NFC Championship: Seattle Seahawks (5) at New Orleans Saints (3)
Weren’t expecting this as the matchup for all of the NFC marbles, were you? It’s definitely not the two teams most people are predicting to meet up in the NFC Championship Game, but it would be a showdown worth watching.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, the winner of this game seems pretty clear. Unless Seattle suddenly flips a switch and starts playing tough defense, they aren’t going to be able to keep Brees from blowing them away. As great as Wilson is, I don’t think he has a strong enough supporting cast to lift the Seahawks in this one.
One way or another, New Orleans would get the best of their opponents. Whether they’re putting the Seattle secondary on notice or pounding their front seven with their fierce running game, the Saints simply have the muscle and explosiveness on offense to turn this into a shootout. The problem is that the Seahawks aren’t built to survive shootouts.
Seattle fans everywhere will be hoping for a repeat of the 2011 Wild Card Game during which the famous Beast Quake play occurred. While Lynch will likely get his fair share of work in this one, I don’t think we’ll be seeing any miraculous plays that allow the underdog Seahawks to leapfrog the Saints into the Super Bowl.
All things considered, though, the Seahawks getting this far would be quite the Cinderella story.
Prediction: Saints win 24-17