Yes football fans who Bet on NFL football at SBG Global, with the NFL 2015-16 Playoffs coming close to the final, here in this article we will preview both the AFC and the NFC Conference Championship games. With the top teams from both conferences and both seeking their ticket to Super Bowl 50, the four teams are ready to roll this weekend.
All 4 of these teams have had some great performances in this 2015-16 seasons, but only 2 teams will move on to Santa Clara to play for the Lombardi Trophy. Fans are wondering in the AFC if it will be QB T. Brady and New England or QB P. Manning and the Broncos as the team going to SB 50, and in the NFC will it be QB C. Newton and Carolina or QB C. Palmer and Arizona who head for Santa Clara?
AFC Championship – Patriots at Broncos
First we take a look at the AFC Title Game with the New England Patriots playing at the Denver Broncos, and what appears to be another chapter in the saga with P. Manning versus F. Brady.
For the Patriots QB Brady did his job this past Saturday as he took the Patriots to a grinding victory 27-20 over the streaking Kansas City Chiefs and now it will be the teams 5th consecutive AFC Title game in which they have appeared. QB Brady in that game completed 28 of his 42 passes for 2 touchdowns some 303 yards. That game was the 1st time in a while that the Patriots receiving corps were healthy, especially QB Brady’s favorite target in WR J. Edelman playing the 1st time in 8 weeks, and this past Sunday he had 10 receptions for 102 yards. Also TE R. Gronkowski had 7 receptions for 84 yards and scored 2 touchdowns in the game.
Yes the Patriots offense is once again healthy, but the same cannot be said for the defense as the front 7 are facing injuries to C. Jones, J. Collins, J. Mayo, R. Ninkovich and D. Hightower with Jones possibly missing this Sunday game. His absence will be felt the most as he is the team leader in sacks this season with 14, and is a player who can create havoc for the Broncos passing game and QB P. Manning. Fans wonder if their offense is strong enough to overcome their defense struggles at present.
On the other side are the Denver Broncos a tough rival, and their famed QB P. Manning had his 1st start since back in early November and was able to get his offense to go past the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday night 23-16 and move on to this Title game. He was unable to complete a TD by passing, and did not throw an interception but was able to completed 21 of his 37 passing attempts and a victory in this postseason play.
There is always a lot of discussion when a game portray Brady and Manning, like Brady has more game winning drives (9) in the playoffs and with over all victories at 11-5. However in postseason play the 2 quarterbacks have each won 2 games playing each other and this 5th game and probably the final game, will set the record straight Conference Championship.
However, it’s important to remember that football requires team play, and the Denver running game has given the team the balance required, as they had 7 games this season rushing for 130 or more yards winning those games, and remember in Week 12 they beat the Patriots as they rushed for 178 yards, and last Sunday rushed for 110 yards in their victory over Pittsburgh.
Then there is the defense of the Broncos that is ranked at the top in the NFL during the 2015-16 Regular Season. But they did struggle a bit in the Steelers game as they allowed them some 312 total offensive yards, but still managed to force and recover 1 fumble from the Steelers RB F. Toussaint, and that recovery took the Broncos to a TD to take the lead in the game with 3 minutes remaining Conference Championship.
The sports betting prediction for this AFC Title game in Denver with the Broncos and the New England Patriots is that QB Manning has his last splash in Denver overcome QB Brady and the Patriots for a 28-24 win and Super Bowl Berth.
NFC Championship – Cardinals at Panthers
Then we move on the NFC Title game with 14-3 Arizona Cardinals playing at the 16-1 Carolina Panthers, and in the Cardinals last game the won to move on to their 1st title game since back in 2008! In that game their WR L. Fitzgerald was their star as in extra time he caught a pass for 75 yards, and followed that with as 5 yard TD catch to beat the Packers 26-17 in OT. He finished the game with 178 reception yards. Now Fitz has 8 playoff games of which on 5 he had 100 yards in receptions Conference Championship.
With QB Palmer lacking a star performance he still passed for 3 touchdowns and some 350 yards, but also had 2 very costly interceptions, and that’s how WR Fitzgerald stepped up to help the Cards win the game. In this upcoming game QB Palmer will need to have his best performance if he wants to overcome last year’s loss to Carolina 26-17 in their Wild Card Game. The Cardinals had their worst game ever only accumulating some 78 offensive yards, but let’s not forget that in that game QB Palmer was not the QB but rather R. Lindley.
Playing this game in Carolina will not affect the Cardinals too much since this season they have won 7 of their 8 road games in 2015-16 against the spread. But postseason is another animal, as in road games in postseason play the Cardinals are 2-8 and in each contest scoring an average of 18 points.
On the other side of the field the Panthers overcame the Seahawks of Seattle last Sunday in a game that was like 2 games, a 1st half game where the Panthers scored all their 31 game points, and a 2nd half where the Seahawks scored all their 24 points with the final score Carolina 31 and Seattle 24.
The Panthers QB Newton did not have but a mediocre passing game as he completed 16 of his 22 passing attempts for 160 yards and 1 TD, but their running game and their defense were superb. Their star on offense was RB J. Stewart who had 19 carries in the game for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Plus remember the Panthers defense that in the game against the Seahawks they sacked QB Wilson 5 times and intercepted him 2 times and on 1 scored a TD in the 1st quarter of the game. They also looked good against the run, as for the season they had the 4th rank defense against the running game as they allowed only 89 rushing yards each game Conference Championship.
And to top that Carolina is still touting a 12 game win streak at their home Stadium (Bank of America) and that includes their win over the Cardinals in that Wild Card game last season.
The online sportsbook prediction for this NFC Title game between the Arizona Cardinals playing on the road at the Carolina Panthers the Panthers will win this conference title game 33-23 and move on to the Super Bowl.