New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys: Eli Manning got the playoff monkey off his back last week; this time it?s Tony Romo?s turn to exorcise playoff demons. With TO either out or hobbled, he?ll have a tough time. Making it tougher will be the Giants' front four, who continue to get good pressure without much blitz help. Rookie DB Aaron Ross will be critical--if he can use his corner skills to lock down TE Jason Witten, the Cowboys are in real trouble. Cowboys' OC Jason Garrett needs to use Marion Barber much more frequently. I do think the Dallas defense will present major problems as they are almost a polar opposite of what the G-Men faced in Tampa last week. I really like where the Giants are mentally, and I?m not sure the bye was in the best interests of the Cowboys. Between TO and Jessica Simpson and Bill Parcells raiding the coaching staff, I just don?t believe the Cowboys will have the necessary focus and cohesion. Even though the forecast simulators in my head say the Cowboys win 59 times out of 100, I?m taking the Giants to continue their road warrior status. New York 26, Dallas 20. Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers: Seattle will need to play a complete 60 minutes to beat the Packers; something they did not do against the Skins last week. There are quite a few angles with this one, but to me it all boils down to pass protection. Which team can force the opposing QB into making mistakes, which both Favre and Hasselbeck have proven they will? I trust Favre in Lambeau Field more than I trust Hasselbeck, who made some truly awful decisions last week. I also like the ability of the Packers' LB's to snuff out the flares and underneath routes to the backs and slot WR's, though I do question the deep cover skills of their safeties. These Seahawks are a dangerous foe because they?ve got playoff experience and confidence, and I would pick them to beat any other NFC team in any other locale. But not Green Bay, not in the land of beer, cheese, and butterburgers. Green Bay 34, Seattle 30. San Diego Chargers at Indianapolis Colts: The rested, healing Colts draw the Chargers, who slogged through a physical battle with Tennessee last weekend. There?s a good chance Antonio Gates will miss the game for San Diego, and that is a huge problem for the Bolts. Without him to keep Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders honest in coverage, Sanders can effectively shadow Ladanian Tomlinson all game. The Chargers own secondary will be put to the test by Manning & Co., and while I do think they?ll make some plays, they?re not going to keep the Colts from outscoring their own offense. You can ignore the first meeting back in the regular season when the Colts were minus 9 regulars, including 4 of their top 5 pass catchers. I give the Chargers very little chance in this one, even less of a chance than I give Jacksonville against New England. Indianapolis 31, San Diego 16. Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots: Jacksonville has suddenly emerged as the trendy sleeper pick, the one team nearly everyone thinks presents the best chance to end the Patriots' run at perfection. I do not share that sentiment. The Patriots have two real vulnerabilities that a team has to be able to exploit to beat them--making their LB's work in coverage and having the ability to pressure Tom Brady up the gut without exposing the secondary. You accomplish the former by using the TE and lots of multi-WR sets and underneath crossing routes, plus flaring out the RB's. Jacksonville has perhaps the least accomplished talent at the TE position in the entire league, and going across the middle is not something Ernest Wilford or Reggie Williams (two WRs I do like) do particularly well or frequently. Only two other teams (MIN and HOU) threw less to their RB's than the Jaguars. The Jags look to be without their best DT (John Henderson), their best overall LB (Mike Peterson), and likely their starting safety (talented rookie Reggie Nelson). Though they do have better depth than most teams, you cannot hope to line up missing key pieces and expect to slow down the most prolific offense in history. The only way I see the Patriots losing is in a shootout, and the Jaguars are simply not designed to win a game 35-34. This also represents one of the biggest coaching mismatches in playoff history, and that favors the Patriots too. New England stays sharp with a 37-10 romp over the Jaguars.