The AFC Championship Game odds are out, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are set to take a look at what should be a fantastic duel in Foxboro between the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots. Check out our New England vs. Baltimore keys to the game for the AFC Championship Game.

NFL Playoffs Matchup: Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
Ravens vs. Patriots Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Ravens vs. Patriots Date/Time: Sunday, January 22nd, 3:00 p.m.
Ravens vs. Patriots Television Coverage: CBS

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Key #1: The Patriots have to prove that they are tough
It’s hard to challenge a team’s toughness, but we have to wonder just how good these Patriots are. They played against two teams that finished above .500 this year, and they were beaten by both the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve got their hands full now with a Baltimore team that is as tough as nails. What we have seen from the Patriots is the ability to throw the ball, and there is no doubt that they can do that as well as anyone ever has been able to in the history of the league. However, running the ball is a severely different story. The team ranks No. 20 in the NFL with 110.2 rushing yards per game, and a heck of a lot of those yards have come on finesse runs to the outside. The Ravens are going to challenge New England the entire game by slamming it right up the gut both on offense and on defense, and if this game gets ugly, QB Tom Brady and the gang are going to be tested against a team that absolutely relishes playing in these types of games.

Ravens @ Patriots Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Baltimore Ravens +7
New England Patriots -7
Over/Under 50
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Key #2: Brady is going to have to find some receivers aside from the tight ends
The combination of TEs Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski is as good as it gets in the NFL, and these two had right around 250 yards from scrimmage against the Denver Broncos last week, but we just don’t know whether the Ravens are going to be allowing that type of production with all of the speed that it has in the middle of the field. Remember that last week, Baltimore played against one of the few teams that utilize the tight end as much as New England does, and the three Houston tight ends combined for just two receptions and 26 yards. The Ravens also didn’t allow a pass that went for more than 19 yards in the whole game, and it is a wonder how Brady is going to find holes in this defense if he can’t work the ball up the field and can’t get it inside to his tight ends. WR Wes Welker could be in for a big time day, as could WR Deion Branch, who is more or less the forgotten man in this offense in spite of the fact that he had a fantastic season as the No. 2 wide out.

Key #3: Joe Flacco has to make some plays to win
There really wasn’t all that much that Flacco did last week against the Texans. He took advantage of three turnovers to score 17 first quarter points, but he only had a field goal for the rest of the game. Quite often, Flacco has found himself rushed against some of the best front sevens in the game, but with the Patriots missing DE Andre Carter and possibly playing without their top sack man, DE Mark Anderson as well, the pocket might not be a problem for the former Delaware Blue Hen. Flacco went 14-of-27 against Houston’s stout defense, but a lot of the passes that he completed were products of great plays by the wide receivers and tight ends, several of which were one-handed snares on balls that weren’t necessarily thrown the greatest. Flacco has found ways to win playoff games for his whole career, but right around this juncture, he needs to make the big time play to get his team to the Super Bowl, and he just hasn’t been able to do it. There is a point that there have to be some questions asked of Flacco, and eventually, he is going to have to win a game like this to validate that he indeed can take this team to the Super Bowl.

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For the second time this year, the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers are going to square off against one another, and the action should be intense. Here are the keys to the game for the NFC Championship Game, complete with our Giants vs. 49ers predictions and odds analysis.

NFC Championship Matchup: New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers
Giants vs. 49ers Location: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
Giants vs. 49ers Date/Time: Sunday, January 22nd, 6:30 p.m.
Giants vs. 49ers Television Coverage: FOX

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Key #1: The Giants have to take care of the football
It really seems as though the Giants keep good care of the pigskin when they are at their best. QB Eli Manning was picked off 16 times this season, including twice in the first go around between these two teams. That being said, the day that Manning had against the Green Bay Packers last week was remarkable. Sure, he threw that one INT on the day, but he also threw for three TDs and did a great job spreading the football all over the field. Green Bay might have had the worst ranked pass defense in the league, but it also led the league in forcing turnovers. San Fran played a game a lot like that against the New Orleans Saints last week. The Saints had almost 500 yards of total offense, but they turned the ball over five times in the teeth of a San Francisco defense that didn’t play nearly as badly as it seemed on the scoreboard. The 49ers have a nasty, nasty defense, and they picked off Manning twice in the first meeting of these two teams. That’s why the Giants were beaten by a TD the last time around.

Giants @ 49ers Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
New York Giants +1
San Francisco 49ers -1
Over/Under 41.5
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Key #2: The 49ers need to keep their attitude and their swagger
The 49ers have had a certain aura around them all season long. No one has really believed in them, and you can see that on the NFL betting lines as well. They were 1.5 point dogs against the Cincinnati Bengals, 9.5 point pups against the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, were just 2.5 point favorites at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers… and the list goes on a on. Even last week against the Saints, they were catching 3.5 from the oddsmakers. That’s why San Francisco isn’t just a great SU team, but is a team that has 13 covers on the season including the playoffs as well. Head Coach Jim Harbaugh came to the Bay Area and was determined to make his team nastier on both sides of the ball. It was about working harder and believing that they deserved to beat the team on the other side of the field because of it. We tend to think that that attitude would have looked a heck of a lot better at Lambeau Field than at home against the Giants, as San Francisco is favored in this game and is largely expected to win. As long as that swagger that the Niners deserve to be here, they should be fine, but if they lose that swagger, they could be in some trouble against a New York team that is thriving off of the fact that few figure that it has the capability to win the Super Bowl for the second time under Head Coach Tom Coughlin.

Key #3: Alex Smith doesn’t have to be better than Manning, but he has to not be significantly worse
This has been the “Year of the Quarterback” in the NFL. Names like Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, and Ben Roethlisberger are all out of the playoffs, while Smith is still here in the NFL’s version of the “Final Four.” He didn’t always run a pretty pass offense, as the 49ers only ranked No. 29 in the league in passing at 183.1 yards per game through the air. However, what Smith did this year was believe in himself, believe in his receivers, and take care of the football. What we saw last week is that he has the ability to win games if he needs to, as he stood toe to toe with Brees and the best offense, maybe in the history of the league. That being said, we don’t think that he has to do that again this week against the G-Men, but he can’t be significantly worse than Manning if the team is going to win this one.

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In what appears to be one of the greatest mismatches in the entire playoffs, the Houston Texans will take on the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the NFL postseason. Check out our Texans vs. Ravens keys to the game for Sunday’s slugfest.

NFL Playoffs Matchup: Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens
Texans vs. Ravens Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD
Texans vs. Ravens Date/Time: Sunday, January 15th, 1:00 p.m.
Texans vs. Ravens Television Coverage: CBS

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Key #1: The Houston defense has to get pressure on the edges
This is the why the Cincinnati Bengals really struggled against the Houston defense on Saturday. The Texans have the ability to bring an immense amount of pressure off of the edges with their 3-4 look. Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips isn’t afraid to bring the heat on every play, and the combination of LBs Brooks Reed and Connor Barwin, along with DEs JJ Watt and Antonio Smith can really make a big difference. QB Joe Flacco has been known to make some bad decisions when he is under pressure in the pocket, and that might be the case once again in this one if Houston can force him into bad situations. The Texans were built as a team with strength right up the middle with LBs Brian Cushing and DeMeco Ryans, but it is the boys on the outsides of the front seven that are going to be the big difference makers if the Texans are going to even remotely have the ability to pull off the upset.

Texans @ Ravens Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Houston Texans +9
Baltimore Ravens -9
Over/Under 38
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Key #2: Both sets of running backs have to keep the ball moving
If the Ravens can get RB Ray Rice in some space, whether it be as a rusher or a receiver, Flacco won’t be in those positions to have to face the wrath of the Houston front seven. Rice had over 2,000 total yards and 15 TDs this year, and we have to remember that RB Ricky Williams has the ability to have some big games when called upon as well. For Houston, the key is down and distance. Punting is okay, but at least staying on schedule in terms of 2nd and 7 and 3rd and 3 is key. The less than QB TJ Yates has to do, the better off that the Texans are going to be. That means that RB Arian Foster is going to have to have another big time game. He racked up over 150 yards on the ground against the Bengals on Saturday, including a number of runs in which he hit the corner and snared those few extra yards that made the difference. It’ll be tougher against the Baltimore defense with all of its speed, but Foster and RB Ben Tate will have no choice but to get the job done in this one, or the Texans will get run off of the field at M&T Bank Stadium.

Key #3: Both teams have to get used to some new territory
This may seem silly, but the Ravens have to get used to the idea that they are supposed to win this game. They went 6-0 this year against playoff teams, but those four losses were four brutal, brutal losses this season, and they all came in games in which they were expected to win and win with ease. Remember that Flacco has never played a game at home in the playoffs in his career, and this could be a totally different situation for him since he usually has tremendously low expectations. Houston has obviously never played a road playoff game, and Yates has never seen anything the likes of what he is going to see in terms of defensive intensity on Sunday. However, the Texans clearly have nothing to lose. They came out of that win against Cincinnati in great shape, and they acted like it was just another win on a Sunday that helped them out. Sure, there was some celebrating, but there wasn’t a Gatorade bath for Head Coach Gary Kubiak, and the team didn’t go all out as if it had just won the Super Bowl. There is more work to be done for sure. That being said, no one outside of Houston really believes that this team has a shot at the upset, and that could play big time into the Texans’ hands, especially if the pressure of playing at home proves to be too much for Flacco to overcome.

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The team that everyone thinks is the best in the league, the Green Bay Packers, ends the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and we are set to make our NFL predictions in their game against the New York Giants.

NFL Playoffs Matchup: New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers
Giants vs. Packers Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Giants vs. Packers Date/Time: Sunday, January 15th, 4:30 p.m.
Giants vs. Packers Television Coverage: FOX

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Key #1: New York has to continue to get a good contribution from the running game
We know that the way that you beat the Packers is by throwing the ball, but keeping a consistent offense both on the ground and through the air is going to be the calling card for continued success in the postseason for the Giants. This was the worst rushing attack in the league this year, but both RB Ahmad Bradshaw and RB Brandon Jacobs had success against a normally solid rush defense for the Atlanta Falcons last week. In fact, QB Eli Manning threw the ball about the same number of times as the Giants ran it, and that was a real shock for a team that normally throws it at least 60-65 percent of the time in games like that one. It’s hard to run the ball right up the gut against DT BJ Raji and the rest of those stout front liners for the Packers, but it is something that New York is going to have to do to keep the Packers from really assaulting Manning and the passing attack.

Giants @ Packers Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
New York Giants +9
Green Bay Packers -9
Over/Under 51.5
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Key #2: Greg Jennings has to get involved in the game early
Jennings played in the first 13 games of the season for the Packers, and the team averaged 35.6 points per game. Week 17 was a bit of a toss week with QB Aaron Rodgers sitting, but the offense just didn’t look the same without Jennings out there. He and WR Jordy Nelson can both stretch the field, and when both are on their game, it really opens up the rest of the offense for guys like TE Jermichael Finley and WR Donald Driver, who can’t get up the field as easily. Jennings really has to get into this one early, especially if he is matched up against rookie DB Prince Amukamara. He can do it all, and there is a reason that he has averaged right around five receptions and 80 yards per game over the course of the last five seasons.

Key #3: Green Bay’s flaws cannot be exposed in the clutch
If this were a game against the San Francisco 49ers, we would be having a totally different discussion, as we don’t think that QB Alex Smith really has the ability to win a game in the final two minutes on the road against a team like this. However, the Packers have a real problem against QB Eli Manning, who has proven that he can win games from behind, including against this very same team when he did everything that could do just a couple months ago. Green Bay has one of the worst rushing teams in the league, and neither RB Ryan Grant nor RB James Starks had even 600 rushing yards on the season. It has been proven time and time again that the Packers can’t close out games with their running game, and if that happens in a tight game on Sunday, Eli and the Giants are going to have a chance against a pass defense that ranked No. 32 in the league. There were a number of teams that had a lot of success against the Packers this year down the stretch, and if this ends up being the case once again this week, Green Bay, in spite of its 15 wins in the regular season, could be in a lot of trouble against a team that has a history of winning games like this one against all odds.

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The first day of the second round of the NFL playoffs schedule finishes up on Saturday night in the great state of Massachusetts, where the New England Patriots will try to beat the NFL odds for the second time this year against the Denver Broncos. Check out our NFL playoffs keys to the game for the Broncos and Pats!

NFL Playoffs Matchup: Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots
Broncos vs. Patriots Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Broncos vs. Patriots Date/Time: Saturday, January 14th, 8:00 p.m.
Broncos vs. Patriots Television Coverage: CBS

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Key #1: Tom Brady has to get over his playoff blues
Something happened to the Patriots in the playoffs in 2008. They were coming off of a 16-0 regular season of perfection in which they were really just not challenged at all. They struggled for a long time with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the playoffs, and the San Diego Chargers nearly picked them off in the AFC Championship Game. The New York Giants finished the deal and ended the “perfect” season at a not-so-perfect 18-1 and without a championship. Since the AFC title game that year though, there has been something majorly wrong with this offense. The team has scored at least 30 points in just a slew of games, especially at home since the start of that perfect 16-0 regular season, but in the playoffs, none of New England’s last four games have resulted in more than 21 points going on the board. Brady, who finished with over 5,200 passing yards this year, has only averaged 232.0 yards per game in his last four postseason games, and he has the same number of TD passes as INTs. We don’t know whether it is the playoff pressure or the tremendous opponents that the Patriots have run up against, but they have to figure this out quickly, or they will have a very short run here in the playoffs in 2012 as well.

Broncos @ Patriots Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Denver Broncos +13.5
New England Patriots -13.5
Over/Under 50.5
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Key #2: Denver has to bring pressure, force turnovers, and take advantage of them
That’s a heck of a lot to ask one team to do, especially against a team that had four receivers account for over 700 receiving yards this year, two of which had over 1,300 yards. That being said, the common bond in the games that Brady has struggled in during the past postseasons was the pressure that he faced. Three offensive linemen are nicked up for the Patriots, and this was already a unit that struggled at times to keep its quarterback off of his backside. The Broncos brought all sorts of pressure last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, sacking QB Ben Roethlisberger five times and forcing him into tons of other bad decisions. There were two golden opportunities in the first half to score TDs instead of kick field goals, and in both trips into the red zone, the Broncos had to settle for K Matt Prater field goals. That just can’t be the case against New England. LB Von Miller, DE Robert Ayers, and DE Elvis Dumervil have to make some plays and they have to force turnovers, and when those turnovers are forced, the end result has to be touchdown, not field goals.

Key #3: The Patriots have to kick the Broncos to the curb early
Starting strong has been a real problem for the Pats in recent weeks. They were losing in the first half in each of their final four games of the season, including dropping behind 21-0 to the Buffalo Bills in Week 17. That being said, New England did come back to win all of those games, two of which were in resounding fashion. These Broncos aren’t the Bills from two weeks ago though, and if you look back over the course of the winning streak that QB Tim Tebow was able to amass, most of those came in games in which they were able to hang around until the end, when Tebow was able to make a play. Last week, Pittsburgh was up 6-0 at the end of the first quarter in spite of the fact that the Broncos only had eight total yards of offense. Two TDs there, and Tebow probably panics, has to throw the ball more, makes some mistakes, and the Steelers could have won by 40. New England has to get off to a better start in this game, take advantage of any mistakes that Tebow makes, and force him to become a passer. That’s when the game really got out of hand when these two met in Mile High a month ago, and that’s what has to be the case as early as possible this week for New England to feel safe, especially when playing against a set of NFL playoff odds like these.

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No one believed that the San Francisco 49ers were really good enough to win the NFC this entire season, but on Saturday, they have a chance to beat the NFL betting odds against one of the best teams in the league, the New Orleans Saints with a spot in the NFC Championship Game on the line.

NFL Playoffs Matchup: New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers
Saints vs. 49ers Location: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
Saints vs. 49ers Date/Time: Saturday, January 14th, 4:30 p.m.
Saints vs. 49ers Television Coverage: FOX

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Key #1: The Saints’ secondary cannot let Drew Brees go wild
It seems like the understatement of the century, but it is true. Brees has now thrown for nearly 6,000 yards in 17 games this year, and he just keeps racking up 400+ yard performance after 400+ yard performance. The 49ers did a great job this year on the ground, as they didn’t allow a rushing touchdown in the first 14 weeks of the season, but their secondary at times was suspect, allowing 230.9 yards per game and ranking No. 16 in the league. Rookie LB Aldon Smith did have a team best 14 sacks this year to help bring a lot of pressure off of the corner, and others like LB Ahmad Brooks, DE Justin Smith, and DE Ray McDonald had great years as well. When Brees has been slowed this year, it has been with great pass rushes. That’s what the Detroit Lions had going last week for a half of football, but in the end, it was Brees that got the last laugh with a clinic in the second half. Brees is probably going over 300 yards, and he is probably going to get a couple scores, but much more than that is bad, bad news for the Niners.

Saints @ 49ers Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
New Orleans Saints -3.5
San Francisco 49ers +3.5
Over/Under 47.5
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Key #2: San Francisco cannot get overtaken by the pressure in this game
It has been almost a decade since the 49ers have played in the playoffs, and no one like RB Frank Gore and QB Alex Smith were around at that point. We already saw the Lions fail against the Saints in their first playoff game in ages, and though the Texans won in their first ever playoff game, it came against a Cincinnati team that also had absolutely zilch in terms of playoff experience on the team. Playing at home is at least going to give a level of comfort for the 49ers, especially since they are playing against a New Orleans team which was beaten last year on the road in the first round of the playoffs. Smith and Gore are really the two cogs that have to hold up in this one, as they have to make the most of their opportunities against a sometimes suspect New Orleans defense. Even though you would like to think that San Francisco can’t afford for this game to become a shootout, consistently scoring and putting the pressure back on Brees and the gang is the right way to try to go about this game. Going conservatively isn’t going to get the job done.

Key #3: Whichever team gets a few big plays on the ground will have a major upper hand
The one thing that Head Coach Jim Harbaugh brought to the Niners this year was a level of toughness. They play fantastic rush defense because they aren’t losing those battles up front in the trenches. That being said, the Saints, who aren’t known for their ground game, do have the backs to make plays happen on the ground, while Gore could have a big day against the Saints as well. New Orleans only allowed a total of 32 yards on the ground to the Lions on Saturday night, but that came against a team that just doesn’t run the football. The 49ers are a significantly different team for sure. RBs Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, and Chris Ivory all have the ability to bust off some big runs as well for New Orleans. Whichever team can establish the line of scrimmage and get its ground game off to a great start is going to have a major advantage in this game.

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The mantra of “Good vs. Evil” might be the storyline once again on Sunday in the final game on the NFL playoff schedule in Wild Card weekend. The Denver Broncos are going to be squaring off with the Pittsburgh Steelers in a clash that, at least on paper, seems like it would be a ridiculous mismatch. Check out our Wild Card keys to the game to help beat the Broncos vs. Steelers odds.

NFL Playoffs Matchup: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos
Steelers vs. Broncos Location: Sports Authority Field, Denver, CO
Steelers vs. Broncos Date/Time: Sunday, January 8th, 4:30 p.m.
Steelers vs. Broncos Television Coverage: CBS

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Key #1: The Broncos can’t beat the Broncos
When Denver was winning games this year with QB Tim Tebow calling the shots, it was doing it by running the ball, playing good defense, making some plays on special teams, not turning the ball over, and not committing silly penalties. That is going to be the theme in this game once again. The Broncos just cannot make stupid mistakes in this game, and Head Coach John Fox knows it. Penalties have to be limited, the turnover count may have to read zero at the end of the game, and everyone on the team on every single play has to play smart. The talent is too overwhelming in black and gold for the Broncos to beat themselves, and they have to be the smarter of the two teams in this one to have a shot to win.

Steelers @ Broncos Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Pittsburgh Steelers -8.5
Denver Broncos +8.5
Over/Under 33.5
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Key #2: The Steelers need to make sure that they don’t get away from their game plan
The Broncos know that they have to keep this game in the 20s in all likelihood to be able to win it. The Steelers might have to do the exact same thing. All too often, the running game for Denver has baited other teams into getting out of their game plan. The Steelers absolutely cannot afford to get away from their plan, or they are going to be in a heck of a fight. QB Ben Roethlisberger can’t put the ball in the air 40 times in this game, and the offense can’t start to panic if all of a sudden, there are a few drives when RB Isaac Redman can’t run the ball. Redman is going to be in for a tall task against an improving Denver defense, especially since in all likelihood, he is going to be the only back in this game that has any sort of experience for the Steelers. RB Rashard Mendenhall tore his ACL and is out for the year, RB Jonathan Dwyer is also on IR, and RB Mewelde Moore has a knee injury that is likely going to keep him on the sidelines.

Key #3: The opportunities will be there, so Tim Tebow has to make the passing game count
In one of the big time games of the year for the Broncos, they beat up the Kansas City Chiefs. Tebow only threw the ball eight times that whole game. He is going to have to do more than that in this one. The Steelers are just too stout up front in their front seven to allow gaping holes in the middle of the defense, and generally, they are too fast to run outside as well. That being said, we have seen some success against this defense on the ground at times, but it won’t happen without at least the threat of the passing game. Tebow only completed 46.5 percent of his passes this year, which was easily the lowest mark in the NFL, and he is going to have to prove that he can make some of the big time throws on third and long. It’s not going to take an elite 300 yard passing day, but Tebow is at least going to have to make some plays with his arm down the field. If the field can’t be stretch further than that, what we are going to see is the same type of result that we saw when the Steelers beat up the New England Patriots several months ago. The only reason that game was close is because QB Tom Brady still has the ability to do some great things even without a deep threat receiver on the field. Tim Tebow is no Tom Brady.

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