NFL Football Picks: Steelers And Cardinals Riding High Into Tampa

There is something to be said about a team getting hot at the right time in the NFL playoffs. Recent history backs up that idea with the Giants winning the Super Bowl last year and the Steelers doing so a few years ago by having to win all their playoff games on the road.

This year, there are three more teams in the conference championship games that could make history, In the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens came in as a number six seed, and in the NFC, there has never been a conference title match up of a number four and number six team.

Even though the Philadelphia Eagles barely made it into the playoffs and the Arizona Cardinals are flying high, the Eagles are favored to win on Sunday. In the AFC, the last top seed standing, the number two seeded Steelers are favored at home.

Conventional wisdom says that the Eagles and Steelers will advance to the Super Bowl and create a match up for bragging rights in Pennsylvania. Conference titles, however, are rarely won through conventional wisdom.

Last year, the Giants beat the higher seeded Packers. Two years before that, the Steelers defeated the higher seeded Broncos. Point being, there is a history of upsets in these conference title games.

It does not appear that Pittsburgh will be the team upset this year. The Ravens are starting to feel the effects of two tough playoff games, having many starters banged up. Couple that with the resurgent Pittsburgh running game and a rookie coach and quarterback in Baltimore and it looks as though the Steelers will hold serve.

That leaves the Eagles. They are facing a team that has score4d almost at will in the playoffs so far. The Cardinals much maligned defense has also rose to the occasion. Philadelphia's main weapon, Brian Westbrook, is playing on heart while his body is broken down.

The fans of Arizona may have already began tailgating for this rare home playoff game and will be ready to disrupt Donovan McNabb and Eagle snap counts and audibles all day.

As crazy as it may have sounded a month ago, it looks as though the Steelers and Cardinals are on a collision course in the NFL's biggest game in two weeks.

January 16, 2009
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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