Wildcard week - Steelers at Bengals

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Paul Brown Stadium
Sunday, 8 January
1630 EST on ABC / 2130 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra

It's best-of-three between these AFC North rivals as they look to determine which of the two games they played during the regular season has the most significance. The Steelers inflicted Cincinnati's first home defeat of the season in week seven when Pittsburgh rang up 221 yards on the ground, including 131 from rookie Fast Willie Parker for a 27-13. Six weeks later, in a shootout at Heinz Field, the Bengals got their revenge as they capitalised on three interceptions of Ben Roethlisberger to finish on the right side of a 38-31 score line.

Cincinnati have come of age in their third season under coach Marv Lewis, with second-year quarterback Carson Palmer at the helm. His rating this year is second only to Indianapolis nonpareil Peyton Manning, helped by the headline-grabbing performances of receiver Chad Johnson. He could easily take advantage of Pittsburgh's mediocre pass defense but running back Rudi Johnson will have trouble if he is asked to make yards up the middle so Palmer will have to take the the skies, with the accompanying risks. A strong season ended with a whimper as the Bengals suffered upset defeats to Buffalo and Kansas City (although they rested Palmer, among others, for much of the last game) and they will have to rediscover momentum quickly.

Anyone expecting a points-fest this weekend has not been following Pittsburgh, who responded to a must-win imperative with four successive victories, and allowed just 33 points along the way to finish with the fourth-best defense in the league. Last year's Super Bowl semi-finalists are in the playoffs for the ninth time in the 13-year reign of coach Bill Cowher. They had a great start to the year but endured a mid-season funk while Roethlisberger overcame knee surgery and suffered a thumb problem before the December heroics. Key to their success is clock management, gaining yards on first and second down through Parker and Jerome Bettis, for whom this could be the last game of a storied career unless he bashes out the yards.

The stats are all in Pittsburgh's favour. With a three-point line at the bookie's, they are the only road team favoured in this weekend's games. They have won their last four games in Cincinnati, their last four straight playoff games away from home and have started the post-season with victory on the last seven occasions. The Steelers' experience could count massively now the season has entered the winner-takes-all stage, and if their running game keeps grinding. Pittsburgh should progress to the divisional round, and a likely trip to Indianapolis, with a 24-14 win.

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Wildcard week - Panthers at Giants

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
Giants Stadium
Sunday, 8 January
1300 EST on Fox / 1800 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra

John Fox, Giants defensive coordinator from 1997-2001, returns to the Meadowlands as head coach of the Panthers in what is the most difficult game of the weekend to predict. Carolina, Super Bowl losers just two seasons ago, are forced to make the visit to the frozen north-east because they lost a tie-breaker with Tampa Bay atop the NFC South. New York, meanwhile, won the NFC East title by a game from Washington after controversially playing nine of their 16 games at home as the second match of the season was moved from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans.

The Giants' massive gamble on Eli Manning (they traded the equivalent of four draft choices to the Chargers in April 2004) has begun to pay off this season. The youngest of the Manning quarterback dynasty has led the Big Blue to the playoffs after a two-year gap, the time it has taken coach Tom Coughlin to give the side a massive overhaul. Coughlin's term has coincided with the outstanding development of running back Tiki Barber, who has overcome his reputation as a fumble-prone, under-sized back to become the second-best rusher in the league this season, with 1,860 yards.

Carolina had to replace their first-choice running back in mid-season, with DeShaun Foster taking over for the injured Stephen Davis. Quarterback Jake Delhomme has had another dependable-yet-unspectacular season, ranking 12th in the league despite 16 interceptions. Steve Smith leads the league with 1,563 receiving yards, but that disguises the Panthers' over-reliance on him as that total is almost four times that reliable veteran Ricky Proehl, his closest team-mate.

The Giants' undoing could come in the passing game, on both sides of the ball. Manning has enjoyed some sublime spells this year but can be hot-headed under pressure, particularly with tight end Jeremy Shockey (one of his release valves) struggling with an ankle injury. Carolina's defensive front four are one of the best in the league and could teach young Manning a life lesson, unless Barber can help out by distracting them.

The Giants have a pair of awesome defensive ends in youngster Osi Umenyiora and veteran Michael Strahan (yes, the Right Guard golfer) but there defensive backfield is suspect and may not be able to keep a handle on the speedy, physical Smith. There problems are compounded as linebacker Antonio Pierce is on the injury list, which may mean they have to divert extra effort to dealing with the rushing threat. In a low-scoring encounter, Carolina come out on top, say 21-14.

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Wildcard week - Jaguars at Patriots

Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium
Saturday, 7 January
2000 EST on ABC / 0100 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra

The warm-weather Jaguars travel to Foxborough, Massachusetts, where the temperature is not expects to rise above freezing even with the sun out earlier in the day but the Patriots are hot and everybody's dark horse to reach the Super Bowl. The last time these sides met in the playoffs, Jacksonville came out 25-10 winners in the 1998 wildcard round, the only time the Jags have beaten the Pats and one of just four post-season victories in eight attempts by the 11-season-old team.

New England's hopes of an unprecedented third consecutive NFL championship looked ruined by mid-season, when they were decimated by injuries and a 40-21 rout by Indianapolis left their record at 4-4. Key players came back at the right times, though, and the Pats took advantage of a week AFC East division to grab fourth seed in the conference. Still, they have a 12-man injury report for this weekend, with stars such as quarterback Tom Brady (shoulder) and running back Corey Dillon (calf) listed as "probable" and inspirational linebacker Tedy Bruschi as "questionable" but with the game on the line, don't expect any player to hold back in what is the best team effort in the league. As far as their game plan is concerned, coach Bill Belichick is impossible to predict. Last weekend he put back-up QB Doug Flutie in after a touchdown to drop-kick the extra point – the first time that has happened in the NFL since 1941! Expect them to use short, quick passes to try to exploit a defensive line that brings massive pressure.

Jacksonville are in the playoffs for the first time in the last six years, as Jack Del Rio's rebuilding programme finally bears fruit in his third season as head coach. Their schedule for second half of their regular season was hardly testing as they cruised to a 11-5 record, but the Jaguars had already secured tight victories over fellow playoff sides Seattle, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Del Rio has spent the week defending his decision to start Byron Leftwich at quarterback despite his six-week absence with a broken ankle. Replacement David Garrard has won five games since then, but the accuracy of a fully-fit Leftwich is one of the best ways to beat the scheming Patriot defense.

Unfortunately for the Jags, they lack the deep receiving threat which some sides have used to exploit the banged-up New England defensive backfield this year. With running back Fred Taylor past his best, they are also unable to keep the defensive front seven honest. They will be on the lookout for the short-passing game, and Jacksonville won't be able to find an effective plan B. Patriots take it 24-14.

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Wildcard week - Redskins at Buccaneers

Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Raymond James Stadium
Saturday, 7 January
1630 EST on ABC / 2130 GMT on Sky Sports Xtra

In arguably the weakest game of the playoff schedule, Washington travel to Florida after barely scraping past Philadelphia in the final weekend to take their streak to five games. They take on a Buccaneers side that has been running hot and cold all season. The Redskins will be out for revenge after their 36-35 regular-season loss in Tampa. They blocked a Buccs extra point to keep a one-point lead only to see a flag for offsides force another play, which the home team ran in for the game-winning two-pointer.

Tampa Bay rely heavily on rookie running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams to the degree that they have not lost any of the six games this year in which he has run for more than 100 yards and won just three when he has managed less than 50, including one when he was out with an ankle injury. Look for the Buccs to run him heavily on the left-hand side of the field, as Philadelphia did successfully last week. Young quarterback Chris Simms can be susceptible under pressure, and the best way to ease that is to run often and then pass using "play action" fakes. He will know Washington can fall victim to the long ball, but only has Joey Galloway as a legitimate threat as Michael Clayton is out with turf toe.

Washington's offense has been misfiring of late, with QB Mark Brunell struggling for consistency after suffering a knee injury. He needs to rediscover his aim if H-backs Chris Cooley and Mike Sellers are to be used to best effect against a headstrong Tampa defense, creating mayhem by lining up all over the field and catching short passes on the sides of the field. Running back Clinton Portis is in fine form, with a team record with 1,516 rushing yards this season and could wear down a smallish defense as the game goes on.

They looked shaky last weekend, but Washington have momentum on their side, will control the ball on offense and intimidate on defense to come out 34-21 winners.
(Season so far 7-4)

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Chiefs 37-3 Bengals - Verdict

Cincinnati decided the AFC seeding meant nothing in comparison to resting their top players, and in the event it made no difference anyway because rivals New England lost to Miami. Instead of a hard-fought match we got Carson Palmer playing just two drives before being pulled and little offense from there on.

Kansas City tried their best to provide Dick Vermeil with the ideal retirement present - a place in the playoffs - but Pittsburgh's win over Detroit (also a 1300 EST kick-off despite what you may have read here) meant the 69-year-old coach had to make do with a sentimental send-off by his home crowd.

Larry Johnson was once again supreme for the Chiefs and his nine games as starter this year have brought a barely-believable total of 1,750 yards - third in the league. He is just one reason why the Chiefs would be a playoff team in most other years, and this year in the other conference.

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