NFL Playoff Jabber/Divisional Sunday

Something that makes Divisional Sunday a little different than most weeks is both games we have in mind who the winner will be playing. Who’s going to match up better? Could they have pulled that off next week? Could both Championship games be played as football should in January, in the snow?

Most will view the AFC Championship as the real Super Bowl (just as they did years ago with the NFC). Whether it’s the Chargers or Colts, the AFC title game will rule the headlines. The Pats have history with both. Oddly, scanning the headlines, the Colts still seem to be under the radar in a sense. Nobody is talking about them.

This is just personal opinion…wouldn’t you rather have the NFC headlines watching the weather in Green Bay for the week rather than if Tony Romo is slipping into a dressing room with Jessica Simpson at a shopping mall? Of course that is from a person who has no personal stock in the teams playing.

Anyway, this week we have our poll results (at the time of writing this) from the Jabberheads here, the AccuScore Game Forecast used at the mainstream sites, and The Yardstick from our friends at FanYard. We’ll also take a look around the web with a bunch of links and quotes for today’s games.

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Kickoff is at 1:00pm EST on CBS

Poll Results:

• Football Jabber: 83% in favor of the Colts
• Accuscore: 68% in favor of the Colts
• YardStick: 92% in favor of the Colts

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Kickoff is at 4:30pm on FOX

Poll results:

• Football Jabber: 60% in favor of the Cowboys
• Accuscore: 67% in favor of the Cowboys
• YardStick: 59% in favor of the Cowboys

Let’s check out some links and quotes…

Chargers@Colts

Phillip Rivers knows he is the underdog QB in this matchup.

“If they didn’t say they have an edge at quarterback, I’d think they must have been crazy (given) what he’s done and the player he is,” Rivers said last week. “Barring something crazy, we’re going to be the underdogs from here on out as far as that goes.”

Kansascity.com playoff capsule…who has the edge where, all that stuff.

Taking a look at the last game between the two…

”So many things happened in that game, you could almost scratch it,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers told reporters Monday.

Said Colts coach Tony Dungy: “I don’t think there will be a lot to take out of that game, what happened one way or another.”

”That game” — the Chargers’ 23-21 victory in Week 10 — featured enough fluky plays to fill a blooper reel.

The Chargers hope to keep some AFC trends alive this season…

“I think subconsciously we know teams have gotten there from this position, and that helps,” coach Norv Turner said. “But we’re playing one of the two best teams in football, so what we’ve got to do is play our best.”

L.T. says you shouldn’t look for a repeat of the last meeting…

“That’s like a once-in-a-lifetime game, the way it happened,” said Tomlinson. “Peyton Manning had six picks. That will never happen again. We had a kickoff return and a punt return [for touchdowns] and that doesn’t happen much. And then Adam Vinatieri missing a field goal at the end of the game. So it was just kind of a weird game.”

The Colts are supposed to be playing some starters on the kicking units.

Antonio Gates is still a game time decision. ESPN breaks the story that Gates wants to play.

Giants@Cowboys

Not that it matters much because they split carries, but Marion Barber is going to be the Cowboys starter.

Taking a look back at the first two times these teams played this year.

Jabberfest. Patrick Clayton vs. Brandon Jacobs.

“Jacobs just talks, period,” Crayton said. “He was talking even before the first game of the season.”

Yesterday, Jacobs would not be drawn in.

“We don’t really say nothing about the opposing team ever in this locker room,” Jacobs said. “People can come out and say what they want to say, but it’s all about playing the game on Sunday.”

Steve Serby of The New York Post is calling for the head of T.O.

Ahmad Bradshaw gets some love from JSonline.

“He’s going to be real good,” said Ross (director of Giants scouting), who regards Bradshaw as a future starter. “Quick. Explosive. Fast. Small, but he runs strong.”

These are always fun. Ten plays that shaped the Cowboys season.

Antonio Pierce calls the game “All Pro vs. All Joe.”

Game rundown from DallasCowboys.com

Some Cowboy blogger preview.

Terrence Newman is impressed with the recent Eli…

“The old Eli would have just fallen down and took the sack,” Newman said. “But this guy is making smart decisions, dumping the ball off, keeping drives alive. He’s playing a lot better. We sure hope we can make him be the old Eli.”

More on Eli from the New York Post.

The Giants are the only “Feel good” story in New York right now.

Is T.O. going to play? He says he will see us Sunday.

Key Matchups for the game from the Star-Telegram, and players to watch.

tag: NFL, Football, Playoffs, Colts, Chargers, Cowboys, Giants, Sports, Preview, Babes, Cheerleaders

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