NFL Computerized Power Ranks: Conference Championships

It seems like a long time ago, but 2 weeks ago the 49ers and Ravens earned their tickets to New Orleans by each winning their respective conference championship games on the road.  The Niners were favored to beat Atlanta while the Ravens were massive underdogs and put down the Patriots, much to most of America’s delight.

The win by the Ravens moved them up 2 spots to #4, while knocking New England back to #2.  That cleared the way for the 49ers to jump 3 spots up to #1 (and knocked Atlanta down to #6).  Also, In a fun power rank quirk, the Steelers passed Tampa for #21.

So that leads to the Super Bowl Prediction:

#1 49ers over #4 Ravens

Yes, the Niners are the pick.  I’ve said many times on this site and previous sites that they are my favorite team, so I’ll admit I’m pretty excited.  Throughout the regular season, the 49ers were the better team, even before Kaepernick became the starter, and they came from a conference that was clearly stronger all season.  However, the Ravens appear to be the team of destiny, rallying behind Ray Lewis, bizarre deer antler-based spray and all.  But from a matchup point of view, I think the Niners have a pretty big edge.   I think the playoffs have fooled some people into thinking these teams are more evenly matched. The 49ers offense seems to be going downhill, but in their past 5 games they have faced the Patriots, Seahawks when they were at their hottest, Packers, and Falcons, which are all better offenses than the Ravens.  Also, the Ravens run defense really struggled this year, but this was masked by them facing all run, no pass teams in the playoffs.  Vic Ballard, Knowshon Moreno, and the random Patriots running back of the week are not Frank Gore, LaMichael James, and the running aspect of Kaepernick.  So on paper, it looks like the Niners should take this, but who knows, the NFL is crazy and loves crazy storylines.

Full Ranks: