The first week of the playoffs is in the books and all 4 home teams won. That usually doesn't happen, but it goes to show that for this season: there's no place like home!

The Power Analyzer was pretty much dead on the first Saturday of the NFL playoffs, but fell flat on Sunday. After correctly identifying Houston over Cincinnati and New Orleans over Detroit, it missed by taking both road teams (Atlanta and Pittsburgh) the next day. But like always, we ramp it back up each week and start anew each week. With that in mind, here are the revised Playoffs predictions from the Power Analyzer going forward:


DIVISIONAL ROUND

New Orleans at San Francisco

This matchup was predicted in the original Power Analyzer Software NFL Playoffs predictions, and nothing has changed. It still sees the Saints coming out on top by a score of 24-20.

Denver at New England

This one's different as it originally forecasted the Steelers to lose to the Patriots in this round. Tebow-mania continues to ride high in the media and while the Patriots have a suspect defense, they had few problems beating the Broncos earlier in the regular season by a score of 41-23. That game was in Denver whereas this week the Broncos travel to Foxborough. While the Analyzer doesn't see an 18 point margin of victory for the Patriots, it does see 17 points, and that's still a win for the Patriots. Predicted score: Patriots 36, Broncos 19.

Houston at Baltimore

This matchup was expected and while the final score has changed a little from the original prediction (Baltimore 20, Houston 17) to a new of Baltimore 21, Houston 16, it still comes out to a Ravens victory.

New York Giants at Green Bay

Originally pegged as Atlanta at Green Bay, the Giants pose a playoff veteran team threat to the Packers. New York easily handled the Falcons last week and they played the Packers tough during the regular season only to lose on a game winning FG by Mason Crosby as time expired which gave the Packers a 38-35 victory. The Giants have plenty of offense and boast a defense playing much better of late. But even so, the Analyzer just doesn't see the Giants pulling off the victory. Predicted score: Green Bay 36, NY Giants 27.


CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

The NFC title game of New Orleans at Green Bay is playing out as originally predicted. But the setup in the AFC is a little different than before. Where originally the Analyzer had Pittsburgh facing the Ravens in the AFC title game, it now has Baltimore at New England.

Baltimore at New England

These teams didn't meet in the regular season but they know each other well. In the 2010 regular season the Patriots defeated the Ravens 23-20 in OT, and in 2009 the Ravens went to New England and as an underdog in the playoffs, beat the Patriots 33-14. The Analyzer sees a bit more of the regular season meeting in 2010 than the 2009 playoff game as it has the Patriots coming out on top in a very close game. Stephen Gostkowski gets to provide some late game heroics like Adam Vinatieri used to and a FG helps the Patriots win 23-20.

New Orleans at Green Bay

This is the matchup originally predicted and the only change from the original form is that the Analyzer now sees the Saints winning 38-31 instead of 37-31.


SUPER BOWL 46

So now we're down to the big game again. Originally, the Analyzer predicted a Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints matchup, but the Steelers couldn't overcome their injuries and fell to the Tebow magic in the Wild Card round. Now, with the updated simulations run, it has the New England Patriots facing the New Orleans Saints in what will be a matchup of two great QB's. Both are predicted to have success as Brady is predicted to have nearly 400 passing yards and 2-3 TD's. But he won't outduel Drew Brees. The Analyzer sees Brees lighting up the Patriots 31st ranked pass defense to the tune of nearly 500 passing yards and 4-5 TD's. The Saints blitzkrieg proves too much for the Patriots and in the end, the Saints hoist the trophy! Predicted score: New Orleans 46, New England 31.