Who will win today? Our expert predictions
Mike Imrem: Bears 20, Packers 19
Base this on Martz stumping Capers, Peppers jumping Rodgers, Lovie dumping McCarthy, Papa Bear bumping Lombardi ... and most of all my heart trumping my head.
Jets 21, Steelers 17Yes, yes, this means New York, New York, but the Super Bowl has gone antiseptic and needs Crazy Rex and his wacky Jets to provide some flavor.
Barry Rozner: Bears 20, Packers 19
Aaron Rodgers walks up and down the field on Bears' defense, which bends but ultimately doesn't break. Devin Hester returns second-half kickoff for TD, and Charles Tillman strips the ball on Packers' final drive to preserve victory.
Steelers 21, Jets 17New York run comes to an end as Pittsburgh pounds Mark Sanchez to the tune of 4 sacks and 2 picks. Ben Roethlisberger leads second-half comeback with 2 TD throws, but Troy Polamalu is again Steelers' MVP as has 2 stuffs, 2 PDs and an INT.
Bob LeGere: Packers 23, Bears 17
The Packers can't be as good as they looked vs. the Falcons, but
they're still pretty good. A Devin Hester return TD could fuel a Bears
upset.
Jets 19, Steelers 16If they play half as well as coach Rex Ryan talks, and QB Mark Sanchez stays hot, the Jets return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 42 years.
Lindsey Willhite: Packers 24, Bears 20
Aaron Rodgers is on a roll almost unprecedented in NFL playoff history. He won't quite maintain that brilliance Sunday, but he'll be close enough to squeeze out the Packers' third road win in as many weeks.
Steelers 20, Jets 17I understand the Jets already own two impressive road wins, but I like the Steelers' defense (in combination with RB Rashard Mendenhall) to control this game and earn the franchise's eighth Super Bowl bid.
Joe Aguilar: Bears 17, Packers 14
Calvin Johnson's no-TD catch. A concussed Jay Cutler means that (gulp) Todd Collins has to start --- against hapless Carolina. Three other wins against third-string QBs. A home playoff game against a team with a losing record. The Bears will find a way. Robbie Gould is the hero.
Jets 20, Steelers 13If the Bears are destined, so are the Jets. Sound-bite machine Rex Ryan in the Super Bowl against the franchise that, 25 years ago, wreaked havoc with his daddy's 46 defense and won its only Super Bowl? If the Jets can take down Tom Brady, they can also topple the building that is Ben Roethlisberger.
John Dietz: Packers 27, Bears 20
This game boils down to one thing: Can the Bears keep Aaron Rodgers from getting the ball to WRs Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and James Jones? If Julius Peppers, Israel Idonije, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs bring the heat, the Bears will prevent that from happening and will pull this one out. Says here it doesn't happen as Rodgers throws the game-winner with a minute to go.
Steelers 17, Jets 13The first time these two teams met, the Jets returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and won 22-17. This time, the Steelers clamp down on New York's running game, and Troy Polamalu makes a key fourth-quarter interception to seal the Steelers' trip to Dallas.
Mike Spellman: Bears 26, Packers 21
Since it's going to be a close one, we'll go with the number of players each team has in the Hall of Fame as the final score. Sounds about perfect.
Jets 14, Steelers 13
Jet QB Mark Sanchez has been a road warrior in the playoffs plus Rex Ryan has been a little too quiet this week #8230; he's got something up his sleeve.