The Associated Press

The NFC playoffs must go through intimidating Veterans Stadium. The AFC playoffs go through Oakland and its Black Hole. Yet this could be the NFL's most wide-open tournament in years.

FIRST-ROUND GAMES

Saturday's games • Colts at Jets, 4:30 p.m. • Falcons at Packers, 8 p.m.   Sunday's games • Browns at Steelers, 1 p.m. • Giants at 49ers, 4:30 p.m.   AFC byes • Raiders and Titans   NFC byes • Eagles and Bucs

The Philadelphia Eagles need quarterback Donovan McNabb to be healthy and, preferably, in top form, to make it to the Super Bowl in San Diego. He might not be.

And remember that the Oakland Raiders lost four in a row at one point.

"In coaching, you always look at a team that is on a roll and has beaten some good teams coming down to the wire," said New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, whose team won its last four games to get into the postseason as an NFC wild-card team. "It's all about momentum."

So here's a look at the playoff teams, in order of Super Bowl possibilities:

AFC

1. Tennessee (11-5). Go by Fassel's "hot team" theory. The Titans have won nine of 10. They're not always pretty, but they got to the Super Bowl after the 1999 season and were 13-3 in 2000. Don't underestimate quarterback Steve McNair's impact - he made a late MVP push.

2. Oakland (11-5). The Raiders beat Tennessee 52-25 on Sept.29. With Jevon Kearse back, the Titans should get some pressure on Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon if they meet in the conference title game.

3. New York Jets (9-7). Another hot team, 8-3 after a 1-4 start. That coincides with the blossoming of Chad Pennington, who led the league in passer rating. The Jets should get by the Indianapolis Colts and probably would go to Oakland. They lost 26-20 at the Raiders during the regular season.

4. Pittsburgh (10-5-1). Might be a scarier team on the road than at home, where the Steelers have lost three AFC title games in the last decade. Have to get by Cleveland first - they had two three-point wins over the Browns this year.

5. Cleveland (9-7). Kelly Holcomb has performed better at quarterback than the injured Tim Couch, and rookie running back William Green has come on late. Could beat Pittsburgh, but it's hard to envision the Browns going very deep.

6. Indianapolis (10-6). The improved defense was exposed in a 44-27 loss to the Giants in Week16. Without Edgerrin James at full speed, they're probably a first-round casualty.

NFC

1. Philadelphia (12-4). Playing at home is a huge plus, particularly against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have turned in three straight awful performances at Veterans Stadium. But McNabb, coming back from a broken ankle, is a huge asterisk.

2. Tampa Bay (12-4). But only if Brad Johnson is healthy. Best shot is a Philadelphia loss, which would potentially give the Bucs the conference title game at home. If they have to go with Rob Johnson (or Shaun King) at QB, they won't get very far. The defense can only do so much.

3. New York Giants (10-6). A long shot with a legit chance. New York is on a roll, especially on offense, and is the only NFC team to beat the Eagles this season, running up 461 yards on them Saturday. One of the few teams not intimidated by the Vet, where they've been competitive. Have to get by San Francisco first, but they played the 49ers well in the season opener.

4. Green Bay (12-4). Brett Favre has carried this team before. The Packers should beat the Atlanta Falcons, but they lost in Tampa this year (which is why they failed to get a bye). The defense is badly banged up and was shredded Sunday by the Jets.

5. San Francisco (10-6). Maybe it was too easy in the NFC West. Sometimes, it's hard to suddenly turn things on. If the 49ers get by the Giants and McNabb's not at 100 percent, they could surprise.

6. Atlanta (9-6-1). Lost three of its last four. Took Green Bay to overtime in the season opener, but that was in September at Lambeau, not January. Always dangerous with Michael Vick.

Return to Bengals front page...