NFC Wild Card Weekend!

Cowboys at Seahawks: Three of the four NFC teams playing this weekend haven’t been playing like they want to win. Two of them meet here, both losing 3 of their final 4 games. The Cowboys defense has been awful of late, allowing 42, 28, 23 and 39 points the last four games. Their finale against the pitiful Lions was particularly gruesome, as they wanted to win because the Eagles were playing later on, so Dallas had a chance to take the NFC East title. They had a two-game lead in the NFC East, yet blew it and slip an as a wild card team.

This could be it for Bill Parcells, too. After winning two Super Bowls with the Giants and taking the Patriots to the Super Bowl, Parcells hasn’t won a playoff game since 1998. They take on a Seattle secondary that is devastated by injuries, so Terry Glenn and Terrell Owens should (on paper) have big games. The forecast for Saturday is a high of 44 degrees with an 80 percent chance of rain, though.

The Seahawks are a shell of the team that won the NFC last season, with a weaker running game and a depleted defense. QB Matt Hasselbeck (17 TDs, 15 INTs) battled injuries and didn’t come close to last season when he had 25 TDs, 9 INTs. Seattle does have a balanced offense with WR Deion Branch, WR Bobby Engram and workhorse RB Shaun Alexander which could give problems to the shaky Dallas ‘D’.

The Seattle secondary is the biggest concern. Starting CBs Marcus Trufant (high ankle sprain) and Kelly Herndon (broken ankle) and backup Jimmy Williams (torn anterior cruciate ligament) are off, all of whom have been injured the past two games. Lining up against Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn, two of the game's premier receivers, will be first-round pick Kelly Jennings and one-time safety Jordan Babineaux. Welcome to the big leagues, guys!

Jennings has been at right cornerback this week, where Trufant usually lines up, while Babineaux, who played extensively at cornerback last season, is opposite him. The Seahawks have their cornerbacks assigned almost exclusively to a side of the field and not to a particular receiver, so that means the challenges in corralling Owens and Glenn will fall to both players since the receivers move around the field. Seattle is 9-4-1 over the total the last 15 games.

Giants at Eagles: Which NY Giants team is going to show up? The one that started 6-2 and looked like a top challenger in the NFC? Or the stumbling, sloppy team that finished 2-6? The Giants went with the run the last game, a win at Washington, almost as if they didn’t want to ask QB Eli Manning (24 TDs, 18 INTs) to win it. Manning was awful last year in this first playoff game against Carolina, a 23-0 home loss. They face a different challenge this week as the Eagles like to blitz a lot, which could try and take the run away. The entire offense goes downhill when Tiki Barber is limited. (The Giants were 6-2 when he rushed for 100 yards this season, 2-6 when he didn't.)

Last month, Manning misjudged the Eagles' blitz and held the ball too long. He was hit by cornerback Sheldon Brown as he threw and was intercepted by defensive end Trent Cole, who returned it for the game-clinching score. Since that play, Manning has once again been spooked by oncoming rushers. The Eagles know that: "You've seen it for yourself -- you get him rattled and his game starts going downhill," Cole said this week. Rumors are that Giants Coach Tom Coughlin has to win this game and likely one more to keep his job.

The Eagles, on the other hand, have won 5 in a row (3-0-2 ATS) behind veteran backup QB Jeff Garcia (10 TDs, 2 INTs) with the No. 2 offense in the NFL! The teams have played two memorable, high scoring games that sailed over the total: New York rallied from a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit in Week 2 for a 30-24 overtime win in Philadelphia on Sept. 17. The Eagles returned the favor Dec. 17, riding a 22-point fourth-quarter to a 36-22 win at Giants Stadium. Hang on to your seats! It will be a wild (card) weekend.

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