NY Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts

Breakdown: If you wanted to see what Super Bowl 3 was like, this will the closest thing to that without the Super Bowl attached to it. The Jets were ruled out by everyone including their head coach Rex Ryan leading up to the playoffs. The Jets have put themselves in a good position, the underdog. They blew past the Bengals. Kept pace with the Chargers and are looking to right a wrong with the Colts. Everyone still thinks if the Colts had wanted to play in Week 16, the Jets wouldn’t have won. This is their chance with a power running game lead by Thomas Jones and rookie Shonn Greene. The defense is a perfect mold of what Ryan built as defensive coordinator in Baltimore. Peyton Manning and the Colts have their work cut out for them, but as we’ve seen before, they are probably the best in this situation. The Colts don’t have the power running or a tough smash mouth defense. What they do have is a prolific passing attack that has Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie for Manning to throw to. The Colts don’t have to smash you in the mouth, but will swarm to the ball with lightning speed. Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney are the scariest defensive end combo in the league. Their linebackers and secondary are undersized, but know where to be in the right situation. The third time is the charm in picking against the Jets this postseason. Colts win thanks to Manning.

Matchup to watch for: Darrelle Revis Jets CB vs. Reggie Wayne Colts WR

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints

Breakdown: We all get our dream matchup in the NFC. We all said these were the two best teams before their lackluster finishes to the regular season. The Vikings are led by a resurgent keeping his wranglers off the ground forty year old quarterback Brett Favre. He seemingly can do no wrong. He gets clobbered, still completes a touchdown pass. He gets flushed out of the pocket and still manages to find the open man. I thought Adrian Peterson was going to need to have the big games, but it’s clear that Favre has to. Their defense played a great game against the Cowboys. Tony Romo had no time to think as the line put pressure on him all day last week. They will need to keep it up against the vaunted passing attack of the Saints quarterback Drew Brees. He has found that the running game can be useful and when Reggie Bush plays with aggression, he can be a great asset. The Saints don’t have much to go with defensively except when they force turnovers, they are hard to beat. Most of the time they do capitalize on mistakes and the Vikings have to be prepared for it. I’m expecting a shootout that hopefully won’t end up in a one sided affair like many of the other games so far. The Saints win in what should have been the matchup in Super Bowl 41. Colts vs. Saints.

Matchup to watch for: Vikings defense vs. Reggie Bush Saints RB