New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers

A week ago, the NFC seemed on the verge of being a cakewalk for the defending champion Green Bay Packers. Most pundits expected that they would take care of the resurgent New York Giants, and in the other NFC game, the high-powered New Orleans Saints would have too much firepower for the San Francisco 49ers. But, as they say, that is why they play the games.

New York completely dominated the Packers atop the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, romping to a 37-20 victory. The Giants outclassed the Packers in almost every element, but particularly their vaunted pass-rush, knocking Aaron Rodgers out of his season-long rhythm.c

New York will need a similar effort in San Francisco this week, against the suddenly in-form Alex Smith. Smith was sensational in the closing stages of the 49ers epic win over New Orleans, capped off by throwing the game-winning pass to Vernon Davis over the middle of the field.

The Niners have struggled to gain any real respect in the playoffs, despite the fact that they earned the number two seed on the back of a blistering regular season. When the two sides do battle at Candlestick Park on Sunday afternoon, expect a return to physical, smash-mouth play that so many fans pine for from yesteryear. Both sides possess overpowering defensive units (although San Francisco has a slight edge) that could easily cancel out the influence of one another. Therefore, the game will rest on the shoulders of two quarterbacks previously maligned for their inconsistent play.

The game is poised to easily go either way, but due to their superior consistency throughout the year and home field advantage, I'm tipping the 49ers to advance to the Super Bowl.

BPL Tip: San Francisco

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots

New England could be forgiven for thinking that they were coming off a bye week, such was the ease in which the Patriots dismantled a severely outmatched Denver Broncos outfit. Tom Brady was at his spectacular best, picking apart the Denver defense to the tune of 363 yards and six touchdowns.

Don't expect a night of similar ease for New England against Baltimore. While Denver were obviously out of their depth in Foxboro last week, the Ravens are unlikely to be intimidated by the Gillette Stadium surroundings, as they desperately seek their first Super Bowl appearance since winning the title 12 years ago. The Ravens showed last weekend that, even though their offense may continue to struggle, their defense is still one of the leagues very best. The Ravens held Houston scoreless for the final 35 minutes of the game after Houston stormed back into the contest with 10 straight points.

However, Baltimore's defense will not be the deciding factor Sunday, Joe Flacco will be. Flacco, who was called out by All-Pro teammate Ed Reed during the week, needs to improve his somewhat poor playoff performance up to this point in his career. If the Ravens were drawn into a shoot-out with the Patriots, Flacco's recent performances would not be anywhere near good enough to watch it with Brady.

Another key factor in the outcome will be the contribution New England gets from its dominant Tight-End duo. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have been almost unstoppable for much of the year, abusing the physically mismatches they have over ill-equipped linebackers or safeties. However, Baltimore possess two of the NFL's elite linebackers (Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis) and also one of the best ever safeties in Ed Reed. They won't be able to stop the duo from having an impact, but they should certainly be able to contain it.

With that in mind, Baltimore is my prediction to upset the Patriots and advance to the Super Bowl, setting the scene for the second Harbaugh bowl of the season.

BPL Tip: Baltimore