2. Baltimore (13-5). "We're the team you don't want to play right now,'' says Ed Reed. Right now? When exactly, this season, has anyone wanted to play this rolling ball of butcher knives?

3. Philadelphia (11-6-1). I think the Week 12 benching was good for McNabb. He's sure of himself, he's out to prove something and he's not afraid.

4. Tennessee (13-4). LenDale White backhanded compliment of the week. "We will beat them nine out of 10 times, but this time things didn't fall our way," White said. "I'm not taking anything away from Baltimore. I lose graciously.''

5. New England (11-5). Staying or leaving, Mr. Pioli?

6. New York Giants (12-5). "I thought our running game would give us some shorter distances to accomplish on third down,'' said Tom Coughlin after the 23-11 loss

7. Arizona (11-7). How do you know where to rank this team right now? I don't. But I'm putting them a little higher than I ever thought I would this postseason. The Cards are cashing in on scoring chances, allowing just 259.5 yards a game in the playoffs, playing tough (3.5 per carry) against the run and competing like this might be the last chance any of them ever have to do anything great in this game.

8. San Diego (9-9). Nothing to be ashamed of. Now the Darren Sproles free-agency clock starts ticking.

9. Indianapolis (12-5). Tick, tick, tick. The move is yours, Tony Dungy. All signs point to Dungy retiring, but we should know for sure in a matter of hours.

10. Carolina (12-5). Suddenly, the Panthers might have a quarterback need. And their first choice in the draft won't be 'til sometime in the late fifties.

11. Miami (11-6). Chad Pennington threw seven interceptions in 438 attempts in the regular season, and four in 38 throws against Baltimore. Let's not make that stat larger than life going into the offseason. Pennington deserves to be the opening-day quarterback for Miami in September, with Chad Henne continuing in apprenticeship behind him.

12. Atlanta (11-6). The Michael Vick day of salary-cap reckoning is coming. If the Falcons cut or trade him this offseason (what else can they do?), he counts as $7.11 million on their 2009 cap. If they keep him, he counts as $15.43 million. Now there's a tough call.

13. Minnesota (10-7). I see where Brad Childress has opened up the quarterback competition for next year. Good idea. But don't bury Tarvaris Jackson yet.

14. San Francisco (7-9). Happy trails to you, Aaron Salkin. You have been a heck of a PR man for the Niners, and you will be very good somewhere else.

15. Houston (8-8). Give the Texans a bookend pass-rusher to go along with Mario Williams and they could threaten Indy and Tennessee for the division title in 2009.

Quote of the Week I

"It's 10 years for me, 13 for Dawk, 13 for Runyan, 11 for Tra. This is something that is storybook. Five NFC Championships in 10 years. That kind of shows the trust and the coaching we have with Andy.''

-- Donovan McNabb of the harmonious Eagles -- himself, Brian Dawkins, Jon Runyan, Tra Thomas -- advancing to their fifth conference championship game together.

Quote of the Week II

"We picked a bad day to have a bad day.''

-- Carolina coach John Fox, stating the obvious after a shocking 33-13 loss to the Cardinals, a game in which the Panthers entered as heavy favorites.

Quote of the Week III

"You want to know the 13 scariest words in professional football this year? 'For more on the Cowboys, let's go to Ed Werder at Valley Ranch.' ''

-- Ira Kaufman, pro football writer for the Tampa Tribune.

The Awards Section

Offensive Player of the Week

Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona. He's becoming a gentlemanly Randy Moss, right down to wearing the gloves on his facemask when the game's been decided. He's so fluid, so smooth, such a competitive receiver with the ball is in the air, and so physically gifted that if he gets even a slight edge on a corner it's a sure catch. In the divisional playoff rout of the Panthers, he caught eight balls for 166 yards with one touchdown, a gorgeous catch-and-run-and-extend-the-left-hand-with-the-ball just to the right cone at the goal line, on a perfect dive. There aren't many players in history who could have scored that touchdown. In the two playoff wins, Fitzgerald has 14 catches for 265 yards.

Defensive Players of the Week

Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson, DTs, Philadelphia. For years, Andy Reid and Tom Heckert have gotten razzed for taking so many offensive and defensive linemen high in drafts. Well, the strategy of loading up on the Big Uglies has won the Eagles a trip to the NFC Championship. Patterson and Bunkley, picked in the first round of the 2005 and '06 drafts, respectively, provided the bedrock for the Eagles' tremendous run-stopping in the fourth quarter, eliminating all chances of the Giants getting back in the game after falling behind 20-11.

How'd they stop one of the game's best running combinations on two fourth-quarter, fourth-down surges, and on three third-and-shorts? "We got low, and we stayed low, and we didn't let them [the Giants offensive linemen] get under our pads,'' Patterson said on a joyous Eagle team bus as it sped down the Jersey Turnpike after the game. Not a sexy quote. But on Sunday, a rock-ribbed run defense never let Brandon Jacobs put a stranglehold on this game, and that was the winning insurance for Philadelphia.

Special Teams Player of the Week