Initial Peek at N.F.C. Playoff Matchups
By JUDY BATTISTA
PHILADELPHIA (wild card, 6th seed) at DALLAS (East champion, 3rd seed)
The old saying in the N.F.L. is that it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. Well, maybe not. The Steelers did it to the Ravens last year, after all, and after Sunday’s domination of the Eagles to win the division, the Cowboys seem primed to do it this season. Despite Dallas’s three-game winning streak to end the regular season, the December doubts will not be put to rest unless the Cowboys win this game. Given how they overwhelmed the Eagles on both sides of the ball Sunday — there was a noticeable lack of energy and execution by Philadelphia — the question is how quickly the Eagles can correct that. One big thing they should begin with is to bring pressure on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo from the start, not simply drop into coverage. That may not be possible if the Dallas offensive line, one of the best in the N.F.L., plays the way it did Sunday in dominating the Eagles and opening huge holes for the running game. The Eagles had won six in a row before the regular-season finale, but the victory total comes with a daunting addendum: they did not beat a playoff team all season.
Player to watch With DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia’s offense has become centered on big plays, but quarterback Donovan McNabb had little timing against the Cowboys on Sunday.
GREEN BAY (wild card, 5th seed) at ARIZONA (West champion, 4th seed)
Will the Packers’ blowout victory in a meaningless game Sunday have any lingering psychological effect on the Cardinals? Probably not. One may think this shapes up as Arizona’s Kurt Warner against Green Bay’s second-ranked defense (entering Sunday’s games). Maybe. The Cardinals’ running game improved late in the season, but the Packers have the league’s top-ranked run defense. Thanks, Beanie Wells, but we’ll see you next season. The Cardinals will go only as far as Warner, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald take them, which isn’t so bad considering how far that got them last year. The Cardinals are a far more complete, confident team than the one that stunned the N.F.L. with its run to the Super Bowl, but the Packers’ offense in the second year of life A.B. (After Brett) has blossomed with Aaron Rodgers. The offensive line is playing better, and Greg Jennings and Donald Driver are suitable deep threats. Looming on the horizon with a Packers victory: a divisional-round Armageddon matchup with the Vikings if the Eagles beat the Cowboys.
Player to Watch Charles Woodson, the Packers’ superb cornerback, who is a leading contender for defensive player of the year. He will cover Fitzgerald, but the rest of the secondary, without the injured Al Harris, may be vulnerable, especially because Boldin has had success in recent weeks finding holes in zones.
HAVE EARNED A BYE
NEW ORLEANS (South champions, 1st seed)
Did the Saints peak when they demolished the Patriots on Nov. 30? They have three straight losses entering the playoffs, and their run defense is being scorched. The good news is the bye will help them get a lot of players healthy.
MINNESOTA (North champions, 2nd seed)
How much stock should be put in the blowout win over the mailing-it-in Giants? The Vikings’ defense faded in the last month after linebacker E.J. Henderson sustained a season-ending broken leg. A week off will help 40-year-old Brett Favre, and perhaps give him and Coach Brad Childress time to hug it out. The football world will come to a standstill if they play the Packers in the divisional round.