NFL picks, Conference championships: Look out for Patriots

The National Football League only has four teams left vying for the Super Bowl. It’s been a long, crazy season and the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals are the last four standing. It’s pretty clear that the two best teams in the NFC made it, while New England was the best in the AFC. Denver? Please.

The Patriots are hoping to reach their seventh Super Bowl in the Tom Brady era, and their ninth overall. It’s amazing considering that in the early 1990s, this was the worst franchise in football and arguably all of sports. There was real talk of moving the team. Now? The Patriots are looking to once again be the gold standard.

Denver is 12-4 and aiming for a eighth trip to the Super Bowl. Of course, if the Broncos get there, we all know the curb-stomping that is coming. Denver is all about going to the Super Bowl and playing like garbage, and there is no reason to think that wouldn’t happen again.

As for Carolina, this is the franchise’s fourth conference title game. The Panthers have only been to the Super Bowl once, losing to the Patriots back in 2003. Cam Newton is hoping to become only the third quarterback ever to win both the Heisman Trophy and the Super Bowl in a career, with Roger Staubach and Jim Plunkett being the others.

Arizona is in the NFC Championship game for the second time ever, hoping to recreate the magic it had back in 2009. The Cardinals have never won the Super Bowl and are withing a championship in any capacity since 1947, when the franchise was playing in Chicago.

Here are the NFL picks for the conference title games…

Next: AFC Championship