We have reached the final four of the 2011 NFL playoffs, as the conference championships are upon us. In the NFC, the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field, while the AFC is down to the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The conventional wisdom seems to lean toward a Packers/Steelers Super Bowl, but I'm not so sure.
↵After picking all four games correctly during wild card weekend, I slumped last week, picking just one of four games against the spread in the divisional round. It's time to change it up for conference championship weekend, so I'll go against the grain. Point spreads are courtesy of our friends at Odds Shark.
↵Chicago Bears (+3) over Green Bay Packers: It seems everybody and their mother is firmly on the Green Bay bandwagon, and it's hard to blame them. They went into Atlanta and throttled the number one seed Falcons, and Aaron Rodgers is playing better than any other quarterback alive. However, I'm a sucker for home field advantage, so look for the Bears to get another home win on a slop field Sunday in Chicago.
↵New York Jets (+3) over Pittsburgh Steelers: Remember what I just said about home field advantage? Yeah, scrap all that. I like the Jets defense against a battered Pittsburgh offensive line. I didn't think New York would beat the Patriots, but they won me over with that performance, so I'll take the Jets to battle the Bears in Super Bowl XLV.