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Jan. 1, 2007 The grueling 17-week NFL regular season is over. Players on twenty teams will now be free to do other things until this summer, unless they’re among those who will be headed to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl in mid-February. The other twelve teams, though, get to participate in the NFL’s second season, with a trip to South Florida and a gleaming silver trophy up for grabs. Eight of the twelve qualifiers will be in action during Wild Card Weekend, the first round of the NFL Playoffs. Two of the four games on the docket feature old divisional foes playing against each other for the third time this season, and two teams meeting each other in the playoffs for the first time. Kansas City at Indianapolis (4:30 PM on Saturday, January 6, on NBC). The Chiefs and the Colts didn’t face each other during the regular season, but they do have some playoff history. The Colts have beaten the Chiefs twice in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, in 1995 and 2003. Both of those games took place at Arrowhead Stadium, one of the NFL’s toughest venues. But playing indoors could be of great benefit to Kansas City , because their workhorse back, Larry Johnson, will be facing one of the league’s worst running defenses on a warm, dry track. The key for Indianapolis will be scoring early and often on the Chiefs, to take Johnson out of the equation. I’m tempted to pick the Chiefs to pull off the upset, but I’m sticking with Indy. They’re hungry, and getting a win is the next best thing to getting some of that fabled Kansas City barbeque. Final Score: Indianapolis 27, Kansas City 21 Dallas at Seattle (8:00 PM on Saturday, January 6, on NBC). The Cowboys and the Seahawks faced each other way back in August, in the first game of their respective preseason slates. This is their first meeting in the playoffs, which isn’t surprising considering that the Seahawks were in the AFC for much of their 31-season existence. Dallas is very vulnerable right now. They lost three of their last four regular-season games, all at home, to division champions New Orleans (NFC South) and Philadelphia (NFC East), and to perennial league doormat Detroit , who decided to bring their A-game at the worst possible time for the Cowboys in a 39-31 shocker in the season finale. As a result, they also lost control of the NFC East and must now go on the road to face an equally vulnerable Seahawks team. Seattle also lost three of their last four to close out the regular season, to division rivals Arizona and San Francisco , and to San Diego . Thanks to some help, they backed into the NFC West crown. Neither team really deserves to be in this position, nor will being at home necessarily be an advantage for Seattle . If Tony Romo plays a good, consistent game, Dallas wins. And I believe he’ll have just enough to dethrone the defending NFC champs. Final Score: Dallas 23, Seattle 17 New York Jets at New England (1:00 PM on Sunday, January 7, on CBS). The first time the Jets met the Patriots in the playoffs, New England, coached at the time by Hall-of-Fame receiver Raymond Berry, won at the Meadowlands in the Wild Card round. It was the first of three road victories for the Pats as they made an improbably run to Super Bowl XX, at the end of the 1985 season. This season, these two old AFC East foes split two very tight games. Each team won on the road. This isn’t going to be an easy game for either side. The Patriots, of course, have one of the great coaching minds in Bill Belichick and a steely-eyed field general in Tom Brady. But rookie coach Eric Mangini has the Jets believing they can beat anybody. Chad Pennington has remained healthy and has shown he still has some pop on that right arm. It’s hard to pick against New England , because every time they’re written off, they just keep coming back. But it’s not like the Jets aren’t a cold-weather team. They can play with the best of them. If this one goes to overtime, the Patriots will sorely miss Adam Vinatieri. Final Score: New England 34, New York Jets 31 New York Giants at Philadelphia (4:30 PM on Sunday, January 7, on Fox). The Giants and the Eagles have a rivalry dating back to 1933. The Giants have won two previous playoff meetings (in 1981 in the Wild Card round at Philadelphia and in 2000 in the Divisional Playoffs at the Meadowlands). After looking like they were going to implode and miss the playoffs, the Giants righted their ship just enough and got some help to secure the sixth seed in the NFC. The Eagles, meanwhile, who many wrote off after Donovan McNabb went down, won five straight behind Jeff Garcia to close out the regular season and take the NFC East from Dallas. Right now, Philadelphia is playing more like a team than New York is. And as we all know, it’s teamwork that wins in the NFL. Take a long last look at Tiki Barber, folks. It’s likely that this will be his swan song. Final Score: Philadelphia 24, New York Giants 20 In the AFC, the lower-seed survivor of Wild Card Weekend will visit San Diego in the Divisional Playoffs on the weekend of January 13-14. The higher-seed survivor will travel to Baltimore . In the NFC, the lower-seed survivor of Wild Card Weekend will head for Chicago , while the higher-seed survivor gets a trip to New Orleans . For the latest playoff information, go to http://www.nfl.com/ ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written over 100 articles for Useless Knowledge. He has also written the unpublished novels The Writer's Nightmare and Santa's Sleigh Is Missing. He works as a business analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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