The AFC was as hard-hitting as we expected in this contest featuring the top two defenses in the NFL. Baltimore’s Joe Flacco finally showed his rookie inexperience, throwing three picks as the Pittsburgh Steelers advanced with a 23-14 victory, covering the 5.5-point NFL spread. Big plays also carried the Steelers to the Super Bowl, as Santonio Holmes caught a 65-yard touchdown pass, while Troy Polamalu’s 40-yard interception for a score late in the fourth quarter sealed the game for Pittsburgh.

Arizona overcame the NFL betting odds to beat Philadelphia 32-25 at home as 4-point underdogs, and the Cardinals are now headed to their first Super Bowl. The Arizona defense continued their improvement, forcing three turnovers from the Eagles, while Kurt Warner was amazing, going 21-of-28 for 279 yards and four touchdowns.

Super Bowl XLIII odds have come out, with the Steelers opening up as 7-point favorites to win their sixth Super Bowl, while Arizona are under no pressure at all as their fans are just ecstatic to be mentioned in the same sentence as “Super Bowl XLIII Betting“.

Although the Ravens vs Steelers matchup seems to be getting all of the attention, the game I’m excited about is the Eagles vs Cardinals matchup. It’s tough to beat a team twice in a year. See: the Ravens/Titans game last week, or the Chargers/Colts game the week before. So does that mean that the game-to-game adjustments benefit someone in this Eagles vs Cardinals matchup?

Nonetheless, let’s get to some picks:

Eagles vs Cardinals odds: Eagles -4

The Eagles vs Cardinals spread is a little strange for an NFC Conference Championship game: the road team is favored by more than a field goal. It’s pretty rare that at this point in the season we would see a road team favored by so much, but that’s the case since no one really believes in the Cardinals.

One thing to keep in mind for this Eagles vs Cardinals line, the Cards did get blown out in the previous meeting and the question is how will they adjust? The Eagles pass defense seems to be the kryptonite to the Cards passing game while the Cardinals welcoming pass defense figures to be a huge weakness against the Eagles pass-happy offense.

I’ll go with the experience in this matchup.

Eagles vs Cardinals pick: Eagles -4

Ravens vs Steelers odds: Steelers -5.5

I’ll keep it short and sweet in this contest. Bla, bla, bla…physical contest…bla, bla, bla…tight defensive tilt…bla, bla, bla…division rivalry.

Bottom: in the previous two Ravens vs Steelers matchup this season, neither contest was decided by more than this spread so I’ll take the points.

Ravens vs Steelers pick: Ravens +5.5

Are the Philadelphia Eagles the Arizona Cardinals kryptonite? Sportsbook odds have the Eagles as a four-point favorite over the Cardinals, yet the Cardinals are at home. The bookmakers are clearly saying that the Eagles are the better team.

The Cardinals simply don’t run the ball and if you had to pick a weakness in the Eagles defense, it would be their run defense. The Eagles have the third-best pass defense and they have a quartet of solid corners that can play with anyone. More importantly in this Eagles vs Cardinals matchup is the fact that the Eagles, who send a variety of exotic blitzes, will find a way to pressure Kurt Warner.

On the flip side, the Eagles are very much a passing team themselves. And the good news for them is that the Cardinals have allowed the most passing touchdowns in the league. On top of that, Brian Westbrook figures to have a big day.

As long as the Eagles don’t make a ton of mistakes like the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers did, they should come up on the winning end of this Eagles vs Cardinals matchup.

Giants vs Cowboys Odds: Cowboys -3

Sportsbook odds have the Cowboys favored even though they have the worse record. Keep an eye on the injury report as the Giants might rest Brandon Jacobs this week. The Cowboys are desperate for a win and this is virtually their season. If they lose, they are probably out of the playoffs. Look for the Cowboys to get a key win and steer towards the playoffs.

Giants vs Cowboys Pick: Cowboys -3

Browns vs Eagles odds:

On one hand, you have a team that is mailing it in. That would be the Browns. They also have tuned out their head coach and are down to their third-string quarterback. That’s on top of the fact that they weren’t very good to begin with. Now they have to head to Philadelphia to play on Monday Night Football for the third time this season. Look for them to get their first loss on National television against one of the hottest teams in the league. Good luck.

Browns vs Eagles Pick: Eagles -14