NFL Playoffs - Who's In, Who's Out?

The Jeff Report's picks for who makes the playoffs and ultimately wins the Super Bowl

I previously gave my opinion on how I thought all teams in the NFL ranked from 1-32.  Based on that you would think you could correctly predict my playoff winners and losers.  While the championship games are all chalk there are a couple surprises in there.  Remember, the best teams don't always win. 

That being said the best teams are the best teams and show themselves to be so over the course of the season.  My Super Bowl winner was painful for me to pick but it's what I said two months ago and I have to stick by it.  Feel free to let me know how bad my picks are or why they suck and be sure to back that up with who you think should be in and who should win in the Playoffs.

So here are my picks for the 2010 NFL Playoffs:


AFC Division Winners:
North – Baltimore Ravens – Best team in the AFC in my opinion and winning one of the toughest divisions in football will only help them come playoff time.
South – Indianapolis Colts – As long as Peyton Manning is alive, this team is a factor.
East – New York Jets – Their defense will carry them through the growing pains of Mark Sanchez
West – San Diego Chargers – Their window is closing but nobody else in the division can step up and take it away from them…this year.
AFC Wildcards:
Miami Dolphins – Surprise team maybe, but with the maturation of Chad Henne, a solid run game, and an improving defense, they should be able to put together 9-11 wins.
Houston Texans – Finally have the pieces and are ready to take that next step into the playoffs.
NFC Division Winners:
North – Green Bay Packers – Aaron Rodgers is best QB in the NFC and a solid defense will make them one of the top teams in the league.
South – Atlanta Falcons – Matt Ryan takes two steps forward after a step back last year and leads a very potent offense to the playoffs.
East – Dallas Cowboys – Best team in the NFC with all the pieces to make a run and after shaking some big monkey’s off their backs last year (winning in December, winning a playoff game), primed for taking that final step to the Super Bowl.
West – San Francisco 49rs – Should win the weakest division in football with a strong D and am improving offense.
NFC Wildcards:
New Orleans Saints – Their Super Bowl victory was built on turnovers and they won’t get as many this year. However, they are still a playoff team.
Minnesota Vikings – Favre looks to be on his last legs (finally…) and some of their key defenders are aging. Couple that with some injuries and they won’t be what they were last year.
AFC Championship Game:
Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens
NFC Championship Game:
Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl
Dallas Cowboys vs. Baltimore Ravens
Super Bowl Champion:
…Dallas Cowboys - As painful as this is to put them here, I just think they have too much and after they took a couple huge steps forward last year by winning in December and a playoff game, they are ready to make the leap to Super Bowl champion.