NFL playoffs preview

ON FOOTBALL

I can't remember the last time there was as big a favorite entering the playoffs as there is this year.

New England is a 1-2 favorite to win the Super Bowl. The team with the second-best odds is Indianapolis, which has a 4-1 shot.

So, basically, people are pretty high on these Patriots. Guess that's what happens when you go 16-0.

But something tells me that these playoffs are going to be the craziest in quite some time. There will be upsets galore. Crazy weather. Heart-pumping finishes. Not just a unsympathetic romp to 19-0 by another Boston-based team.

I might be wrong. Heck, I'm probably wrong — picking against the Patriots is about as smart as wearing a T-shirt outside in Boston this time of year.

But what fun would it be picking the favorite? With that said, here's my playoffs preview:

WILD CARD ROUND

NFC

(6) Washington 27, (3) Seattle 20: Unlike in sports with longer seasons, such as the NBA, momentum means something entering the playoffs. No team – besides those 16-0 guys — has more of it than the Redskins.

(5) N.Y. Giants 24, (4) Tampa Bay 18: Speaking of momentum, the Giants played their best game a week ago. Now, Eli Manning will step up in the playoffs and finally lead them to the divisional round.

AFC

(3) San Diego 27, (6) Tennessee 10: The teams' first meeting was a battle, but the Titans' injury list is almost as long as their active roster. Plus, the Chargers have won six straight games.

(5) Jacksonville 20, (4) Pittsburgh 14: The Jaguars run the ball well and don't turn it over. That will be enough to win in adverse conditions once again in Pittsburgh. Coming in, the Steelers have not been playing good football.

DIVISIONAL ROUND

NFC

(6) Washington 28, (1) Dallas 27: Remember what happened a week ago? Sure, the Cowboys didn't have T.O., but the Redskins owned Tony Romo and ran roughshed over the 'Boys. It will be closer in Dallas, but the same shocking result.

(2) Green Bay 33, (5) New York 21: I find it interesting how little is being talked about the Packers despite their dominance from week to week. There's no way they're losing at home in January.

AFC

(1) New England 24, (5) Jacksonville 16: Not an easy win for the Patriots, but Randy Moss breaks free for a touchdown and the defense is steady.

(2) Indianapolis 26, (3) San Diego 17: Last time these teams played, Peyton Manning threw six interceptions in the rain. This time, in the dome, Manning is very efficient, and Philip Rivers throws the picks.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

NFC

(2) Green Bay 28, (6) Washington 17: The Redskins lose their magic inside frigid Lambeau Field as the Packers, boosted by that improved running game and the reborn Brett Favre, return to the Super Bowl. The city goes absolutely beserk.

AFC

(2) Indianapolis 24, (1) New England 21: Even minus pass rusher Dwight Freeney, the Colts will make Brady n' Co. take sustained drives down the field. There will be no bombs to Moss. Meanwhile, Joseph Addai will repeat his standout performance from the teams' first meeting, and guess who will make the game-winning field goal? Yeah, you guessed it.

SUPER BOWL

... You'll have to wait a few weeks for this. I don't want to embarrass myself too much.

Westbrook's smart move

ON FOOTBALL

Brian Westbrook is now — officially — my favorite NFL player.

I’ve never pretended that my 6-foot, 161-pound frame could last a second in the NFL. But I’ve always believed that I could assist a team as a game manager. There are so many situations where I look at the TV and wonder, What was he thinking?

Coaches not using their timeouts. Players running out of bounds when they need to keep the clock running. Players staying in bounds when they need to stop the clock. You get the point.

I’ve seen it all, and although I don’t pretend that — in the heat of battle — I would make the right decision, coaches and players sometimes appear, no offense, so dumb. (And, no, it’s not because many players didn’t graduate from college; it’s common-sense dumb.)

But not Westbrook, the Eagles’ durable running back. He made possibly the smartest play I’ve ever seen on a football field in Philadelphia’s 10-6 upset of Dallas Sunday afternoon. A win that keeps the Eagles, at 6-8, on the fringe of the NFC playoff picture.

Leading 10-6 with just over two minutes remaining, Westbrook broke through the Dallas defense and was in the clear. He was racing toward the end zone. He could have pranced into pay dirt, maybe done a little prancing, maybe taunted the Dallas crowd. You know, the usual for NFL players celebrating touchdowns.

And the Eagles would have been up 17-6 with just 2 minutes remaining. They would have been in great shape to finish off the road victory. But it wouldn’t have been over. Not with Dallas’ offense back on the field.

So what did Westbrook do? The unthinkable. He angered fantasy owners across the country by abruptly falling at the 1-yard line. The voluble Cowboys fans in the bar I was in were incredulous. They called Westbrook all kinds of vulgar names.

But they knew. Everyone knew that Dallas, devoid of timeouts, was officially done when Westbrook hit the Texas Stadium turf. After the 2-minute warning, all it took were three kneel-downs by Donovan McNabb, and the clock hit 0:00.

The chance of Tony Romo, even with a bum thumb, leading Dallas to two scores in 2 minutes is much greater than the chance of McNabb fumbling one of three snaps. I feel very, very safe saying this.

Which is why Westbrook’s decision was so brilliant. It, ultimately, ended the game. Kept T.O. — and his popcorn — on the sideline.

I’m not a big “favorites” guy. Too many guys make silly, sometimes game-costing errors at a point during a 16-game season. Placing the “favorite” tag is downright dangerous.

But I feel comfortable calling Westbrook my favorite NFL player. All it took was one acute, selfless play at the end of a long afternoon in Big D.

More than likely, nobody will talk about Westbrook’s decision after the next day or two. That’s fine.

But the Eagles should be comforted that they have a heady player in their backfield.

In typical Lions fashion

ON FOOTBALL

After I stayed out very late Saturday night, I slept in until 2:48 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Before cursing myself for wasting half the day or trudging to the bathroom to wash my face, I grabbed the bedside remote to check on the Week 14 NFL scores.

The first score I noticed? Detroit 20, Dallas 14 — in the third quarter.

Since I made the Michigan-to-North Carolina jump the first week of October, I hadn't seen one Lions game. Of course, usually that's a good thing, but not when the alternative is watching the dull Panthers. And something told me, after my long hibernation, that this was one Lions game I didn't want to miss.

So instead of reading the Sunday paper or cooking myself some eggs, I bolted out the door and drove the 8.3 miles to Buffalo Wild Wings — the dream spot for NFL fans. When I entered, every early game had its own TV. The Cowboys-Lions battle had gained access to one of the big screens (mostly because of the number of 'Boys fans in attendance).

There was one other Lions fan in the joint, and as I took the only available seat and introduced myself to a grizzly, likes-to-swear Giants fan, the other Lions rooter pounded fists with me. Could the 6-6 Lions knock off the NFC's elite, the 11-1 Cowboys? Could thy get that win that might just sneak them in the playoffs?

We wanted to be witnesses. It's not every year a Lions game during the Holiday Season actually matters. Usually by the time my family mounts the tree, the Lions have 11 losses in their back pocket.

So this Sunday was special. Until, that is, the game ended.

In typical Lions fashion.

First there was the missed field goal. Jason "Automatic" Hanson — the MVP of the team for the past 10-plus years — pushed a gimme 35-yard attempt to the right that would have given Detroit a two-possession lead, 30-21.

Then there was the booted fumble. On Dallas' game-winning drive in the waning moments, quarterback Tony Romo was stripped of the ball, which bounced directly toward Lion Paris Lenon. All he had to do was fall on the ball, and the timeout-less 'Boys would be done, sauteed, boiled. But, instead, Lenon tried to scoop up the pigskin and kicked it directly to a Dallas lineman. Who knew what to do.

From there, the rest of the Lions' demise was all too predictable. As I sat watching, there was no rally cap, no superstitious move I could make to change the ending. Dallas converted a fourth down. Romo guided them down to the Detroit 16-yard line.

And, finally, he completed the inevitable with a touchdown pass down the middle to super tight end Jason Witten, who caught a team-record 15 balls on the day but somehow raced untouched to pay dirt on the game's most important play.

A terrible kickoff return, two incompletions and a sack later, the comeback was complete. Dallas had outscored Detroit 14-0 in the fourth quarter — in Detroit — to win 28-27. This one had to hurt the most of the hundreds of losses the Lions have sustained in recent memory.

In my 2007 NFL Preview, I predicted six wins for the Lions. I didn't, however, expect them to arrive at that number in this fashion. Five weeks ago, after Detroit drilled Denver 44-7, my friend texted me, saying the Lions would make the playoffs. I wanted to agree with him, really did, but I knew this franchise too well.

Now, the Lions are toast. With games at San Diego next week and at Green Bay the season's final week — sandwiched around a home game against the awful Chiefs — there's no way Detroit wins its remaining three games, which is almost certainly what it needs to do to play into January.

It still might surpass my expectation of six wins. And, I must admit, this team has been better on several levels than I expected. Except for a few duds, the offense has been as explosive as advertised. The defense has shown up on occasion. And no "Fire Millen" marches have occurred outside Ford Field.

But there are no moral victories in the NFL. The bottom line is how many games you win. And for the eighth consecutive season, it appears the Lions are headed for familiar territory — a seat in front of the TV during the playoffs.

As I left "B-dubs" late Sunday afternoon, with the North Carolina sun beginning to set, I could only shake my head and smile. Why, I wondered, did I squander the first two hours of my day to watch the same old story?

Not to mention have to listen to the cigarette-wielding, voluble Giants fan spout off about Plaxico Burress until I had to turn my chair.