Championship Sunday - Pennsylvania Style!

I'll bet that the press is going crazy in the Keystone State, and if one team wins tomorrow and the other loses, there will be major taunting. Especially if Pitt wins and Philly loses. Can you imagine the devastation Eagle fans will feel if they lose their fourth NFC title game straight while watching their cross-state rival win? Of course, if they both win, get ready for a lot of stories with a Penn angle. And someone somewhere will come up with a cheesy nickname for it, like the I-70 Series for the 1985 World Series. But, for my weekend picks, I have to stay with my Super Bowl pre-season picks:

Eagles 31- Falcons 10

I don't like Vick and company in this weather. They looked great last week, but they were playing an overmatched Rams team that shouldn't have been in the playoffs to being with, and they were in a dome. Yes, they did beat the Packers a few years ago, but Favre did dumb-Favre things (if I remember right) to help them win. McNabb could also do this, but I can see this as ugly as the weather will be. Or perhaps I'm completely wrong about the Falcons. Has anyone paid them any attention all year outside of Georgia? Perhaps Vick truly can win this game by himself.

Note to Chris about the motivation thing: If anything, I think it can backfire here, as Philly is a tortured sports town. More important is that the fans believe this. If McNabb starts making mistakes, and the crowd starts to get down, the Falcons could be dancing into Jacksonville... where they will lose by 30.

Patriots 24- Steelers 10

The trends of recent history point to this. The Pats always win when it counts, and the Steelers find a way to lose. And much of this has been with the same personnel. I think Big Ben looked awful last week, and the Belichick will find a way to make him play like that again. That first loss has to come eventually, and it might as well be a painful one. I've gotta go with the Champs here.