Pick ‘Em: Let’s Break Down The NFC Wild Card Week Contests

Playoff time is finally here. From 32 teams in September we’re down to just 12, following 17 weeks of football in which we saw some teams never live up to their potential (Bengals, Cowboys), other teams soar high only to fall back to earth with a harsh thud (Jets, Bills) and at least one team flat out embarrass itself (Lions).
It may be easy to forget, but some teams actually played well this year, and in fact exceeded expectations quite heavily. We call them playoff teams. And since many of you are gonna be way too hung over/drunk/still partying/engulfed in college football to read any of this after New Year’s Day, we’re going to have contributing editor John DeSio bring you his playoff picks early.
Up first: the NFC.

6. Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1) at 3. Minnesota Vikings (10-6)
Unless you’re a die-hard Minnesota Viking fan, you would be hard pressed to definitively answer the question, “What makes the Vikings that much better than the Eagles?” The answer is nothing. Yes, the Vikes did beat a best in the NFC New York Giant squad to get to the playoffs. But Big Blue, having already clinched home field advantage throughout, had nothing to play for on Sunday, and put the game in cruise control for the second half.
In contrast, the Philadelphia Eagles throttled a quite overrated Dallas Cowboy team, led by the most overrated QB in the league, Tony Romo, to grab a stronghold of the final NFC Wild Card spot. Thanks to that, we get a matchup between two QB’s that were benched for others at some point this season, Tavaris Jackson of the Vikings and Donovan McNabb of the Eagles.
If this was being played on a neutral field, or in Philly, there’d be no doubt that the pundits would back the Eagles. But since we’re heading to Minnesota, we’ll hear a bunch about what “home field in the playoffs” means to teams. Horsepucky. Would you trust Jackson over McNabb in a playoff game? You might someday, but not this weekend. Look for the Eagles to win by double-digits. Pick: Philadelphia
5. Atlanta Falcons (11-5) at 4. Arizona Cardinals (9-7)
It looks like we won’t be seeing a home win anywhere in the NFC this weekend. Sure, Arizona won its division while Atlanta did not. But the Cardinals simply lorded over the worst division in the NFC, if not the NFL. In contrast, Atlanta was just one Carolina loss away from holding the #2 seed.
This is an easy pick. If you’ve seen Arizona play, you know they can’t be trusted to come through, despite the superhuman effort of Kurt Warner this season. If there is any downside to the Falcons progressing through the playoffs, it is that we’ll have to listen to hours upon hours of stories about the franchises redemption following the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal. Well, expect to deal with it for another week. Pick: Atlanta
Tomorrow: the AFC.
Image [Reading Eagle]