This has been the offseason of the NFC West. If the Cincinnati Bengals have emerged as a trendy team to make some playoff noise, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have emerged as the trendy picks as the two best teams in the NFL.
That conventional wisdom was reflected in the latest "Predict The Season" results on NFL.com. We've been letting America decide how you think the 2013 season will play out, and we've reached the Conference Championship Weekend. The Seahawks and 49ers are the two teams left standing in the NFC, while the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots are left in the AFC.
Conventional wisdom is a dangerous thing, and history suggests that both the 49ers and Seahawks won't be repeating their fantastic seasons from a year ago. I want to say all the power rankings that put the 49ers and the Seahawks are on top are silly, but when push comes to shove I just can't imagine either team not making the playoffs.
That's the beauty of the NFL season. All sorts of things we can't imagine happen every year. It's impossible to predict the season, but that won't stop us from trying. Voting on the Conference title games continues until Thursday.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
