Settling Conference Scores…Who Y’a Got?

Hailing a cab to Pittsburgh, it's Mark Sanchez! (Getty Images)

Only a little part of me will be glad to have my Sunday nights back (that means I might actually file my posts on time!) I mean, really, has the football not been superb these last two weekends?

Saturday’s NFL Divisional matchups saw the Steelers topple the Ravens 31-24, while Green Bay annihilated the Falcons 48-21.

Then came Sunday. We figured the Seahawks wouldn’t stand a chance against the Bears, and while they put up a fight the end result was as predicted: Chicago over Seattle 35-24.

But did you think for a minute…that the Patriots would fall to Rex Ryan’s Jets? Oh, the drama, the vitriol, the stupid hair, the gentle musings of one Bart Scott (please do yourself a favour and watch the video clip!)

Get’cha popcorn ready for Sunday and join me, Games Mistress and CuteSports after the jump for our NFL Conference Showdown predictions…plus a chance for you to vote for your NFL Conference Championship picks.

To be fair, we should show the Bears some love. Here's Kellen Davis. (Getty Images)

NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

3:00PM ET (FOX, CTV)

Lady Bee: This is an unprecedented NFC North matchup: neither team has ever met face-to-face and helmet-to-helmet for the conference title. It has the earmarks of a classic matchup, but will it live up to the hype? The Packers have been red hot, but Chicago’s stifling defense worries me. CuteSports agrees, no?

CuteSports: As a Packer fan, I’m not thrilled about playing the Bears. When it comes to rivalries as old as this one, it’s not as simple as who is the better team. I love how well the Packers have been playing and I think they can win, but you never know what can happen in a Bears/Packers game. Aaron Rodgers was so effective against Atlanta due to his ability to hit some pinpoint passes. I don’t think he’ll be able to do that as effectively in the cold in Chicago. Footing was a huge issue in the Bears/Seahawks game and though they seem to have found a running game recently, the Packers have had problems on the ground all season and the likely-sloppy conditions aren’t going to help.

One of the Packers biggest negatives is Special Teams. They’re going to have to hope they can keep Devin Hester in check and not give the Bears a short field the whole game. That being said, the Packers are going to be UP for this game. Cutler managed a whole games against the Seahawks without being Jay Cutler and I can’t imagine that will last for another 60 minutes, especially against the Packers secondary.

Games Mistress: I also think Packers-Bears will be a great game.  The Bears defense looked good Sunday (against a Seahawks team that seemed like they deflated pretty quickly when things didn’t come as easy as they did against the Saints), but if the Jets can score 34 points on that defense, I think Aaron Rodgers might be able to get a few touchdowns.

Lady Bee: And to bring it back down to a superficial level, can we all agree that Brian Urlacher should not be wearing sleeveless white mock turtlenecks at post-game newsers? Ugh. Dude, you can do so much better!

Brett Keisel's beard will haunt my dreams (Getty Images)

AFC Championship: New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers

6:30 PM ET (CBS, CTV)

Lady Bee: I truly hope that Sunday night’s tilt against New England was not the Super Bowl for the jacked up Jets. They were ON for that game, but can they keep the momentum rolling in Pittsburgh…I mean, besides Bart Scott? Let’s ask the Girl with the Prettiest Green Nails in New York (not a new book by that author).

Games Mistress: My biggest worry about the Jets-Steelers is that the Jets spent so much time psyching themselves up for Jets-Pats that they’ve spent all their energy.  No, wait, my biggest worry might be that we’re now without Brad Smith and the Steelers will have Polamalu back. And that the Jets haven’t had a great track record with beating teams 2 consecutive times in a season. But if I have learned nothing else from this football season, it’s to absolutely never count the Jets out until the game clock hits 0:00.

Lady Bee: Word, GM. Polamalu frightens me with his mad skills. But I have a lot more faith in Sanchez than I would have expected I’d have for the young quarterback, and the Jets D can be damn suffocating as well. Now what do you think?

I might as well put it out there: I’m calling a Chicago-NY Super Bowl. Of course my heart wants a GB-NY Super Bowl, which would be exciting but also cause massive friction between Mr. Bee and I for several weeks. But remember I suck at predictions. I will tell you this: none of these guys will be playing like Betty White this weekend. Well…maybe Cutler.

You knew it was her birthday Monday, right? I know the Snickers ad is more appropriate, but this is way more fun: