NFL Divisional Preview and Predictions

Russell Wilson already has one playoff road win under his belt and will be looking for another in Atlanta. (Al Bello)

Baltimore Ravens (10-6) @ Denver Broncos (13-3) - Saturday, 4:30 PM EST, CBS

The Ravens head to Denver coming off an emotional win at home over the Indianapolis Colts defense. In Ray Lewis' final home game, the Ravens defense dominated Andrew Luck and the Colts offense. They kept the Colts out of the endzone and limited them to three field goals. Meanwhile, the Ravens offense did more than enough to keep up their end of the bargain. Joe Flacco came up with big pass plays when he was needed to. Ray Rice was his usual explosive self in the rushing and passing game. The Broncos already dominated the Ravens 34-17 in Baltimore less than a month ago. They will look to use a similar recipe for success in the rematch. The Broncos defense held the Ravens to three points through the first three quarters. Cornerback Chris Harris made the game-changing 98-yard interception return for a touchdown. Peyton Manning had an efficient game. Additionally, Knowshon Moreno and Jacob Hester both had rushing touchdowns. Rice was limited to 41 total yards in the Week 15 loss. The Broncos defense must shut him down once again.

Prediction: Broncos 31 Ravens 17

Green Bay Packers (11-5) @ San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1) - Saturday, 8:00 PM EST, FOX


The Packers did what they had to beat the Vikings in the wild card round. The defense limited Adrian Peterson's damage and kept Joe Webb under constant pressure. Linebacker Clay Matthews was the leader both on and off the field. He ended the game with four tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Aaron Rodgers quarterbacked the Packers offense like a machine. Fullback John Kuhn had a great game finding the end zone twice. These two teams met way back in Week 1 with the 49ers prevailing in Green Bay. However, these are very different teams now. One major difference for the 49ers is at quarterback. Colin Kaepernick took over as the team's starter in Week 11. With a 5-2 record down the stretch, he has played well and challenged defenses with a dual-threat attack. Frank Gore is still a strong runner, and the Packers can't afford to overlook him. The 49ers defense is one of the best in the league. They expect Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Smith to play, despite having a partially torn left triceps.

Prediction: 49ers 24 Packers 20

Seattle Seahawks (11-5) @ Atlanta Falcons (13-3) - Sunday, 1:00 PM EST, FOX

The top-seeded Falcons look to avoid a fifth consecutive playoff defeat while the Seahawks try to continue their postseason run with a seventh straight victory. The Seahawks defense looked vulnerable early, but turned up the intensity and took the game over in the second half. They did lose their sack leader Chris Clemons for the remainder of the playoffs due to a torn ACL. Russell Wilson has looked anything but a rookie quarterback. He has shown great smarts knowing when to pass and when to take off and pick up solid yardage on the ground. Pro Bowler Marshawn Lynch continues to be one of the most physical rushers in the league. The Falcons defense will need to be aware of the dynamic playmaking ability of both Wilson and Lynch and do their best to shut them down. Matt Ryan has earned the nickname "Matty Ice." However, that has yet to been the case in the playoffs. Ryan has a pair of very talented receivers to hook up with in Roddy White and Julio Jones. The game's most intriguing matchup is between White and Jones and the Seahawks big, physical cornerbacks, Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman. The victor of that battle may prove to be the winner of the game.

Prediction: Seahawks 31 Falcons 20

Houston Texans (12-4) @ New England Patriots (12-4) - Sunday, 4:30 PM EST, FOX

The Texans appeared to be in line for the conference's top seed before they blew that opportunity by losing three of their final four games that began with a 42-14 loss to the Patriots in Foxborough on December 10. The dismal end of the season forced the Texans to play in the wild card round of the playoffs. Now, they must travel back to Gillette Stadium for the rematch. In the Week 14 game, the Patriots got up 21-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. The Texans were never able to recover. One of the major reasons why is because they fell so far behind so early in the game. The Texans offense is at its best when they are able to establish the ground game with Arian Foster and Ben Tate first. That helps to open up the passing game for Matt Schaub to find Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels. Defensive Player of the Year candidate J.J. Watt led the NFL with 20 1/2 sacks, but he had no sacks and only two tackles in the first matchup against the Patriots. The Patriots offensive line protected Tom Brady well, giving him plenty of time to throw four touchdown passes. That was even without his favorite target, Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski is now healthy and could be in for a big game against the Texans. The Patriots are winners of nine of their last ten and had an extra week to draw up a plan to try and beat the Texans once again.

Prediction: Patriots 38 Texans 20

Demba Ba Scores Twice in Chelsea Debut

Demba Ba scored two goals Saturday in his debut for Chelsea. (Sang Tan)

Controversy surrounded Stamford Bridge following Chelsea's shocking defeat to last-place QPR. The Blues just wanted to put the disappointment behind them. On Friday, they completed their acquisition of Senegalese striker Demba Ba, who came over in a transfer from Newcastle. As it turned out, he was exactly the remedy they were looking for.

Ba got his first run just about 24 hours later. Chelsea, the current FA Cup holders, began their defense of the trophy on Saturday at Southampton. Ba's arrival allowed manager Rafa Benitez to fellow striker Fernando Torres a day off after his recent heavy workload. He decided to give Ba the start in his place.

Chelsea came out confident, but surprisingly it was the home side that struck first. In the 22nd minute, Southampton took advantage on the counter. Jason Puncheon's pass found Jay Rodriguez in space. Rodriguez made the most of it as he was able to chip the ball past the charging Ross Turnbull.

Chelsea had the answer though. Juan Mata was the one that challenged the Southampton defense. He sidestepped his defender and put the ball past Artur Boruc. The ball was headed towards the net and Ba beat Steven Davis to provide the final touch into the net. Just like that, Ba had a goal in his debut for the Blues.

In the waning stoppage time of the first half, Chelsea struck again. Ashley Cole was able to cut the ball back to Victor Moses, was able to finish it on a half-volley. Seven minutes into the second half, the Blues netted another when Mata's cross found Branislav Ivanovic for a simple header.

Ba was rewarded for his excellent movement throughout the match. He was on the receiving end of a pass from Eden Hazard in the box. Ba was able to fend off Southampton captain Jose Fonte to bury it past Boruc. He looked set to complete a hat trick, but was denied by the Polish goalkeeper.

With seven minutes left in the match, Frank Lampard drew a penalty kick on a foul by Davis. He buried to put the icing on Chelsea's 5-1 rout of Southampton. Lampard joins Kerry Dixon at second on the all-time Chelsea goal scorer list with 193 goals. He is ten away from overtaking Bobby Tambling to become the most prolific marksman in club history.

The contrast between Ba and Torres is a pleasant surprise for Chelsea supporters. While it took the Spaniard 14 games to score his first goal for the Blues, he watched as the newcomer buried two in his debut. The goals are not the only difference either. Ba's movement and understanding of the game were far superior to Torres' form of late.

"It is always important for a striker to score goals but Ba's movement and understanding of the team was really impressive as well," said Benitez. "It is important for the team to have different options in attack and Ba gives us that."