The road to New Orleans and Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb.3 starts today as the NFL's wild-card weekend begins with Tampa Bay visiting Philadelphia, followed by the New York Jets visiting Oakland.

        In the NFC, many consider the Buccaneers the team with the best chance of stopping heavy favorite St. Louis. Trouble is, many also consider the Buccaneers the team that's going to lose to the Eagles today.

        Tampa Bay is 0-5 in playoff road games, including last year's 21-3 loss to the Eagles. They were only 4-4 on the road this season. They lost last week to the Eagles.

        And they are 0-20 when the game-time temperature is 40 or below.

        The forecast for today is a high of 47 degrees with a low of 35. The Bucs are trying to rid such thoughts from their heads.

        “I don't think we really care about something that's happened in the past,” Tampa Bay defensive end Steve White said. “It's all about what's going to happen in the future.”

        Speaking of the future, it has been reported coach Tony Dungy will not have one with the Bucs if the team does not beat Philadelphia, which won last Sunday's game 17-13.

        The Eagles are counting on quarterback Donovan McNabb to complement a defense that ranks seventh in the league. In last year's wild-card game, McNabb threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

        “Let this guy out of the pocket, he's going to kill you,” Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. “If you don't know he's their whole team, you're blind.”

        No NFC wild-card team has ever reached the Super Bowl. In three of the past four seasons, AFC wild-card teams have advanced to the Super Bowl — Denver in 1997, Tennessee in 1999 and Baltimore in 2000.

        Raiders cornerback Tory James played for Denver and sees similarities.

        “We lost a couple of games (with Denver), but we knew once we got to the playoffs, the Super Bowl was ours,” James said. “I feel the same way about this team.”

        The Jets, meanwhile, would have to win three consecutive road games to make the Super Bowl.

        The Jets were an AFC-best 7-1 on the road, including a 24-22 win over the Raiders last week.

        And Oakland, with its infamous Black Hole cheering section, is one of the toughest places to play, as the Jets know first-hand.

        “They were just saying nasty stuff,” said Jets linebacker James Darling of the Raider fans. “X-rated stuff. A lot of prison jokes.”

Today's games look like... last week's Wild-card weekend kicks off in Philly O'Leary, banished by Irish, lands with Vikings

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