And then, there were four.

The Conference Championship games have been set and we have a final four teams battling it out to be the Super Bowl 47 Champions. In the AFC we have a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots. It's also a rematch of a game from earlier this season that had a dramatic ending. Over in the NFC we get to see the top 2 seeds, the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons. Colin Kaepernick certainly justified Jim Harbaugh's decision to make him the starting QB with what was one of the most dominant performances ever in the playoffs by a QB while the Falcons finally got the monkey off their backs by winning a playoff game.

Both games are sure to be entertaining and exciting. There's plenty of drama to be had in both. And now that we know these two matchups, the simulations have been run and our fantasy football software analyzer has predicted the outcomes. At the beginning of the playoffs, it had originally predicted a Denver victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 47. Now that both of those teams have been eliminated (both in dramatic finishes last week where either could have won), it has a new prediction.

We start with the Conference Championship games.


San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons

While it appears the popular media has made the 49ers the winner before the game has been played, our Power Analyzer fantasy football software sees it a little differently. While the Green Bay Packers were shredded by the rushing abilities of Colin Kaepernick and the receiving of Michael Crabtree, the Falcons defense is projected to do a little bit better at keeping the 49ers out of the end zone. Kaepernick will throw for about 278 yards, and run for another 61, but only get 1 passing TD (to Crabtree who is projected for 136 receiving yards) to go with a 50/50 chance of a rushing TD. Frank Gore stands a better chance of getting into the end zone and Gore and the 49ers are projected to have 158 rushing yards as a team. Conversely, the 49ers are expected to struggle preventing the Falcons WR duo of Julio Jones and Roddy White from reaching the end zone once each. Matt Ryan is slated to throw for 275 yards and 2-3 TD's and while the Falcons rushing attack will struggle (only a projected 87 rushing yards as a team), Michael Turner has an above average chance of getting into the end zone. In the end, homefield advantage will mean something as the Falcons under Matt Ryan rarely lose at home.

Analyzer Prediction: Atlanta 27, San Francisco 23.  


Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

Back in week 3 the Ravens escaped New England with a thrilling 31-30 victory. In that game Joe Flacco and Torrey Smith were unstoppable leading the Ravens to the win. Once again, the Analyzer software sees it a bit different this time around. While Flacco will get close to 300 passing yards and throw 2 TD's (most likely to Smith and TE Dennis Pitta), it appears that turnovers will be the undoing of the Ravens. They'll only have two, but the Patriots will have none and while the yardage projections for both teams are very close (Patriots 307 pass yards and 130 rush yards; Ravens 286 pass yards, 121 rush yards), and the passing TD's the same (both QB's projected for 2 each), the final score in this game will come do to the Patriots having 2 rushing TD's compared to the Ravens 1.  Ray Lewis' storied career ends without a second Super Bowl appearance.

Analyzer Prediction: New England 28, Baltimore 21


SUPER BOWL XLVII

Which brings us to the grandest stage in the NFL where our software is predicting the Matt Ryan and Atlanta Falcons will square off against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots making their 6th appearance in the big game. Likely, the point spread for this matchup would be heavily in favor of the Patriots. But our software is projecting the game to be decided by only a single point. Also, while likely this matchup would have a very high over/under, it sees the combined score being less than 50. Tom Brady will throw for 372 yards, but only get 1 TD. Matt Ryan meanwhile will have 296 passing yards and throw for 2 TD's. But he'll also throw an interception, and the Falcons have a low probability of scoring a rushing TD. Conversely, the Patriots are projected to score 2 rushing TD's. The difference in this game will be the Falcons settling for FG's instead of TD's when the opportunities arise more often than not. With 9 receptions for 109 yards and as good a chance as anyone on the Patriots catching Brady's lone TD pass, it won't be a surprise if Wes Welker is named MVP.

Analyzer Prediction for Super Bowl 47: New England 24, Atlanta, 23.