Conference Championship Predictions! (SPOILERS INSIDE BEN KNOWS EVERYTHING)

It is the last Sunday of the season with more than one football game, which naturally brings up a lot of emotions.

Actual photo of my wall

Of course on one hand I’m bummed because I don’t even remember what I do on Sundays when it is not football season, but on the other hand I’m stoked because it’s usually an awesome day. See, I’m a pretty complex person. Let’s take a look at how I’m doing so far.

Last Week: 4-0

Overall (for the playoffs): 6-2

Mood: Sexy, accurate.

Alright, time to predict some stuff.

NFC Championship Game: 49ers at Falcons

This is by far the more difficult of the two games to pick for me. A few days ago I had this as a comfortable 49er victory, but as the week has gone by doubt has slowly crept in. At first I thought the Falcons offense would struggle the same way Green Bay’s did for much of their two contests against San Fran, but the more I thought about it that might not be the case. Their running game, while being subpar most of the year, is still more dangerous than the Packers’ attack. Atlanta’s wide receivers are also significantly more physical. On the other side of the ball, I can’t imagine that their defensive coaching staff will let Colin Kaepernick run as wild as he did last week. In theory that should open up some deeper throws, but with the legal troubles facing Michael Crabtree and Colin’s lack of chemistry with Vernon Davis, who knows how that part of the gameplan will work out. At the end of the day though, I still think this game comes down to how Matt Ryan will deal with the pressure of the 49ers front seven…and to phrase it as nicely as I can, I don’t trust him. If I were to phrase it honestly I might say, “you suck turds when it counts, Matt Ryan”. I think it will be close throughout but a late mistake will end up dooming Matty Ice and his team.

Score: 49ers 35, Falcons 30.

Bonus Prediction: 49ers improve their zone read offense by using two footballs, thus making the Falcons defense tackle the quarterback and the running back every play.

“I don’t understand any of Aaron Hernandez’s touchdown dances” – old people

AFC Championship Game: Ravens at Patriots

Last year when these two teams met I picked the Ravens. With the Patriots focusing primarily on their tight ends, I felt like the Ravens defense could shrink the field and make Tom Brady & company play the game in a phone booth. This was an accurate prediction in a sense, as the Pats did struggle most of the day offensively. The problem is Baltimore’s offense also had its share of problems. Flash forward a year later and the Ravens defense is not playing at nearly as high of a level, the Patriots offense is more explosive and less tight end dependent, and Joe Flacco is still the same inconsistent player. It doesn’t look good for Baltimore. Also, Prop Joe is dead. So that sucks.

Score: Ravens 17, Patriots 37

Bonus Prediction: In a postgame press conference Ray Lewis will say, “Oh by the way, I definitely killed that guy”. And never be heard from again.

Ben just became the one billionth person to predict a 49ers vs. Patriots Super Bowl. Who do you like in today’s games? Let us know in the comments section.