Yesterday’s games brought a couple of big surprises, and one of the best playoff games in NFL history.  Baltimore fought and clawed its way to a double-OT win in Denver over the Broncos, but not without some questionable decisions by Denver head coach John Fox and a rookie mistake by Peyton Manning in the second OT.  In the second game, Colin Kaepernick made San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh look like a genius as the 49ers ran all over the Green Bay Packers.

After going 3-1 in the first weekend of the playoffs, I’m now back to .500 at 3-3.  Maybe I can improve my weekend score with these picks:

• Seahawks at Falcons (1 pm ET, Fox) – Seattle won on the road last week against the Redskins, but they won’t have the same kind of opponent today.  Atlanta has had a week to rest, has no significant injuries at the money positions, and have a 7-1 record at home, while Seattle had a losing road record during the regular season at 3-5.  For some reason, the Falcons are only three-point favorites, according to ESPN, but it’s not going to be that close.  Falcons 33 – 21 over the Seahawks.
• Texans at Patriots (4:30 pm, CBS) – Both of these teams had their ups and downs during the season, but their 12-4 records are almost opposites.  The Pats lost two of their first three games but have only lost once in the last ten weeks of the regular season.  Houston lost three of their last four, all to playoff-bound teams, including an embarrassing 42-14 loss in New England.  This game should be closer, but the outcome won’t change.  New England wins 35-20 over Houston.