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Last weekend's showdowns saw only one matchup that was ever really in doubt, and it wasn't the game that most people expected to be tight. The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the league throughout the regular season, finishing 15-1 behind an overpowering running game, a stout defense, and rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger. The running game was there as always last week, while the defense destroyed the Jets, allowing just three points. Roethlisberger, however, threw a pair of interceptions that nearly cost Pittsburgh the game. Can he step it up when they host the AFC Championship game?

Bill Belichik's Patriots heard all week about how it was finally Peyton Manning's turn to bask in the glow of a big victory, and they heard it from virtually everybody. Experts across the land figured the Patriots' banged-up secondary wouldn't be able to stop the most proficient passing offense in the history of the league, including yours truly. When all was said and done, Belichik's patchwork secondary didn't keep Manning and Co. from moving the ball a bit, but they did hold a team that was averaging around 35 points a game to three points. And people say Rodney Dangerfield gets no respect....

Mike Vick and the Falcons did a couple of things that everyone knew they would do, while Allen Rossum turned the turf at the Georgia Dome into his own personal playground against the Rams. Vick, Warrick Dunn, and T.J. Duckett combined for 327 yards on just 37 carries against St. Louis' excuse for a run defense, chalking up an astounding 8.8 yards per carry. The defense was typically solid, limiting the Rams to just 77 yards on the ground and 339 total while causing two turnovers and putting Marc Bulger on his back four times. Just as they did two years ago when they beat the Packers, the Falcons gave themselves a nice confidence boost heading into Philadelphia, but will it matter?

"The Philadelphia Eagles will struggle against the Vikings because Terrell Owens is out and the starters haven't played any meaningful minutes in nearly a month." If I had a nickel for every time I heard that prior to last week's opening kickoff, I could probably retire. A couple of hours later, the Eagles had easily dispatched of a Vikings squad that never really seemed to get in sync against the Eagles pass rush. McNabb was typically efficient, spreading 21 completions to seven different receivers and directing the offense masterfully. All-purpose RB Brian Westbrook showed just how much more dynamic the Eagles' offense could have been in their loss to Carolina last season if he'd been healthy. Philly won in a romp 27-14, but now they've reached their nemesis... the NFC Championship game. Philly has gotten to this point and lost here three years running (ironically, the last two were to a pair of Atlanta's division rivals). Is this finally the year that the Eagles can make it to the Super Bowl?

In many ways, Championship Sunday is often better than Super Bowl Sunday. More often than not, the game will be a rematch of a regular season meeting between the two teams, as the AFC title game will be this year. Teams tend to be more familiar with each other, and the extraordinary gap there can be in talent levels in seasons like this, when one conference has been extremely dominant over the other, doesn't come into play. How will the games go down? That's what we're here to tell you.

NFC Championship Game: Atlanta at Philadelphia

Anybody who didn't already know that Atlanta is going to come out and try and run the ball non-stop against the Eagles defensive front probably figured out that they will last week. The Falcons running backs like to run hard downhill, exploding through holes that their powerful offensive line opens for them up the middle. Just when opposing defenses think they have them figured out, Mike Vick will run a bootleg and take off for 50 yards. Throughout their dominant run of the past four years in the NFC (while they've yet to break through, even getting to the NFC title game four years running is astounding), the acchiles heel on the defensive side of the ball in Philadelphia has been stopping the run. However, when the Eagles moved Jeremiah Trotter (in his second stint with the team) into the starting lineup at MLB, they seemed to have solved their biggest problem. Trotter and the Eagles' run defense will see no better test all year than the one they'll see on Sunday.

Last week, it was Freddie Mitchell who stepped up for the Eagles... a name that Falcons defensive coordinator Ed Donatell knows all too well. It was Mitchell who stepped up and made the biggest catch for the Eagles in last year's NFC Divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, gaining 28 yards on a 4th and 26 to keep Philadelphia's game-tying drive alive. He certainly didn't carry that divisional playoff magic through to the NFC Championship game last year, though. Expect McNabb to have to utilize all seven of the targets that he used last week again, spreading the ball around between Mitchell, Chad Lewis, L.J. Smith, and Westbrook the most, as the Eagles can only hope that T.O. will be back if they can get past this game.

The offense isn't the only phase of the game where the Falcons love the running game. Atlanta finished the season with the eighth ranked defense against the run, though they did allow the third most rushing touchdowns (20) in the league. They also rush the passer extremely well, so Philadelphia will have to find ways to move the pocket and keep them from coming at McNabb head-on. Though McNabb isn't as athletic as Vick, he's still one of the more mobile QBs in the league, and should be able to catch the Falcons sleeping once or twice with a deep throw when he's on the run. Moving that pocket and getting a strong start out of Brian Westbrook, even it they don't score on their first few possessions, should give Philadelphia's offense an advantage in this one.

What this game is going to come down to isn't how athletic the passers are, though. What it will come down to is which QB will be able to make the big throw when it counts. Mike Vick looked amazing in his first season as Atlanta's starter, and looked to be on his way to becoming one of the top all-around QBs of all-time because of just how much of a threat he posed as a runner and a passer. Right now, he's just a glorified running back, and the Eagles will take advantage of this. Expect Vick's athleticism and Atlanta's brutal downhill running style to keep the Falcons in this one for a while, but Philadelphia will finally break through and head to Jacksonville because of McNabb's right arm. Maybe then Rush Limbaugh can give him a call and tell him how overrated he is. Eagles 27, Falcons 17

AFC Championship Game: New England at Pittsburgh

Last week, New England did a brilliant job of taking the deep ball out of play against the Colts. Indianapolis' offense never managed to get in a rhythm because they never really took a shot downfield against a Patriots' secondary that seemed to be dropping eight into coverage on the Colts' early possessions. This week, they'll have to pull a complete shift, putting eight in the box for most of the first half as they hope to make Pittsburgh put the ball in the hands of their rookie savior, Ben Roethlisberger.

To say Roethlisberger looked shaky in his first playoff start against the Jets last week would be too kind. He looked completely out of rhythm for most of the game, and, to be honest, he looked like he was playing in some serious pain. Big Ben has been so sound all season long in keeping his throws under control and throwing downhill, but the ball was sailing on him last week, and it led to some serious trouble for Pittsburgh. It'd be incredibly difficult for this week's game to get to a situation that would call for bringing Tommy Maddox in, but if he struggles, don't be shocked. Roethlisberger's two main jobs are simply to hand the ball off and not to turn the ball over, so he needs to play under control.

When Pittsburgh said that Jerome Bettis would start last weekend, most people figured that meant he'd get a slight majority of the carries. However, in the first half, he saw nearly every carry. Look for Bill Cowher to get Duce Staley in the game a little earlier this week to keep both of his primary backs fresh. With Staley and Bettis both pounding away at New England's line on a constant basis, Pittsburgh will hope to control the clock and keep the most clutch QB in the NFL on the sidelines. The key for the Patriots here will be to limit Staley and the Bus to 3.5 yards a carry or less.

Corey Dillon showed just why the Patriots got him last weekend, and he showed that he, not Terrell Owens, was the biggest offseason acquisition that any club made last year. Dillon has allowed New England's offense the opportunity to use an offense that fits more into the style of coach Bill Belichik's mentor, Bill Parcells. With Dillon carrying the ball close to thirty times, the Patriots should be able to keep their defense off the field a bit more and limit Bettis and Staley's carries a bit more than they did the first time these two teams met.

Tom Brady will continue to do what he's always done in the playoffs this week. He'll show Roethlisberger, touted for his calmness under pressure all year, what cool really is. When all the chips are down and the Patriots need a score late to finish off the Steelers, he'll rally the troops. Dillon will be the main difference between this game and the 34-20 Steeler victory on Halloween, as that was the only game that he missed. Brady, however, will once again be the one that everybody remembers for making a big play. Patriots 23, Steelers 20

The Numbers
Last Week: 3-1
Playoffs: 4-4
Regular Season: 152-84
Game of the Week: 7-8
Lock of the Week: 12-4
Upset Special: 7-9

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