A quick look at weekend's other games
The following are capsule summaries of the other NFL playoff games this weekend:
OPENING LINE - Falcons by 7.RECORD VS. SPREAD - Rams 7-10. Falcons 7-8.SERIES RECORD - Rams lead 46-24-2.LAST MEETING - Falcons beat Rams 34-17 on Sept. 19, 2004, at St. Louis.LAST POSTSEASON MEETING - First postseason meeting.LAST WEEK - Rams beat Seahawks 27-20 in wild-card game. Falcons had bye, lost to Seahawks 28-26 in Week 17.RAMS OFFENSE - OVERALL (6), RUSH (25t), PASS (5)RAMS DEFENSE - OVERALL (17), RUSH (29), PASS (11)FALCONS OFFENSE - OVERALL (20), RUSH (1), PASS (30)FALCONS DEFENSE - OVERALL (14), RUSH (8t), PASS (22)KEY MATCHUP - Rams' defense vs. Falcons QB Michael Vick. Back in Week 2, Vick ran for 109 yards on 12 carries and had 179 yards passing against Rams. Vick led NFL by averaging 7.5 yards per carry and rushed for 902 yards - only 22 RBs had more. He'll be well-rested because Falcons had bye and he played little in Week 17. Rams' defense features five first-round picks, three on the line. It took most of season for unit to figure out coordinator Larry Marmie's new defensive scheme, but team held Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander, NFL's No. 2 rusher, in check for most of wild-card game. Vick leads NFL's No. 1 rushing attack.STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Against common opponents, Falcons are 6-3, while Rams are 7-3, including three wins over Seattle. ... Rams WR Torry Holt was fourth in NFL with 1,372 yards receiving in regular season, becoming first player in history with five 1,300-yard seasons in row. He had his second 100-yard game in playoffs last week, posting six catches for 108 yards and TD. In regular season, Holt and WR Isaac Bruce combined for most yards of any team's top receivers (2,619). ... Falcons led league with 48 sacks. Rams QBs were sacked 50 times, tied for fifth most in league. ... Rams had league-worst minus-24 turnover differential in regular season. Atlanta was plus-2. ... Falcons CB Allen Rossum was second in NFL with 12.4-yard punt return average in regular season. ... Falcons RB Warrick Dunn posted third career 1,000-yard season (1,106) with career-high nine TDs rushing. ... Falcons host first playoff game since beating 49ers 20-18 in divisional playoffs of 1998 season. They went on to lose to Denver in Super Bowl.
OPENING LINE - Eagles by 8½.RECORD VS. SPREAD - Vikings 8-9. Eagles 9-7.SERIES RECORD - Vikings lead 11-9 overall. Eagles lead 1-0 in playoffs.LAST MEETING - Eagles beat Vikings 27-16 on Sept. 20, 2004, at Philadelphia.LAST POSTSEASON MEETING - Eagles beat Vikings 31-16 on Jan. 3, 1981, at Philadelphia in divisional playoff game.LAST WEEK - Vikings beat Packers 31-17 in wild-card game. Eagles had bye, lost to Bengals 38-10 in Week 17.VIKINGS OFFENSE - OVERALL (4), RUSH (18), PASS (2)VIKINGS DEFENSE - OVERALL (28), RUSH (21), PASS (27t)EAGLES OFFENSE - OVERALL (9), RUSH (24), PASS (7)EAGLES DEFENSE - OVERALL (10), RUSH (16), PASS (12)KEY MATCHUP - Vikings CBs Antoine Winfield and Brian Williams vs. Eagles WRs Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell. Combined, Pinkston (676 yards receiving) and Mitchell (377) didn't equal output of injured WR Terrell Owens (1,200) in regular season. Of Eagles' 32 TDs receiving, 14 were by Owens, who played in 14 games. Without him as deep threat, Vikings defense will crowd line of scrimmage, making it difficult for Eagles QB Donovan McNabb to run, and somewhat nullifying RB Brian Westbrook, who was team's leading rusher and second-leading receiver. Winfield led team with three INTs, but secondary was generally porous, allowing 243.5 yards passing per game - fourth most in league.STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Both McNabb and Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper were drafted in first round in 1999. McNabb was No. 2 pick, Culpepper No. 11. Culpepper was second in NFL with 39 TD passes, while McNabb was third with 31. Last time two QBs taken in first round of same draft faced each other in playoffs was on Jan. 9. 1999, when John Elway's Broncos beat Dan Marino's Dolphins 38-3. ... Culpepper also led league with 4,717 yards passing and was second with 110.9 rating. ... Against common opponents Eagles were 9-0, Vikings 5-5. ... In seven playoff games, Vikings WR Randy Moss (probable, ankle) has averaged 96 yards and 1.3 TDs per game. ... Home team has won last seven games in series. Vikings last won in Philadelphia in 1985.
OPENING LINE - Patriots by 2.RECORD VS. SPREAD - Colts 10-6. Patriots 11-3.SERIES RECORD - Patriots lead 42-24 overall and 1-0 in playoffs.LAST MEETING - Patriots beat Colts 27-24 on Sept. 9, 2004, at New England.LAST POSTSEASON MEETING - Patriots beat Colts 24-14 on Jan. 18, 2004, at New England in AFC championship game.LAST WEEK - Colts beat Broncos 49-24 in wild-card game. Patriots had bye, beat 49ers 21-7 in Week 17.COLTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (15), PASS (1)COLTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (29), RUSH (24), PASS (29)PATRIOTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (7), RUSH (7), PASS (11)PATRIOTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (9), RUSH (6), PASS (17)KEY MATCHUP - Colts QB Peyton Manning vs. Patriots' depleted secondary. Manning set NFL records this season with 49 TDs and 121.1 passer rating and threw only 10 INTs. Last year, he also had great season, but was shut down in AFC title game, throwing four INTs in loss. This time, he'll face wounded secondary that used WR Troy Brown at CB in recent weeks. New England's star CB, Ty Law, was put on injured reserve last week and hasn't played since October. CB Tyrone Poole has been out since Week 4. DBs Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson and Randall Gay also have had injury trouble and team signed journeyman CB Hank Poteat on Monday.STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Manning is 1-3 in outdoor playoff games, with only win coming against the Chiefs last year. ... Colts led NFL with plus-19 turnover differential. Patriots were plus-9. ... Colts DE Dwight Freeney led NFL with 16 sacks. ... Patriots K Adam Vinatieri, who kicked five FGs in last year's AFC title game, led NFL with 141 points and was league's most accurate kicker. He made all 48 PATs and 31 of 33 FGs. ... Coach Belichick is 6-0 in playoffs with Patriots. All six wins came with Tom Brady as QB. New England has won 29 of past 31 games, including playoffs. ... Against common opponents, Patriots are 2-0, Colts 1-1. ... Patriots RB Corey Dillon, who came to team in offseason, rushed for career-high and club-record 1,635 yards. Colts allowed 127.3 yards rushing per game, and had one of NFL's most generous defenses. ... Manning and Brady rank among top five QBs with best TD-to-INT ratio since Brady became a starter in 2001. ... Colts have lost eight straight in New England and last won there in 1995.
