After an excellent Wild Card Weekend, the NFL playoffs only get better with the divisional round. The next slate of playoff games boast four excellent games (well, maybe three excellent games and one potential disaster, starring the Arizona Cardinals), and no game has a clear-cut favorite (except maybe the one in Carolina). If classes are already cutting into your schedule, read on to get our breakdown of this weekend’s NFL action.
Saturday, Jan. 10
Baltimore Ravens (11-5) at Tennessee Titans (13-3), 3:30 p.m. CST on CBS
Hope you like defensive slugfests. Baltimore and Tennessee rank second and third respectively in overall AFC defense, and both teams have reached this point mostly because of their fierce defensive play. Expect a lot of field goals.
How the Ravens can win: Baltimore beat-down on Miami by recording five turnovers against the Dolphins, and if they hope to advance to the AFC Championship Game, they’ll need a repeat pick performance. Thankfully, they have just the player to make it happen: safety Ed Reed, the league leader in interceptions, who picked off the Dolphins twice last Sunday. If the Ravens’ famously fierce defense can put the pressure on Tennessee’s offense, it will be up to rookie QB Joe Flacco to avoid bumbling the game away. Flacco avoided rookie mistakes against the Dolphins, playing a solid enough game, and he’ll need to do it again to beat the Titans.
How the Titans can win: Flacco looked good against the Dolphins, but this Titans defense far surpasses anything Miami brought to the table in the Wild Card round. Tennessee must put pressure on the young play caller and make him look like the 18th overall pick he is. Meanwhile, Kerry Collins will have to avoid flashbacks to Super Bowl XXV (when the Ravens ripped Collins and his New York Giants to shreds) and try to learn from his experiences against Baltimore’s defense.
Prediction: It comes down to which QB can rise to the occasion against a tough defense, and you have to go with the veteran in this situation, even if the veteran is Kerry Collins. 13-7, Titans
Arizona Cardinals (9-7) at Carolina Panthers (12-4), 7:15 p.m. CST on FOX
Scary thought: this might be Arizona’s best chance at reaching the Super Bowl… ever. Kurt Warner isn’t getting any younger, and backup Matt Leinart has appeared more on thedirty.com than the field. Running back Edgerrin James has said he won’t return to the team next year. And though the Cardinals play in the worst division in football, San Francisco is getting better and Seattle could turn it around next year, especially if the sports gods have mercy on the Emerald City. So, in other words, the Cards better take advantage of the small window they have.
How the Cardinals can win – Well, it is possible. If receiver Larry Fitzgerald continues to make acrobatic catches such as the one he made last week that gave the Cardinals an early 6-0 lead, if Anquan Boldin returns healthy after injuring his hamstring, and if Edgerrin James is so motivated to get himself a big lucrative contract in the offseason that even the Panthers can’t stop him from gaining 150 yards, well, the Cards just could win. Other than that, Arizona residents might want to start the count down to spring training.
How the Panthers can win – The Cardinals capitalized on the shakiness of a young Atlanta squad, but the Panthers won’t be as vulnerable. If Carolina shows up with the offense and defense they used in the regular season to capture the NFC South title, they’ll trounce Arizona. Even the Giants could not stop running back DeAngelo Williams so don’t expect the Cardinals to suddenly be able to. The Cardinals also won’t be able to keep up with QB Jake Delhomme or wide receiver Steve Smith, who both know how to win in the postseason.
Prediction: If this were 2002, Warner, James and these Cardinals would be unstoppable. Shame they are seven years late. 28-10, Panthers
Sunday, Jan. 11
Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1) at New York Giants (12-4), 12 p.m. CST on FOX
Thank goodness the Colts got bounced out of the playoffs last weekend, erasing all chances of a Manning-Manning Super Bowl. Can you imagine the endless hype that would get? Sportscenter would become unwatchable. Archie Manning’s face would be plastered everywhere. The world would be subjected to this video on loop. Everyone be extra thankful for Indy’s horrid defense.
How the Eagles can win – It’s tough to draw up a strategy for Philly, since you never know which version of the team will show up on the field. Will you get the version that shellacked the Cowboys 44-6, or the version that tied with the Bengals, got blown out by the Ravens, and lost to the Redskins twice? If the Eagles had a shred of consistency, it would be a lot easier to have some faith in them in this game. But, this team could implode at any given moment. Now, if I were Andy Reid, I would rush Brian Westbrook down the Giants’ throat, giving Donovan McNabb the opportunity to hurt them with the play action. But, knowing Andy Reid, he’ll lob the ball up 90 percent of the time and hope for a repeat of week ten’s win.
How the Giants can win – Eli Manning needs to play like the Eli Manning of the first half of the season. The boy wonder has been in a slight slump heading into the end of the season, and the Giants’ chances of repeating as champs hinge on his performance. He doesn’t necessarily need a great game to beat the Eagles, but he can’t continue putting up the numbers he did heading into the playoffs.
Prediction: Giants avoid any nasty surprises, host the NFC Championship Game. 35-24, Giants
San Diego Chargers (8-8) at Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
Here’s your game of the week – straight to the breakdown.
How the Chargers can win – LaDainian Tomlinson will probably miss this game, but ask any fantasy owner with the first pick in their league draft if this will actually mean anything to San Diego. Backup running back Darren Sproles outshined LT in the Chargers’ upset win against Indianapolis, racking up 328 total yards of offense. What San Diego needs to worry about is the weather. Early forecasts predict the high on game day will be 19 degrees, just a little bit colder than what the Chargers are used to. San Diego has mixed results in the cold – they lost to the Steelers 11-10 during a snowy regular season game, but squeaked out a one-point victory in 20-degree weather against the Kansas City Chiefs.
How the Steelers can win – Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion in the final regular season game of the season against the Cleveland Browns, throwing his health into question for this game. Reports indicate Big Ben will get the start Sunday, and if that holds up, the Steelers’ biggest concern will be slowing down San Diego’s red-hot offense (especially the explosive Darren Sproles). The cold conditions will help, but the game will rest on their ability to stamp out the Chargers’ offense.
Prediction – So tough to call… the Steelers have proven themselves countless times all season, have the home field advantage and the weather should be on their side. But no team is hotter right now than the Chargers, who knocked off a lot of folks’ AFC pick in the Colts. This is going to be an awesome game, one that comes down to the wire – and this time, it will be the ‘Bolts nailing the game-winner. 17-14, Chargers