NFC Wild Card Round

With the NFL's Week 17 behind us, the playoff seedings have been determined. Strangely, both NFC Wild Card games are rematches of Week 17. On Sunday, the Cardinals hosted the Packers and the Eagles paid a visit to Cowboys Stadium to face Dallas. The same will occur next weekend.

Green Bay, winners of six of their last seven, came to Glendale clicking on all cylinders and scored touchdowns on their first two possessions. By halftime, the Packers had jumped to 26-0 lead, thanks to a safety early in the second quarter. In Arizona's defense, they removed some of their key players early on while Packers coach Mike McCarthy decided to let his starters play the majority of the game. Both teams lost Pro Bowl cornerbacks as Charles Woodson and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie left the game in the first half. Both are expected to be in the lineup next week. Anquan Boldin and Calais Campbell also sustained injuries of unknown severity.

Although the Packers walked all over Arizona, outgaining them 345-187, this game should NOT be any indication of next week's showdown. The only stat worth mentioning from today's action would be in the interception column. Cardinals backup Matt Leinart threw two interceptions and had an additional one negated by the second quarter safety. Brian St. Pierre also saw action for Arizona, completing two of his four passes with a pick. Green Bay backup Matt Flynn threw an interception on one of his three attempts to finish with a QB rating of 2.8. Should anything happen to either starter, the fallout would dramatic, especially if the Cards are without Boldin.

The Packers bring the NFL's fifth-ranked offense to Glendale next week to face Arizona's defense, ranked 20th. Green Bay, owners of the #2 defense, should be back to full strength with Woodson in the lineup. Aaron Rodgers and Co. will be too much for Ken Whisenhunt's Cardinals to handle.

Prediction: GB 24 ARI 17

The media has long been critical of the Cowboys' late-season play, particularly that of QB Tony Romo. After back-to-back losses in early December, it seemed as though they were entering their annual recession. A victory against the then undefeated New Orleans Saints was followed by two consecutive defensive shutouts, a franchise first. Sunday's win marked the first time the Cowboys have had a post-December winning record since 1996, the year of their last playoff victory.

Playing the majority of the game against the Eagles' starters, Romo completed 70% of his passes and threw for over 300 yards. Marion Barber III and Felix Jones each received over a dozen carries and averaged 6.5 and 6.1 yards per carry, respectively. The defense gave the famed Cowboys cheerleaders plenty to cheer about, sacking Donovan McNabb four times and forcing two fumbles.

Although the Eagles had won six straight coming into Sunday's game, Dallas is the hot team. Strong showings on both sides of the ball led to this 24-0 blowout, the only time Philly has scored less than nine points this season. Playing in Cowboys Stadium, where over 100,000 fans attended Sunday's game, should give Dallas the edge.

Prediction: DAL 20 PHI 13