No one can match the chemistry between
Aaron Rodgers and his receivers right now. They are on another level, and I'm not so sure even the
Giants' stout defense can stop them at Lambeau. Rodgers is coming off a season that saw him throw 40 touchdown passes
(most in the league), and he has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 18:0 in the last seven games. With what the
Packers are doing on offense, I think they can overcome the injuries they've had on defense. Hopefully, they can get some of the guys in the secondary back, but they should be able to fare well regardless.
There are three teams that I could see in Houston -- the
Steelers,
Packers and
Giants -- but I've got to go with Pittsburgh. The
Steelers are really dangerous right now -- a team that has a balanced offensive attack. Defenses have to pick their poison: Do you want to die from 1,000 cuts courtesy of
Le'Veon Bell, or have it be over quick with a deep throw from
Ben Roethlisberger? The
Steelers' offensive weapons are finally healthy, and their O-line has enjoyed a great season. This offense can play with anybody, and the defense has played much better in the second half of the season.
The
Packers have playoff experience and are playing as well as any team in the NFL right now. They've won the last six games, and if they let
Aaron Rodgers take the lead -- like they have been -- the
Packers could go quite deep in this tournament. With the NFC being as wide open as it is this season, Green Bay has a good shot at playing in February.
Ben Roethlisberger,
Le'Veon Bell and
Antonio Brown will all be healthy in the postseason for the first time. I'd take this triplets group over any other in the Wild Card Round, and playoffs in general. On the defensive side, this young group is coming around. Keith Butler's unit played at a much higher level at the end of the regular season.
