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Philadelphia (-3) at Arizona
The most popular question I've heard all week is, "Who can cover Larry Fitzgerald?" To me, that's the same as the fans who used to ask "Who can stop Michael Jordan?" or "Who would you like on the mound pitching to Albert Pujols?". The answer to all three is absolutely nobody. However, the Cardinals 9-7 regular season record tells you how little that's worth. Of course, included in that was the Thanksgiving night 48-20 pasting Arizona took in Philly. I wouldn't be surprised if Andy Reid went into the this one with the same game plan. That night, the Eagles rendered Anquan Boldin and Fitzgerald relatively useless by making Kurt Warner do things before he wanted to do them. They were able to use their base defense to stop the run and bring everything they had to get to Warner. Throwing off of his back foot and disrupting the timing of patterns have given the Arizona quarterback trouble since his days back in St. Louis.

On the flip side, this will be the first diverse offense the Cards will face this postseason. Remember, both the Falcons and Panthers struggled all year when they couldn't run the ball. When called upon, neither Matt Ryan nor Jake Delhomme could help their teams' overcome a young Arizona defense, which was given a simplistic game plan based on stopping the run. They're not going to be so lucky in this game. There isn't another team in the NFL that throws the ball more than the Eagles. I think they'll be able to mix it up and make Arizona defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast's defense look more like the one we saw in the regular season.

In the end, I think the difference in this game will be the mistakes that Kurt Warner makes, and the ones Donovan McNabb won't. I know that crushes all of the Philly fans out there who were ready to run number 5 out of town, but after another Super Bowl berth, he's not going anywhere.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-5)
I won't need quite as much room explaining this one. I like the Steelers for two big reasons:
1. They're the fresher, and certainly healthier, team. The Ravens had to play an incredibly physical game against Tennessee that left several starters as question marks for this game. That Baltimore defense won't have the same punch without a 100% Terrell Suggs. He's a versatile playmaker that can't be replaced. Losing cornerback Samari Rolle against the experienced receiving corp of the Steelers won't help either.

2. Defensively, the Ravens' Achilles heel, if there is one, has to do with facing smaller, quicker backs. We saw it last week when Chris Johnson tortured them in the first half. I think you'll see more of the same with Willie Parker, a more physical and only slightly slower version of Johnson, and Mewelde Moore, a shifty back, who's done a great job carving out a niche role in Pittsburgh.
 

Last Week: 2-2
Season: 137-122-5