Rick's NFL Picks: NFL Conference Championships-Who Will Go To The Big Show?

This Sunday it will be decided who will go to the "Big Show" February 6 at Cowboys Stadium. New England and Atlanta, both the top seeded teams, have been eliminated by Wild Card teams NY Jets and Green Bay Packers. What happened? The old adage, "Anything thing can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL", rings true. You have one shot and one shot only when it comes to the playoffs. Lose and you are out. The Patriots had all the advantages going in, but the Jets disrupted Brady and Company just enough to edge them out. The Packers, they outright annihilated the Falcons, but with the way Rodgers has been playing of late, you kind of expected it. The Steelers, they plain and simple know how to win playoff games. The Bears, they will be facing an old rival.

Steelers showed once again in their game with the Ravens there is no quit in them. They will just keep coming at you until you buckle under the pressure. Mark Sanchez better be on his toes this Sunday because the Steelers defense is going to be attacking at every opportunity. If Sanchez sits in the pocket for any length of time he is going to get stuffed and the potential for a game breaking turnover will increase. The Steelers defense is number one against the run. If they succeed at doing what they do best, they will be zeroing in on Sanchez. Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers can burn you at any given moment as was seen in this past Sunday's game. Wallace is Roethlisberger's deep threat, but new comers Brown and Sanders are now on his radar. Hines Ward, he will grin at you like Davy Crockett grinned at the bear and proceed to knock out your lights with a big play.

The Jets have an all around good defense and they are going to need it against Big Ben, who has an uncanny way of eluding sacks and leveraging his way out of tight situations. If the Steelers get anywhere close to the goal line, the Jets will have to contend with the straight ahead power of Mendenhall. I have already mentioned the Steelers will be attacking with an array of blitzes, so the Jets will need to keep Sanchez moving, looking for the quick dump off to the backs and releases to the wide receivers on quick slant patterns. Any kind of mistakes by the Jets will prove to be their undoing with an opportunistic Steeler team.

Aaron Rodgers appears unstoppable. He is passing with accuracy and running for touchdowns when the openings present themselves. He will be facing a tougher Bears defense in this one. It will be difficult for the Packers to establish a run game because the Bears are ranked number two against the run. The Packers will need to come out shooting in the beginning to throw the Bears into confusion and soften up their linebackers, then test the waters for the running game. The Packer defense will be putting pressure on Cutler to raddle him with hopes of forcing a mistake, but will have to be careful of the Bears superior running game.

Jay Cutler is coming off one of his best performances. Like Rodgers, he is passing and running well. Greg Olsen appears to be his main target along with Matt Forte. Cutler will be doing much the same as he did last week, screen passes and quick hits, but will have to watch out for Clay Matthews. Forte will need to play a huge part if the Bears are to succeed, especially in establishing a running attack to assist Cutler. The Bears defense is tough on the run, but unfortunately are weak in the one area they need toughness, the passing game. All I got to say is good luck with that Bears.

In conclusion, every week I have said the Jets have used up their nine lives and are living on borrowed time. Well, this week they will be paying the Piper. When it comes to making mistakes, I see the Jets and Bears as being more proned. It's looking like a Steelers-Packers Superbowl, but in the Bizzaro World of NFL it will be Jets-Bears.

Playoffs - Conference Championships

SUN, JAN 23 TIME (ET)