By Dave Goldberg
The Associated Press

The 2002 regular season was totally unpredictable. The playoffs are just the opposite. All four home teams won this weekend so both of next week's championship games are between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams.

That's how it usually is. Since 1990, the first season six teams made the playoffs in each conference, teams with a first-round bye are 43-9 in their playoff openers.

"We're very glad to have the home-field advantage," said Philadelphia coach Andy Reid, whose Eagles will close Veterans Stadium for pro football against Tampa Bay in the NFC title game. "That's something that we worked for all season. You prepare yourself for the game and then the icing on the cake is the home-field advantage."

Here's a capsule look at the Super Bowl semifinals:

Tampa Bay (13-4) at Philadelphia (13-4)

Playing at the Vet, the Eagles have knocked the Bucs out of the playoffs each of the last two seasons. And both have been to the title game and lost to St. Louis: Tampa Bay in 2000 and the Eagles last year.

Forget what the Bucs' offense did in its 31-6 win Sunday against a San Francisco secondary that was playing with safeties at cornerback.

Think about the last three meetings in Philadelphia: playoff wins by the Eagles by 21-3 and 31-9 the last two years and a 20-10 win on Oct. 20. The only touchdown Tampa Bay scored in those three games was on a fumble return by Derrick Brooks in the regular-season game.

While Tampa Bay has the defensive reputation, Philadelphia isn't far behind.

Cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor and free safety Brian Dawkins are all Pro Bowlers. They have a big edge in speed against Tampa Bay's three primary receivers: Keyshawn Johnson, Keenan McCardell and Joe Jurevicius, all of whom are large but not particularly fast.

Bucs' coach Jon Gruden, a former offensive coordinator for the Eagles and a member of the same staff in Green Bay as Reid, has been emphasizing lately that home-field advantage in the playoffs doesn't mean much.

That's been done as much for mental reasons as anything. The Bucs don't have much confidence about playing in Philly and only a month ago broke a streak of 21 straight losses in temperatures under 40 degrees.

The Eagles, of course, are saying all the right things.

"I'm sure coach Gruden will be getting up early and staying up late figuring out ways to beat us," Vincent said Sunday.

History says he'll have a hard time.

The Eagles opened as 3 1/2-point favorites.

Tennessee (12-5) at Oakland (12-5)

The low point of the Titans' season came on Sept. 29, when they lost 52-25 in Oakland. That was the third straight loss in a four-game losing streak.

Now Tennessee has won 11 of 12 and the Raiders have won eight of nine, making this a meeting of the NFL's two hottest teams.

The Raiders became the first team to get to Chad Pennington, exposing his inexperience in their 30-10 win over the Jets on Sunday. They're unlikely to be able to do that against the more experienced Steve McNair, who in his own way was as much an MVP this season as Oakland's Rich Gannon, who won the award.

"At that point, everybody agreed we'd love to go back and see them again," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "That was not indicative of the way we really are."

They're getting it, thanks to the 34-31 overtime victory over Pittsburgh Saturday.

But can the defense that had trouble with Tommy Maddox shut down Gannon and all his weapons, both in the air and on the ground? That includes wide receiver Jerry Porter, who made the big plays while the Jets were blanketing Tim Brown and Jerry Rice.

The Raiders opened as seven-point favorites.

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