The smart money was on Houston for the first two rounds of the playoffs, and I gave you the Texans both weeks.
Wildcard Round
Divisional Round
Last week I told you to grab the 7.5 points early in the week before the line had a chance to move down to 7 (which would have made the difference between a win and a push - I truly thought the sharp money would come in hard on Houston at 7.5 and move the line down).
I also had the Ravens as the straight-up winner and the Texans as a winner ATS; plus, I was just one 4th quarter field goal away from giving you the EXACT final score. (I predicted: BAL 17, HOU 13; actual final: BAL 20, HOU 13).
This week I'm on the Niners. The Niners were a strong lean for me last week, but not quite enough to declare it a play. This week I like them to win at home and cover the -2.5. I see a fairly close game, but the Niner's D will successfully stunt Manning's passing game and create enough turnovers to produce a cover. Prediction: SF 24, NYG 17.
· SF (-2.5) over nyg
As for the Ravens/Pats matchup, I have no strong lean at all. But if I was forced to choose a side, I would place importance on two key variables: first, Ed Reed will be playing at less than 100%, which is a MAJOR setback for the Ravens' pass D versus Brady; and second, Belichick/Brady are are clicking on all cylinders and peaking at the right time. I think 7 is a pretty solid number for this game, but I'll lean slightly towards NE minus 7. Prediction: NE 35, BAL 27.
Season Records:
· 2011-12 Postseason: 2-0
· Money Picks 2011-12 Season: 25-14-1 (64.1% - Reg Season and Post Season combined)