I’m not sure what the Saints attitude for this game will be as the Minnesota loss gave them the #1 seed. Prior to Monday Night he said that everyone except RB Thomas would play as he doesn’t want to go into the bye with 3 straight losses. However at the end of the week he hinted that health would be his priority. Carolina has played very well the last two weeks & hasn't turned the ball over in their last 3 games. I am concerned about how ownership is going to allow GM Hurney & Fox go into 2010 as a lame duck & that will be a huge problem in recruiting FA’s for the future. The Panthers lost their best receiving weapon in Steve Smith (broken arm) & will give the Saints a big dose of their run game here. Fox is 10-5 vs the Saints & will have his team ready to roll here as they aren’t intimidated by Brees & his passing game.

This is for the NFC East. If the Eagles win regardless of what happens to Minnesota they get the #2 seed. The Cowboys can get the #2 seed with a win & if Minnesota & Arizona lose. Philadelphia lives by the big play & the matchup of WR’s Jackson & Maclin vs Dallas' secondary sides with them. However Philly took a critical loss with the loss of C Jamaal Jackson & is moving RG Nick Cole, who has virtually no experience at C, there. Dallas NT Ferguson will be the key here as if he controls this matchup I expect Dallas to send Keith Brooking up the middle all day. Both QB’s are playing at an elite level as Romo has passed for 310 ypg (67%) with a 9-1 ratio the last 5 games. McNabb usually plays his best ball in Dec where he is 10-1 with 258 ypg (62%) with a 17-6 ratio. Dallas is just 1-4 this year vs a top 10 offense & just when you think you can trust them they implode. Still they are a different team than recent versions & combined with Jackson’s injuy they won’t implode like they did in last year’s season finale.

The Patriots aren’t expected to play their starters long here & with a loss they drop to the 4th seed & get a likely rematch vs the Jets followed by a road trip vs the Colts. The Texans have won 3 straight season finales under Kubiak & a win gets the franchise their 1st winning season. The biggest problem for the Texans is the lack of a proven quality RB to balance the offense & take the pressure off Schaub (298 ypg, 68%, 27-14) who took a huge step towards proving he’s a franchise QB this year. Houston is going to look back at their 4 game losing streak vs AFC South foes as what kept them out of the playoffs in 2009 & they have struggled to close out games. If New England was really interested then I would look at this differently but I’ll side with the Texans who remind me of the Cardinals before they “broke through the wall” in 2008.

The Vikings went from challenging for the #1 seed in the NFC to trying avoid falling to the #4 with their implosion on Monday Night. I was stunned with the lack of effort the Giants had last week vs the Panthers & their emotional state is unknown. They placed Brandon Jacobs & Aaron Ross on IR & had to apologize to the media. A lot of the defensive players are talking about pride & I think DC Sheridan is on borrowed time. Minnesota has dominated at home this year winning all 7 games with a 417-287 yd edge & 31-17 avg score. I think Minnesota gets the win here but their overall seeding is up to the Eagles.

The Rams have lost 24 of their last 25 games & Spagnuolo has a long ways to go in rebuilding the roster. Their best player on the team in Steven Jackson will be a gametime decision & it may be best to just rest him & not risk injury for the offseason. I’m not sure if the Rams will start Boller or Null here & Bulger is all but gone for 2010. With a loss they snare the top pick in 2010 & unless one of the QB’s really stands out at the combine/workouts then Ndamukong Suh will be their pick. The 49ers are looking to go 8-8 for their best record since 2002. The 49ers are an improving team that will be a force in 2010 as they upgrade their OL. Despite all the issues that the Rams have they do play hard for Spagnuolo & are slowly turning their franchise around & make this closer than expected. 

The Packers are locked into the #4 seed & with a chance of facing Arizona next week I don’t think they’ll do much here. Whisenhunt has stated that how he approaches this game will depend on what happened to Minnesota. If they lost then they will go all out & try for the win otherwise Matt Leinart will get lots of time here. Aaron Rodgers is the 1st NFL QB with 4,000 yds in his first 2 seasons as a starter but I think the Packers will work on getting their #14 rush attack polished up here. This is a nice situation for Arizona as they are in their 2nd straight home game & get a GB squad likely to rest players in their 3rd road game in 4 weeks. I’ll call for the home team in a lower scoring game.

Baltimore simply has to win & they get to their 2nd postseason appearance with Flacco at QB. The Ravens have dominated teams with losing records TY going 5-0 with a 33-7 avg score. The Raiders have a reputation for packing it in during Dec & have 6 straight seasons of 11 or more losses. However this is a different squad under Cable in 2009 as they have pulled some impressive upsets (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Denver) & really the only thing that has kept them from playing for .500 this year has been the horrendous play of Russell. I think the Ravens will get the win here behind Ray Rice who has avg’d 112 ypg (6.0) in Dec but the Raiders will play harder than expected here.

The NFL flexed this game to Sunday Night as the Jets simply have to win to get into the playoffs. Marvin Lewis noted that if they have a shot at the #3 seed they’ll go for it as they think they get a more favorable matchup vs San Diego in the playoffs who they almost beat provided they win the Wildcard game. Ryan is playing the disrespect card here after the Colts pulled their starters in the 3Q last week but he’s not afraid to accept a gift if the Bengals have no interest here. The weather is expected to be bad & Sanchez didn’t exactly impress in his first cold weather game vs Atlanta (226 yds, 56%, 1-3). This game will come down to how the Bengals decide to approach it but I think the Jets will come out with the win thanks to their #1 rush attack & #1 defense overall.