Your Saturday Divisional Round Primer

Tom Brady (12) and the Patriots will be welcoming back several players from injury this week, and perhaps none is more comforting to the star quarterback than big left tackle Sebastian Vollmer (76).

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In the Wild Card round, all four road teams prevailed for the first time since the playoff format changed back in 2002.

Also, unusually, there were two underdogs who covered but didn't win (Minnesota and Cincinnati). Normally in the postseason, underdogs don't pull backdoor covers out of a hat, they normally win outright. So perhaps it makes sense that Minnesota and Cincinnati came within inches of winning outright before losing in heartbreaking fashion.

The Wild Card round split up the conferences on separate days, but the divisional round features one AFC game and one NFC game on each day. As such, we will be previewing Saturday's games today and Sunday's games tomorrow, as to give you, dear reader, two full days to digest all of our useful information and gamble (where legal) accordingly.

Last week, Joe went 3-1 straight up, 1-3 against the spread (only Kansas City saved him from embarrassment), Jeremy went 4-0 straight up, 2-2 against the spread. So, combined with regular season records (where Joe held a one-game lead), we are now tied. With that in mind, let's check out Saturday's games.

Your NFC Wild Card Primer

Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins is pumped to be playing at home, where his team is 6-2 and he's posted a 117 passer rating this season. On the road Washington is just 3-5, with Cousins' passer rating dipping all the way to 87.7.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We kicked off our Wild Card Weekend preview yesterday with our AFC Primer. Both of us like the road teams on that side of the bracket. Here comes the NFC Primer, where again, both road teams are the nominal favorites.

All four road teams can't end up winning, can they?

A reminder, in case you missed the AFC Preview - the "DVOA" line in the "By The Numbers" section is the Football Outsiders' metric "Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average." It is designed to measure each team on a per-play basis, adjusted, obviously, for the opponent, but also for down and distance. For example, a 6-yard gain on 3rd-and-4 against Seattle is a more valuable and/or meaningful play than a 11-yard gain on 4th-and-12 against New Orleans. DVOA accounts for those things. And positive numbers represent more yards/points, so a defense is better when it is further negative.

Let's dive right in. 

Joe & Daphne's Preview: The NFC North

Pictured: Daphne being held by not Joe.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) and Daphne Parello (@DaphnePup)

We finish up our NFC previews with the high-flying North.

I know, imagining a division where passes are flying all over the yard at Lambeau Field and Solider Field is a little weird, but with three of the league's Top-13 passers returning from last season, along with a promising sophomore, and half the division (Minnesota and Detroit) playing indoors, this isn't the NFC Norse of old.

Even with all those yards through the air returning, there are still questions for each team in the North. Can Green Bay find enough defense to get to Super Sunday? Can the Bears turn Jay Cutler's gaudy yardage totals into wins? Can Detroit take the next step and truly contend in the NFC, and how far can Teddy Bridgewater carry Minnesota in his second season, especially with the help of reinstated All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson?

Daphne and I investigate.

NFL Conference Championship Weekend Preview

Richard Sherman and the Seahawks made quick work of the Packers on opening night. Now they'll try to repeat the performance on the last day of the conference calender.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Jeremy once again claimed victory for the week - he was 3-1 against the spread and 3-1 straight up (making him 5-3 against the spread and 7-1 straight up through two rounds) to Joe's 3-1 against the spread and 2-2 straight up (making him 5-3 against the spread and 5-3 straight up).

The only pick that both of us nailed was Seattle over Carolina by a hefty margin. Jeremy sniffed out close wins for New England and Green Bay (and subsequent covers for Baltimore and Dallas) but was way off on the Denver-Indianapolis game. Joe was able to sniff out covers for Dallas and Indianapolis (but missed both games straight-up) and thought the Patriots would make quick work of Baltimore. It was a labyrinth of spreads and winners that was far more complicated than it needed to be.

This week should (hopefully) be easier. Both No. 1 seeds are playing at home and favored by a touchdown or just barely more. Let's see what to watch for.

Green Bay at Seattle

The Line: Seahawks by 7.5

By The Numbers:

Green Bay:
Record: 12-4 (9-6-1 vs. The Spread)
Average Score: 30.4 (1st) - 21.8 (13th)
Average Scoring Margin: +8.6 (3rd) - 11.0 "Expected" Wins
DVOA: +24.6% Offense (1st); -1.0% Defense (16th); -2.3% Special Teams (22nd); +23.3% Total (3rd)

Seattle:
Record: 12-4 (10-6 vs. The Spread)
Average Score: 24.6 (10th) - 15.9 (1st)
Average Scoring Margin: +8.8 (2nd) - 11.8 "Expected" Wins
DVOA: +16.7% Offense (5th); -16.3% Defense (1st); -1.7% Special Teams (19th); +31.3% Total (1st)

Ranking the NFL's Four Remaining Quarterbacks

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

The best day of the NFL season is coming up this Sunday. The Green Bay Packers will visit the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game at 3:05. Then at 6:40, the Indianapolis Colts will face off against the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship.

Rodgers vs. Wilson. Brady vs. Luck. Get ready.

In Bob Lobel’s last article, he asked, “Which of the four quarterbacks left would you take?” It is no coincidence that each remaining team has a superstar quarterback, but very few championship weekends have featured matchups quite like this. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson might just be the four most exciting quarterbacks in the league.

For the past seven seasons, Brady, Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees have been the best quarterbacks in the NFL. But Manning and Brees have finally begun to show their age (38 and 36, respectively). Brees and the Saints had as easy a road to the playoffs as they could ask for, but they couldn’t beat out the 7-8-1 Panthers for a division title. Peyton Manning failed to lead a star-studded Broncos team to a playoff win, and his future in Denver is now uncertain. Those disappointing performances have left two spaces open on football’s Mount Rushmore.

The Leading Challengers

NFC Divisional Weekend Preview

Can Tony Romo score a legacy-altering win at Green Bay this weekend? One of our editors thinks so.

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We began our Divisional Round preview with the AFC games earlier today, and now we move on to a pair of highly intriguing contests in the National Football Conference. Led by a match up of Blue Chip franchises (and completely different, but equally important fan bases), the Packers hosting the Cowboys is sure to be a ratings bonanza.

Then, the suddenly hot Panthers travel to face reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle. Let's get right into breaking each game down.

Carolina at Seattle (8:15 p.m. Saturday, FOX)

The Line: Seahawks by 11

By The Numbers:

Carolina:
Record: 7-8-1 (8-8 vs. The Spread)
Average Score: 21.2 (19th) - 23.4 (21st)
Average Scoring Margin: -2.2 (23rd) - 7.1 "Expected" Wins
DVOA: -5.0% Offense (20th); -1.6% Defense (15th); -5.5% Special Teams (30th); -8.9% Total (25th)

Seattle:
Record: 12-4 (10-6 vs. The Spread)
Average Score: 24.6 (10th) - 15.9 (1st)
Average Scoring Margin: +8.8 (2nd) - 11.8 "Expected" Wins
DVOA: +16.7% Offense (5th); -16.3% Defense (1st); -1.7% Special Teams (19th); +31.3% Total (1st)

AFC Championship Primer: The Best Quarterback Seasons in NFL History

Tom Brady has gotten the better of Peyton Manning head to head, including a 24-point comeback earlier this year. The two will face off again Sunday in the AFC Championship Game, but which future Hall of Famer has had the best single season?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Yesterday, in honor of the NFC Championship's impending defensive struggle, we brought you the 10 best defensive seasons in NFL history. That was great and all, but maybe you've heard about the somewhat relevant quarterback rivalry that will take center stage during the AFC Championship Game?

Oh yeah, it's that Peyton Manning guy trying to beat that Tom Brady guy. Those two dudes are pretty good.

In fact, both of them found their way onto today's list of the 10 greatest quarterback seasons ever. We all know that Brady has gotten the best of Manning, going 10-4 against his old rival, including 2-1 in the playoffs, but it is Manning that is in the midst of a historic 2013 season, setting the single season record for both touchdowns thrown and passing yards.

Where do Manning's current season and the best of Brady rank on our list? Find out below.

Long and Suite Preview: The National Football League

Both our editors are high on Rodgers and the Pack, but where will they finish in 2013?

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Well, we're almost here.

We've already covered every division in the league individually - if you missed them, you can find links in the sidebar to the right. Now we're here to recap all of that and make picks and predictions for all the things we haven't already covered.

To start, we're going to go through every team in the league one more time. In the table below, we've listed every team, their over/under line for wins this season (with corresponding odds for each pick), followed by our predictions. You'll notice that our final predictions may deviate from the picks that have been appearing in each of the divisional previews - that's because we made those picks almost a month ago and in some instances, new information has come to light, and in others, we just decided that our original prediction was too optimistic (or pessimistic). The picks below will serve as our "official" predictions for the season.

The NFL's Suite Stars

Loaded fronts couldn't stop this Suite Star from making history in 2012.

By Joe Parello and Jeremy Conlin

With the Pro Bowl now in our rear view mirror, we at Suite Sports would like to humbly offer our opinion on who the best players in the NFL were this season.

So, here are our Suite Stars, along with award winners for 2012, as we get closer to Super Bowl XLVII.

Quarterback

1. Peyton Manning, Denver
2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

You know it’s a great year for QB’s when Tom Brady is on the outside looking in after a fantastic season. You’ll hear a bunch more about Manning when we get to the awards section, but what the former Colt did in his first year in Denver, coming off neck surgery, is nothing short of amazing. Aaron Rodgers gets a little lost in most people’s minds because he was out of this world in 2011, but the Packer signal caller followed up his MVP performance with another phenomenal year.