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Last Playoff Appearance:Houston 1992 San Jose 1992 Playoff Records:Houston 20-7 (4-0 World Bowl) San Jose 1-4
Head to Head: San Jose won in Week 3 of this season 36-33. This is their first post season game against each other.
Injuries:Houston 5 probable, 1 questionable San Jose 6 probable, 1 questionable, 1 doubtful
Prediction:Houston 35 San Jose 21
As of now, San Jose is run by AI as Holly left the team. The prediction won't change with a new owner should we find one before kickoff. The SaberCats have offensive firepower, although it's mostly funneled through WR Mark Hsu. Houston has multiple dangerous offensive weapons and the playoff experience to back it up. __________________________________________________________________________________
Head to Head: Michigan is 1-0 against Honolulu in the post season. Michigan beat Honolulu 44-10 in Week 12 of 1991 in their most recent regular season game.
Both teams come in on winning streaks so something will have to give. IMO the key to this game is Panthers QB Larry Henderson. He is streaky, and if the bad Henderson shows up, Honolulu likely wins. I think we'll see the good Henderson though. I can't get a good read on Hawaiians QB Edwin Clarkson, who took over for Derek Henry 3 games ago. Clarkson looked bad against Portland, but good the next 2 games against non playoff teams. Clarkson is a wildcard, and I can see an upset, especially if Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite RB Anthony Davis goes off for a big game.
Last Playoff Appearance:Pittsburgh 1992 New Orleans 1992 Playoff Records:Pittsburgh 9-9 (0-1 World Bowl) New Orleans 12-14 (0-3 World Bowl)
Head to Head: New Orleans is 3-0 vs Pittsburgh in the post season, including the last 2 seasons. Those are the most recent Maulers/VooDoo games as their last regular season game came in Week 9 of 1991, which was a 19-14 Pittsburgh win.
Injuries:Pittsburgh 3 probable, 1 Out New Orleans 9 probable, 4 questionable
Prediction:Pittsburgh 26 New Orleans 13
Pittsburgh has won 5 games in a row and they have a few minor injuries while New Orleans has lost 2 in a row with a battered roster. The VooDoo are certainly capable of winning this game, but all signs point to a Maulers win. _________________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia was the last undefeated team, but once they lost, it started becoming a habit. The Bell come in losing 5 of their last 7 games against a Florida team with an impressive resume. The Blazers lost 3 games, all to teams with double digit wins, Washington (14-2), Portland (15-1), and New Jersey (15-1). It's great to see new teams in the post season but Philadelphia has their work cut out for them to defeat the Blazers.
Tony Dean is Mr. January and the Gamblers have the offensive firepower to hang with Portland, so an upset is certainly a possibility. I see defense as being the difference, as the Storm boast the 2nd best defense in the league while the Gamblers defense is 11th. I figure Portland will make 1 more defensive stop, allowing them to win a close game. _________________________________________________________________________________
Memphis can run the ball well and hit big plays in the passing game, and the Showboats are the toughest team to run on. If they make Henderson throw the ball a lot, they should get a couple of INTs, enabling them to control the game flow.
Last Playoff Appearance:Pittsburgh 1992 New Jersey 1992 Playoff Records:Pittsburgh (10-9, 0-1 World Bowl) New Jersey (22-13, 2-4 World Bowl)
Head to Head: New Jersey is 2-1 against Pittsburgh in the playoffs. Pittsburgh defeated New Jersey 30-9 Week 13 of 1992 in their last regular season meeting.
Injuries:Pittsburgh 1 probable, 1 questionable, 1 doubtful, 1 Out New Jersey 3 probable, 1 questionable
Prediction:Generals 27 Maulers 24
New Jersey boasts the league's #1 ranked offense but they haven't cracked 30 points in over a month. This is QB Don Ferguson's 1st ever playoff start, so how will he respond? Pittsburgh doesn't have the most talented roster but they get a lot out of it, as they always seem to have an excellent gameplan. The Maulers also had to deal with 2 very tough division foes, so I expect Pittsburgh to take an early lead, then once Ferguson gets over the jitters, he will find his rhythm and lead a comeback win. _________________________________________________________________________________
Florida Blazers (14-3) @ Washington Federals (14-2)
Last Playoff Appearance:Florida 1992 Washington 1992 Playoff Records:Florida (5-2, 1-0 World Bowl)Washington (8-12, 0-2 World Bowl)
Head to Head: This is the first post season meeting between the teams. Washington defeated Florida 17-13 in Week 9 of this season in their last regular season meeting.
Injuries:Florida 4 probable Washington 6 probable, 1 doubtful
Prediction:Washington 22 Florida 20
Washington QB Scott Bieber had his worst season as a starter, but Robert Trammell and James Dunn help mask a lot of that with their dual threat production out of the backfield. Florida has a pretty good offense themselves and I see them scoring more TDs than Washington but I also see a lot of John Bazile nailing FGs, giving the federals a hard fought win over the Blazers.
Playoff Records:Memphis (24-7, 5-0 World Bowl) Portland (13-9, 2-0 World Bowl) Head to Head: Memphis and Portland have split 4 post season games. Week 2 of this season, Portland defeated Memphis 50-10.
Injuries:Memphis 4 probable Portland 2 probable
Prediction:Portland 23 Memphis 13
The two best teams in the American Conference meet for a chance to play in World Bowl XX. Portland destroyed Memphis back in Week 2, but that was a long time ago and means little to nothing now. Both teams are led by former USFL Champions, and while PrivateSnowflake is a pretty good game planner, Seth seems focused. When he is locked in, his game plans are near impossible to beat, so I give him and the Storm the edge. __________________________________________________________________________________
National Conference Championship
Washington Federals (15-2) @ New Jersey Generals (16-1)
Playoff Records:Washington (9-12, 0-2 World Bowl) New Jersey (23-13, 2-4 World Bowl) Head to Head: Washington and New Jersey have split 2 post season games. Washington won the last regular season meeting 27-9 in Week 12 of 1992.
Injuries:Washington 8 probable, 2 questionable New Jersey 5 probable
Prediction:New Jersey 30 Washington 26
This game could go either way, as we don't know which Scott Bieber we'll see and Don Ferguson has 1 playoff game under his belt. Both offenses feature multiple dual threat RBs and they have probably the 2 best kickers in the league along with Top 5 defenses. I think the difference will be the #1 ranked offense of New Jersey should be able to make 1 more play than Washington, plus they are playing at home. _________________________________________________________________________________
Either way these games go, I'm on record now as saying I will be picking the winner of Memphis/Portland to beat the winner of Washington/New Jersey in World Bowl XX. I will hope I'm wrong even if I'm not playing because the American Conference is a whopping 16-3 in World Bowls. Florida won World Bowl I and New Jersey won World Bowls VIII and X and that's it for the National Conference.
I stated before the Conference Championship games I would pick whomever won between Memphis and Portland. Nothing has changed my mind, so here we are. I expect Portland to control the game, although they might struggle early and I don't see Bieber having a great game, which Washington will likely need if they are to pull off the upset.
