Drew Brees and the Saints will try to advance to their second NFC Championship game.

CARDINALS @ SAINTS (4:30 p.m., FOX): Drew Brees and the Saints return to the playoffs where they will try to win the third playoff game in franchise history (the last coming against the Jeff Garcia-led Eagles in 2006). Brees, Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and company have had no trouble lighting up the scoreboard as evidenced by their 13-0 start. However, the team dropped its last three games of the year. Defensively, the Saints are a question mark as that unit has been up-and-down all year. Today they face Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and a high-powered Cardinals offense that has a better running game than they did a year ago with Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells. While the Cards defense didn’t show up until overtime last weekend against the Packers, the Cards defense is better than the Saints. The bottom line is this game will produce a lot of points and will come down to the end. The defense that can make the extra stop will win, and we see that being the Cardinals. THE PICK: Cardinals 34, Saints 30.

RAVENS @ COLTS (8:15 p.m., CBS): The Colts enter with a high powered aerial attack and a solid running game, while the ravens have a high-powered running game and average passing game. Payton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Joseph Addai may find points harder to come by than usual agains the Ravens and Ray Lewis. However, they will still put points on the board. The question is how well the Ravens play offensively. Joe Flacco obviously must do much better than the 4-for-10, 34 yard performance he had in Foxboro last week. The guess here is he will as the Colts will have to put eight men in the box to defend against Ray Rice and Willis McGahee. The two teams played a tight game in November with the Colts squeaking out a 17-15 win in Baltimore. If the score remains low, we’ll give the Ravens a chance to pull off the upset. We just don’t see manning and company being limited to 17 points again. THE PICK: Colts 24, Ravens 17.

Ray Rice rushed for 159 yards and two scores as the Ravens beat the patriots, 33-14.

While the Ravens have a legitimate quarterback for the first time in years, they’re still a running team as evidenced by the 234 total rushing yards they piled up en route to a 33-14 spanking of the Patriots today.

The Ravens will next play at Indianapolis at 8:15 next Saturday.

Ray Rice took the first snap of the game and blitzed 83 yards to the end zone, and the rout was on. The Ravens added two more rushing touchdowns — one by Rice and another by Le’Ron McClain. A Billy Cundiff 27-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter gave the Ravens a 24-0 lead after the first 15 minutes.

Tom Brady never got into a groove and tossed two first quarter interceptions. Brady finished 23-of-42 for 154 yards, two touchdowns and three picks. By comparison, Flacco finished just 4-of-10 for 34 yards and a pick.

Rice and McGahee, however, were the story for the Ravens. Rice finished with 159 yards and two scores on 22 carries, while McGahee added 62 yards and a TD on 20 carries.

The Ravens will need the 1-2 punch of Rice and McGahee to come up big next week against a Colts defense that finished 24th in the NFL in rushing defense. The Colts have allowed 126 yards a game. Meanwhile, the Ravens defense is 8th in the league in passing defense, and they’ll need to come up big against Payton Manning and the Colts prolific passing game.

DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

Three seconds after Michael Vick tossed a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin in the first quarter of Saturday’s game, my new iPhone rang and the McNabb bashing began … again.

It was my Uncle Bob calling and he, like many in my family, only calls after the Eagles play poorly. I never hear from them after a win. The claim to be Eagles fans, but actions say otherwise.

Michael Vick wears a cool facemask on his helmet.

Tonight, Uncle Bob was saying that the Eagles solution is to take McNabb out and put in Vick.

He’s right. I mean, obviously Vick is better than McNabb. Vick’s run the ball virtually all year when he’s been in. It was a miracle that Dallas played the run and Vick was able to hit Maclin in one-on-one coverage down the field.

And, Vick at least earned style points when fumbling the handoff to Leonard Weaver. He wears a cool tinted face shield on his helmet. That’s obviously the mark of a good quarterback.

The fact is, McNabb is head and shoulders above Vick.

McNabb hass a career 59 percent completion percentage, with an 86.5 percent passer rating. Vick has a career 53.7 completion percentage and 75.9 percent passer rating.

In fact, Vick’s best years in those categories are almost always lower than McNabb’s worst as the unquestioned starter.

Vick’s best completion percentage (56.4) came in 2004. By contrast, McNabb’s lowest (57) came in 2006.

Vick’s best passer rating was an 81.6 in 2002. McNabb’s only had two years lower than Vick’s best year — 77.8 on 2000, and 79.6 in 2003.

So, those who think Vick is the answer at quarterback are sadly mistaken. The man known as Ron Mexico made plays with his feet. However, he does not have the breakaway speed since returning from prison. He can’t turn the corner the way he once did.

Vick is far from the answer for Andy Reid and the Eagles.

DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

Eagles. Cowboys. NFC East rivalry. Playoffs. It doesn’t get much bigger than this.

However, after last week’s pitiful 24-0 loss to the Cowboys, do the Eagles have the capability of rising to the challenge and sending Tony Romo and the Cowboys to another playoff loss? Here’s how your DailyPhiladelphian sees the game playing out.

The Eagles and Cowboys battle in a Wild Card game Saturday night.

Quarterback — Edge: Push. As we said last week, both quarterbacks are consistently inconsistent. Donovan McNabb had a below average game last week while Tony Romo was at the top of his. Do their fortune’s reverse? Or, do we see a repeat performance from six days ago?

Running back — Edge: Dallas. The return of Brian Westbrook has not helped. We don’t expect vintage Westbrook, but we also need more than 17 yards on five carries. In addition, Shady McCoy and Leonard Weaver better get the ball more if the Eagles want to win. For once Marion Barber earned our respect last week, and Felix Jones displayed the break away ability we knew he had. Point blank, Dallas has the better running game right now.

Jeremy Maclin and the Eagles receivers look to rebound this week.

Wide receiver — Edge: Push. DeSean Jackson can’t do it alone. Jeremy Maclin needs to have a big game, while Jason Avant must continue to haul in passes in the slot. Patrick Crayton displayed that he can and will take advantage of Asante Samuel’s overaggressiveness, and he makes a great 1-2 punch with Pro Bowler Miles Austin.

Tight end — Edge: Push. Jason Witten is still one of the league’s best, although he’s been called on to block more this year. Brent Celek now garners the same respect as Witten. You know he’s getting the ball, and you still can’t stop him. Both are capable of having big, multiple TD games.

Offensive line — Edge: Dallas. The injury to Jamaal Jackson hurt the team last week. Nick Cole did a solid job filling in at center, but we don’t like starting max Jean-Gilles in Cole’s spot. Plus, that also means Stacy Andrews is in the rotation. Dallas’ group is intact and as solid as they’ve been in years.

Defensive line — Edge: Push. Jay Ratliff is a beast inside who cans top the run and get to the quarterback as evidenced by his six sacks. The Cowboys create pressure that is helped by linebacker DeMarcus Ware who acts as a pass rusher. Trent Cole leads the Eagles charge. It’s clear that the Birds need the blitz to help pressure Tony Romo.

The Eagles need to force more turnovers this week.

Linebacker — Edge: Dallas. The Eagles linebackers are a mess. Chris Gocong and Akeem Jordan — two starters at the beginning of the year — can’t get on the field. Jeremiah Trotter, who was cohosting radio shows on WIP in September, is the team’s best linebacker right now. Unless this unit steps up, makes plays and follows Trotter’s passionate play, the Eagles are in trouble and will get run on all over again. For Dallas, Ware leads the charge.

Secondary — Edge: Eagles. OK, the Birds defense had a poor game last week. We just don’t see a secondary with Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown getting beat up again this week.

Special teams — Edge: Eagles. We’ll take DeSean Jackson’s ability to change a game every week.

THE PICK: Dallas 23, Eagles 20. You can’t hold the Eagles offense down two weeks in a row. The only other time they went without a touchdown this year, the Eagles bounced back by scoring 27 points on Washington despite losing Westbrook in the first quarter with his first concussion of the year. Jackson, Maclin and Celek should all produce this week. In addition, the Eagles defense will surely blitz more than last week, which will help put the pressure on Romo. Having said all of this, we see a more competitive game, but the home field advantage likely helps Dallas pull it out in the end.

DeSean Jackson and the Eagles will battle the Cowboys on Saturday night.

Not only do the Eagles have to fly back to Dallas to battle the Cowboys again next week in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, they now have to do it on short rest.

The NFL just announced its playoff schedule for next week, and the Eagles play the Cowboys on Saturday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Earlier that day, the Cincinnati Bengals will host the New York Jets or Houston Texans at 4:30. That game will also be on NBC.

Sunday’s games include another week 17 rematch as the Cardinals host the Packers at 4:40 p.m. on Fox. Meanwhile, the Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens at 1 p.m.

The Ravens-Patriots game is the only one next weekend that is not a Week 17 rematch.

According to our friend, ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Eagles will likely play again next Sunday to start the playoffs.

Schefter tweeted moments ago that the Eagles and Cowboys will likely have their Week 17 rematch next Sunday, while the Cardinals and Packers will battle again next Saturday.

The Cowboys beat the Eagles 24-0 on Sunday to secure the third seed and knock the Eagles to the sixth slot.

Meanwhile, the Packers dropped the Cardinals 33-7 to wrap up the fifth seed and drop the cardinals to the 4 spot.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will head back to Arizona next week.

Thanks to the Cowboys 24-0 spanking of the Eagles, and the Packers 33-7 crushing of the Cardinals, the NFC Playoffs will open with two week 17 rematches.

The Minnesota Vikings will enter the playoffs as the two seed courtesy of the Cowboys win over the Eagles and their own 44-7 demolition of the New York Giants. New Orleans entered the day with the top seed already secured.

Dallas claims the third seed and will host the Eagles in Dallas again next week.

Arizona falls to the fourth seed and will host the surging Green Bay Packers.

DeSean Jackson and the Eagles look to secure the NFC East title and first round bye today.

Quarterback — Edge: Push. Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb are both consistently inconsistent. You just don’t know which signal callers will show up in Jerry Jones’ $1 billion palace today. When McNabb is on his game, he’s better than Romo. Let’s hope the Pro Bowl McNabb arrives in Dallas.

Running back — Edge: Push. Marion Barber and Felix Jones provide a nice 1-2 punch for the Cowboys. The same goes for the Eagles LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver. The X-factor here is Brian Westbrook. He looked solid in his return from concussions last week, but only got a handful of touches. If he is included in the game more, especially on screen passes, then the Eagles get the edge.

Wide receiver — Edge: Eagles. Miles Austin has had a solid year for the Cowboys. The receiver from Monmouth — yes, Monmouth — is headed to the Pro Bowl. After that, it’s a crapshoot. The golden child, Roy Williams, has been a bust to say the least. Patrick Crayton is a solid possession type wideout. The Eagles are better and deeper with DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant. Throw in Reggie Brown and possibly Kevin Curtis and there’s no comparison. One through five, we take the Eagles wideout over the Cowboys every time.

Tight end — Edge: Push. Jason Witten and Brent Celek have both had Pro Bowl caliber seasons with Witten getting the trip to Miami and Celek being overlooked. Celek has more TDs, but Witten has had to block more this year. This is a case where these two guys could be traded for each other today, and neither offense would take a hit.

Offensive line — Edge: Cowboys. The injury to Jamaal Jackson could disrupt a line that has gelled very well this year. How that disrupts the eagles remains to be seen. Until we see how Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles play today, we can’t give the Birds the edge.

The Eagles look to sack Tony Romo and the Cowboys today.

Defensive line — Slight Edge: Eagles. Pro Bowler Trent Cole and the Birds get a slight nod here over the Cowboys because they can get after the quarterback a bit better. While the Cowboys employ a 3-4 scheme and the line opens things up for DeMarcus Ware to terrorize opposing signal callers, Ware is technically listed as a linebacker.

Linebackers — Edge: Cowboys. Ware and his 11 sacks give the Cowboys the edge, especially against an Eagles corps that looks nothing like it did on opening day. While the Birds linebackers have played better as a unit recently, we still give Dallas the edge.

Secondary — Edge: Eagles. Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown. Enough said.

Special teams — Edge: Eagles. DeSean Jackson. David Akers. Nearly enough said. Quintin Demps also returns for the Eagles which should keep Macho Harris away from kick return duties.

THE PICK: Eagles 27, Cowboys 24 (OT). You may see this game replayed tomorrow on ESPN as an instant classic. OK, due to TV rights that won’t happen. But, the game will be replayed on NFL Network all week. (Sorry Time Warner subscribers.) Both teams are very evenly matched and really, it’s going to come down to which squads show up today and who wants it more. The Eagles have more to gain — a guaranteed first round bye — with a win. Dallas could get the two seed as well, but need help. Plus, this is going to be a playoff game and Tony Romo and the Cowboys have not fared so well in games of this magnitude. Just remember the last game of the season a year ago. McNabb and the Eagles have experienced games like this and won. We see that helping them today, but it won’t be easy.