DOUBLE TAKE: The Panthers will hoist the Lombardi Trophy

Matt's Take:

With the regular season behind us, it's time to turn our focus to the NFL playoffs, when Wild Card Weekend kicks off Jan. 9.

Is there anything better than playoff football?

Well, actually I could think of a few things, namely the entire Cleveland Browns organization not being a complete mess and perpetual joke, but I digress.

Back to the Wild Card games. We have the Kansas City Chiefs/Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers/Cincinnati Bengals squaring off in the AFC.

In the NFC, its the Seattle Seahawks/Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers/Washington Redskins.

So who wins? Look for the Chiefs, Steelers, Seahawks and Redskins to survive.

Now that we've made it past the Wild Card round, things could get interesting.

There is no doubt in my mind the AFC Championship will come down to the Broncos and Patriots.

Seattle could sneak into the NFC Championship, but I don't see it happening, despite Russell Wilson's flat out dominance the second half of the season.

In the NFC, the final two will be Carolina and Arizona.

As for the Super Bowl, pencil in Denver and Carolina. The Patriot's depleted roster just won't be able to hang with the NFL's best defense. The Panthers will win with defense, ground Arizona's passing attack.

They say defense wins championships. That's certainly the case this year.

Sorry Broncos fans, Manning will not hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Carolina wins it in a close one by a field goal. 

Andrew’s Take:

Did you know they make a two-dimensional crystal ball?

Last year, my NFL playoff prediction went 11-0. You don’t need Vegas probabilities when you’ve got Andrew’s half of Double Take.

I wonder when the NFL is going to get sick of winners of pathetic conferences, especially when fans are subjected to games hosted by these mediocre teams. A few years ago, the Cincinnati Bengals couldn’t even sell out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing happens this weekend, when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Houston Texans. The Texans just happened to suck the least in a division of losers. Chiefs win.

The same scenario plays out on Sunday evening, when the Green Bay Packers visit the Washington Redskins. The Skins should feel lucky for this opportunity to lose. Packers win.

During the rest of the course of Wild Card weekend the Pittsburg Steelers will beat the Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks will beat the Minnesota Vikings.

The New England Patriots will handle the Chiefs in the Divisional round.

If the Denver Broncos didn’t have a first round bye, I would pick the Steelers to win the AFC, but I’ve seen what the Broncos can do with an extra week of rest.

The Seahawks are hot, but Cam Newton’s big moment will come when he leads the Carolina Panthers to the NFC Championship.

The Packers winning Super Bowl 50 would be perfect. But this isn’t the same team that received the best championship odds before the season. No Jordy, no trophy. The Arizona Cardinals will handle the Pack.

Make sure you watch the AFC Championship, because Peyton Manning’s last game will come at the hands of Tom Brady. Appropriate.

Newton’s success will continue against the Cards, and through the Super Bowl when he keeps Brady from winning No. 5.

Yee-haw. The Panthers win. Should have been the Packers.