NFC and AFC Championship Previews
On Sunday, four NFL teams will be in action to compete to see which two teams will qualify for the 2008 Super Bowl. In the NFC Championship, the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. In the AFC Championship, the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens.
The interesting aspect about the matchup between the Eagles and the Cardinals is the fact that these were the teams with the two worst regular season records to make the playoffs in the NFC. Both teams went through major slumps that had seemingly ended their Super Bowl chances. But after righting their ships, they now face off to see which team will play for all the marbles.
Going into the game, the Eagles have to be favorited. They have much more experience as a unit and they boast arguably the NFL’s hottest defensive unit. Last week, the Eagles destroyed the New York Giants — the reigning Super Bowl champions. Their defense is very aggressive and loves getting after the quarterback. They also have a number of skill players in their defensive backfield that are at the top of their game.
Offensively, the Eagles rely on the duo of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. Westbrook is asked to carry the load while McNabb is asked to make plays. While the team isn’t loaded with quality wide receivers, McNabb is crafty enough to get production out of his wideouts.
In Arizona, the offense is built around Kurt Warner and superstar wide receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Fitzgerald, specifically, has been a monster in these playoffs. When Warner goes deep to Fitzgerald, that connection is extremely dangerous. And while the Cardinals don’t have quite the defense that the Eagles have, their unit on that side of the field is playing well.
Speaking of good defenses, the battle between the Steelers and the Ravens has two of the best defenses in the league. It’s extremely difficult to score against the Steelers and the Ravens are so aggressive defensively that they are a threat to create a turnover on nearly every play.
On offense, the Ravens are lead by rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. They love to run the ball and have Flacco sprinkle in passes to keep the defense honest. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers have a similar formula built around quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Willie Parker. The difference in this game could be the fact that the Steelers have better skill players on offense to go along with more playoff experience.
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