Philadelphia at Arizona

In this unlikely matchup, the #4 seed Cardinals host the #6 Eagles, who benefit from the choke jobs by the Bucs (and now-fired coach Gruden) and the Bears (and D-coordinator on Sundays only Lovie Smith) to slide into the last playoff spot.  Goes to show, anything can happen if you can get into the playoffs.

Last meeting: The Eagles spoiled the Cardinals’ Thanksgiving with a 48-20 beatdown in Philly.  Philly was coming off the humbling loss to the Ravens in which Donovan McNabb was benched and the Eagles’ season appeared to be on life support.  Aside from stubbing their toe in Week 16 vs the Redskins, the Eagles have been perfect since.  McNabb rebounded with 4 TD against the Cards and been on a run ever since.

Breakdown: Philly comes in with the hot hand, while Arizona rides the momentum of two surprising wins and now a home playoff game.  Boldin’s hamstring injury could prove costly as the Cards need all the help they can get.   Look for Eagles D-coordinator Jimmy Johnson make Kurt Warner’s life miserable.  This is the 5th NFC Championship for Andy Reid’s squad and that experience will prove valuable versus the surprising Cardinals.

Key matchup: Arizona Run Defense vs Brian Westbrook

Prediction: The Cardinals get the home field, but that is where the advantage ends.  With McNabb at the top of his game, the Eagles soar to another Super Bowl.

Eagles 31- 21

Baltimore at Pittsburgh

Put the women and children to bed; this one’s not for the faint of heart as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens strap ‘em up for the third time this season.

Last meeting: The Steelers edged the Ravens 23-20 back in September and barely nipped them again in Week 15 on a controversial call where the leading TD crossed the plane of the end zone by thismuch.

Breakdown: The Ravens haven’t had a BYE since Week 2 and have been road warriors so far throughout the playoffs.  They follow the same formula as they had back in 2000, winning with defense and just enough offense from Joe Flacco to get the job done.  Pittsburgh’s defense is firing on all cylinders and have the experience in their corner.  Big Ben has been sharp and Willie Parker looks fresh after sitting a few weeks with injury.  The Ravens come in banged up with Terrell Suggs questionable and Samari Rolle doubtful while the Steelers look relatively healthy.

Key matchup: Baltimore pass defense vs Ben Roethlisberger

Prediction: With such a tight matchup, I’ll take the healthier, more rested team.  Pennsylvania Bowl, here we come.

Steelers 13-9

Since the Beloved Bears will be enjoying the playoffs from the same vantage point as your truly, I figured I’d write about teams with something to play for this weekend.  It’s rare to see Wild Card Weekend where all of the home teams are underdogs, but it says something about the quality of some of the division winners and the Wild Card teams.

Philadelphia at Minnesota

Donovan McNabb leads the Eagles into Minnesota to battle the Vikings after an unlikely series of events capped by the Bears loss to the Texans and Tampa Bay’s loss to Oakland.  Philly ranks among the top ten in the league in both offense and defense.  Their balance should be a huge asset along with McNabb’s playoff experience.  On the other sideline, Tarvaris Jackson’s lack of experience and Adrian Peterson’s recent bout of fumblitis seem to bring the Vikings into the game outmatched.  The good news for Viking fans is that unless they sell the remaining 3100 playoff tickets, they may not have to watch their team get beat on local TV.

Eagles 24 – 20

Atlanta at Arizona

The worst to first Falcons head into Arizona in the Bird Bowl.  Everyone is really down on the Cards as they limped to the finish line after clinching the NFC West, losing two out of the last three games.  Cardinal fans should be pumped up for the first home playoff game since they moved to Arizona, but instead, they barely sold out University of Phoenix Stadium earlier today.  When considering this game, I look at the quarterback position.  I like experienced Kurt Warner over Offensive Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan, so I’ll go against the grain and take the Cards to pull the home upset.

Cardinals 28-26

Indianapolis at San Diego

Newly crowned NFL MVP Peyton Manning leads the Colts to San Diego for another playoff matchup with the Chargers.  The Colts won in San Diego earlier this season, winning 23-20 back in November.  San Diego’s Ladanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates are banged up and I don’t think Phillip Rivers has enough weapons without those two at full strength.  Look for Indy to avenge last year’s home playoff loss against San Diego with a win this weekend.

Colts 31-20

Baltimore at Miami

The most unlikely playoff matchup features another worst to first team in the Miami Dolphins, the AFC East Champs hosting the Baltimore Ravens.  It’s ironic that Miami’s lone victory in the 2007 season was against these same Baltimore Ravens, who finished 5-11 last season.  Both teams had a huge turnaround in ’08.  The Ravens did it with old faithful, the stellar defense and rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.   Meanwhile, the Dolphins matched the greatest single season turnaround in history as the Wildcat offense took the league by storm.  The Ravens beat the Phins back in October, but I like the Dolphins for the same reason as I picked the Falcons – experienced quarterback over rookie.  Look for Miami to pull the upset.

Dolphins 23-22

Did I miss the boat?  Which team did I underestimate?  Post your picks in the Comments section.  We’ll re-visit this next week for the Divisional Round action.