NFL Championship Game picks

Last week I went 3/4, which was interesting only because all four favorites won. I thought sure that something would have to give, and for the first half of the Carolina/San Francisco game, it looked like I guessed right. Then I was not so right after all. And now, tragically, there are only three football games left of the entire season. Then it’s a long, sad eight months punctuated only by listening to Mel Kiper Jr. talk about wingspan for a couple weeks.

ALL TIMES ARE IN CENTRAL, BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE I LIVE.

Sunday mid-afternoon, 2:00pm, New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

First: I know this happens every year, but I still don’t understand why 2pm and 5:30pm Central are the times to do games. Saturday night and Sunday night don’t work? I don’t understand anything.

But honestly, that’s just stalling so I can put off making my pick for longer. After listening to two podcasts that made exactly opposite points, I have no clue who’s going to win either of these games. Denver apparently has injuries on the defense that will make them prone to attack via slot receivers; the Patriots have the power to destroy you through slot receiving. The Broncos also have Peyton Manning and about 37 healthy wide receivers. While I won’t be surprised at all if the patchwork-and-glue Patriots team wins again, since they weren’t supposed to have ever even made it this far in the first place, I will pick instead with my heart and choose the Broncos.

Sunday evening, 5:30pm, San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks

Both of these games are going to be really, really good. The trick of picking whichever team I would be more frustrated to get wrong doesn’t work here. If I pick the Niners and the Seahawks win, I’ll say “Well, duh, of course, I should have picked the Seahawks”… and vice versa. Russell Wilson has been not as great as he could be lately, but they’re playing at home and have one of best defenses in the league. Argh, I don’t know. Having literally flipped a coin just now, I’m going with the… Seahawks.