Alright, the last Sunday of the 2008 NFL regular season shows us all why you can’t look too far ahead or assume anything. The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t need a Christmas miracle to earn a playoff spot, they needed more than that. In the AFC the 11-5 New England Patriots would scare anyone they played in the playoffs, but luckily for those other contenders they won’t have to worry about the Pats, as they are on the outside looking in. We could spend all day analyzing it, breaking it down, playing the “what-if” game, but what is the point? We know the matchups for next weekend…so let’s just take a look at them, shall we?
Saturday – 4:30 ET – NBC - Atlanta at Arizona
Traditionally, these are two of the worst franchises in the league. Nobody picked the Falcons to even sniff the playoffs, and NFL pundits were slow to jump on the Cardinals bandwagon in the preseason after numerous letdowns in recent years. But, rookie QB Matt Ryan sparked a revolution in Atlanta, while grizzled veteran QB Kurt Warner had some considering him as the NFL MVP for a good part of the season. These two signal callers lead solid offensive attacks, so this one could come down to the details. Give the defensive nod to the Falcons, but the Cardinals have the advantage of playing at home. This will likely be a fourth quarter game, so consider the following stats. Arizona won a division where the other teams are a combined 13-35, with 7-9 San Francisco as the only other decent team. Atlanta finished second in a division that saw its other three teams post a 29-19 mark, while all finished .500 or better. For this reason I say the Falcons pull out a big road win late, 27-23.
Saturday – 8:00 ET – NBC – Indianapolis at San Diego
One month ago the Chargers were 4-8, now they are division champs hosting a playoff game. They did show us something in December, and put an exclamation point on it with a 52-21 pasting of the Broncos for the AFC West title. They come into the wildcard weekend with the most confidence that an 8-8 team can have, and they draw a Colts team that they have tortured in the past. The Colts did get a narrow win at San Diego in week 12, but you have to think that for Tony Dungy and his team this is the last team they wanted to draw. You could argue that these are the NFL’s two hottest teams, the Chargers with their late season push where they have played the kind of football that everyone expected from them before the year started. Then you have the Colts, who have reeled off nine wins in a row after a 3-4 start. These teams are a great match for each other and I expect that it will be the best game of the wildcard weekend. We like the Colts to exercise their Chargers playoff demons, 31-26.
You could argue that Arizona taking on Atlanta is a huge surprise as a playoff matchup, but Baltimore taking on Miami is even more shocking to me considering where these teams seemed to be at heading into the 2008 season. Baltimore looked old and slow at the end of the 2007 season, then they handed the team over to a rookie quarterback from Delaware. I don’t know what everyone else thought, but that reeks of rebuilding to me. But Joe Flacco proved to be a very good rookie quarterback, one that would have gotten much more attention had it not been for the stellar play of fellow rookie Matt Ryan. They found a dynamic backfield duo in RB Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain, and their defense continues to be one of the best in the league. As for the Dolphins, QB Chad Pennington was the roster casualty for the Jets after they signed Brett Favre. So Pennington went to Miami and had a career year. The Dolphins also used a two-headed running back monster with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, and even let those guys line up at quarterback in the latest formation to sweep the NFL nation, the Wildcat. It is a great story for both of these teams just to be here, but one will take another step and continue their dream. We finally pick a home team, Dolphins 20-13.
Sunday – 4:30 ET – Fox – Philadelphia at Minnesota
Philadelphia picks up a lot of momentum heading into this one. Everything fell into place for them during the early games this past Sunday. They got the losses they needed from the Bears and Bucs, which set up a win or stay home showdown with the Cowboys. The Eagles answered the bell, the Cowboys…well…did not. Now a Philly team that was in complete disarray during the middle of the season looks dangerous all of a sudden. Minnesota got some last second heroics from kicker Ryan Longwell as he nailed a 50-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Giants and give the Vikings the NFC North crown. However, you can already see the Vikings getting brushed aside as far as media attention is concerned. The Eagles, because of how they beat Dallas, are getting all the headlines. It goes against a lot of my logic to pick a team led by Tavaris Jackson against a Jim Johnson defense in the playoffs, but I don’t like all of the attention the Eagles are getting…Vikings win it 27-21.
2 Minute Warning 
