Stidham and does he stand a chance vs the new order of the Empire in the New England Patriots? The Patriots defense last weekend made CJ Stroud look like a guy who only started 4 games. The Patriots picked off Texans QB Stroud 4 times and put out the flames of a very hot team entering the divisional round. The interesting thing about Stidham is he was drafted by the Patriots back in 2019. He has played for the Raiders as well and the Broncos for the last few seasons. He is 1-4 as a starter. He has thrown 8 touchdown passes along with 8 interceptions.

The Patriots defense is very solid against the run which most likely Jarrett Stidham will have to throw the football to win this game. The Broncos defense is facing Drake Maye who will be making his first playoff start on the road. The Broncos feature the best defense in the red zone. The Patriots can run the ball as the team has been averaging 156.1 yards per game in the last 7 contests. Both defenses can make that one play that can change the momentum of the game.

The head coaching in this AFC Championship will be one of the best chess games of all-time. Sean Payton is 10-9 in the post season along with 1-2 record in the championships. Payton has that Superbowl ring as a head coach with the Saints. Then Mike Vrabel is 2-0 in the post-season as the Patriots head coach in his first season. He has a 4-3 record as a head coach which goes back to his Titans days. Vrabel is 0-1 in conference championship games. In 2019, Vrabel’s Titans beat the Patriots & then the Ravens but could not beat the Chiefs on the road in the conference championship game.

Without Bo Nix playing in this match up, for sure on paper Jarrett Stidham is the weakest link. The last time a QB has made their first start of the season in a conference championship game you have to go back to 1972 when Roger Staubach did it. However back up QB’s have prevailed and taken their teams through this pivotal game and beyond. Nick Foles of the Eagles slayed the Patriots in the Superbowl playing for the Eagles. During the 1990’s Jeff Hostetler did it for the New York Giants. Let’s remember Sean Payton is a very good playcaller in the NFL. He has kept Stidham around for a reason. Just in case, break glass here. History is not on the side of the Patriots or Mike Vrabel. It’s tough to win in Denver with the altitude. I bet against the Patriots each round and they have made me look foolish. I’m going 3rd time a charm as the Denver Broncos defense creates enough havoc to lighten the load for Stidham and the Broncos offense. Maye will have his first playoff mishaps and Broncos will be once again going back to the Superbowl.

OUR PICK: BRONCOS

NFC TITLE GAME

#5.LA RAMS (13-5) AT #1.SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (15-3)

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD: Both teams split the 2 game series

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Rams (2-0) Seahawks

2005 NFC Wild Card: Rams won 27-20

2021 NFC Wild Card: Rams won 30-20

SUPERBOWL RECORDS

Rams (2-3), Seahawks (1-2)

The Seattle Seahawks this post-season will only play division rivals. Last round the Seahawks murdered the 49ers. Now they face the Rams and last time they played LA in Seattle, it was a Thursday night game that was epic. High scoring affair which came down to the end in OT. The Rams you have to give credit because they went on the road to a colder climate in Chicago and came away with an OT victory over the Bears. The Rams beat the Panthers in Carolina in the wild card round. Here we go again!!!

Matthew Stafford vs Sam Darnold has been a great match up at the QB position. Look at the numbers both QB’s have accomplished this season. Darnold has 25 touchdown passes while Stafford threw 46. Darnold won his first playoff game last weekend vs the 49ers. His only loss and his first ever playoff game he played in, was against these Rams last year. Darnold was with the Vikings at the time. Darnold had a bad game that day. He also had a bad game in the first meeting of regular season between the Rams and Seahawks throwing multiple picks. Stafford has a career playoff record of 7-5 all-time. He is 7-2 all-time with the Rams as three losses were tagged on him from his Lions days. Stafford has done well in both meetings versus the Seattle’s defense named the Darkside. Both offenses are well-balanced. Both teams can run the ball well. Both teams rely on play action passes.

Sean McVay is one of the masterminds in the NFL as head coach. His post-season record is 10-5 which includes two trips to the Superbowl. He is 2-0 all-time in championship games. On the other side we have second year man Mike Macdonald who won his first ever playoff game as a coach last week vs the visiting 49ers. Macdonald has been through the post-season more than once with the Baltimore Ravens as the Defensive Coordinator. He has an idea on what it takes to win at this level. Can the Rams win their 3rd straight post-season game on the road? And in a place like Seattle which is very hard for visiting teams.

The Seattle Seahawks defense is the best unit in my opinion left in the final 4. Some could argue that the Broncos have that niche. Seahawks defense has played lights so far in the post-season. In a game three of the series where both teams know each other well, I like the adjustments on this side of the ball. Matthew Stafford did not look crisp last week in Chicago. In the first meeting between the teams, Sam Darnold had a bad game with multiple interceptions. Seattle almost won that game. It’s hard to win three straight road games. The Rams aerial game is one of the best in the NFL. The Seahawks are very good in their own airspace. I like the chances and odds of Darnold executing the Seahawks offense on that Rams defense. This will be a close game. I give this one to the home team. THE 12TH MAN!!!

OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS