By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The NFL playoffs begin today with this guarantee - there will be a new Super Bowl champion.

Defending champion New England did not qualify for the postseason, and five new clubs are in the playoffs.

Collectively, the 12 playoff teams finished strong, posting a 42-17 record (.712) since the unofficial start of the postseason drive, Thanksgiving Day.

COLTS (10-6) at JETS (9-7)

The Super Bowl tournament begins at 4:30 p.m. today when a former assistant, New York coach Herman Edwards, takes on his former boss - Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy.

The only two African-American head coaches in the NFL, Edwards has made the playoffs twice in his two years as Jets coach, and Dungy is in for the fifth time in seven years as a head coach. The meeting of two African-American head coaches in a playoff game is an NFL first and comes at a time when the league is working to ensure more qualified African-American coaching candidates are seriously considered.

Besides the Dungy-Edwards angle, the game brings these teams together for only the second time in postseason history. The previous meeting was Super Bowl III, when the upstart AFL Jets upset the Colts 16-7.

The Colts will try to keep New York's offense off the field by running Edgerrin James, who is finally healthy. The Jets will use running back Curtis Martin to open up the pass game for quarterback Chad Pennington.

Pennington is 8-4 since his promotion to starter, and he led the league in completion percentage (68.9) and passer rating (104.2). Of course, the Colts' Peyton Manning threw for 4,200 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Both teams are hoping the new Meadowlands sod holds up well, but sloppy field conditions - like the home-field advantage - favor New York. JETS 27-23.

FALCONS (9-6-1) at PACKERS (12-4)

The Lambeau Field tundra will be frozen for this game, which kicks off at 8p.m.

Atlanta limped into the postseason with a 2-3 December and was helped by the Saints' second consecutive late-season collapse. The Packers are 13-0 all time in home playoff games, including an 11-0 mark at Lambeau.

Green Bay will put a spy on Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, and Brett Favre - Atlanta's second-round draft pick in 1991 - will stretch the field successfully against a shaky Atlanta secondary. PACKERS 24-17.

BROWNS (9-7) at STEELERS (10-5-1)

One of the NFL's best rivalries, on hold for three years, is back in full bloom in this 1 p.m. Sunday game.

Quarterback Kelly Holcomb, subbing for the injured Tim Couch, leads the Browns into the playoffs for the first time since the original Browns were in in 1994. That run ended with a playoff loss at Pittsburgh.

The Steelers won both regular-season meetings of the AFC North rivals by a combined six points.

The Browns had 12 games decided in the final minute or in overtime, so they will fight to the end. Cleveland has better team speed and a revived running game behind William Green, who had a strong final two months to end up with more than 800 rushing yards.

The Steelers will try to control the clock by running Jerome Bettis and mixing in trick plays. This is the type of offense the Steelers offensive coordinator would bring to the Bengals if hired as the head coach. Mike Mularkey interviews today with Bengals officials. STEELERS 24-23.

GIANTS (10-6) at 49ERS (10-6)

San Francisco won in the Thursday night season opener, but December and January find these two teams headed in opposite directions.

New York beat a better team last week in the Philadelphia Eagles to get into the playoffs than it will face in this 4:30 p.m. Sunday game.

The Giants have been moving the ball behind hot quarterback Kerry Collins, who threw for more than 4,000 yards. He has three major offensive threats to work with: running back Tiki Barber, wide receiver Amani Toomer and rookie tight end Jeremy Shockey. New York will try to control the ball with its patient offense and keep San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia on the bench as much as possible. The 49ers have not played well since clinching the NFC West crown. GIANTS 23-17.

LAST WEEK: 10-6. FINAL REGULAR- SEASON RECORD: 161-94-1.