The Dallas Cowboys have been playing some great football, and definitely looked like the best team in last weekend’s Wild Card games.  Tony Romo finally got himself a playoff win and I think his confidence will be through the roof in this game.  The Cowboys are going to need another strong performance from Romo, especially since the Vikings have such a good defense.  The Vikings do a great job shutting down the run, so Romo will need to make some good plays through the air.  If Felix Jones can have a game like last weekend, it will make things a whole lot easier.  Marion Barber is probably going to be very limited with a knee injury, so Jones needs to be ready to get a lot of carries.  I don’t think he will have the success he did against the Eagles though, especially since the Vikings hold teams to just 87 rushing yards per game this season.  The Vikings are great at getting to quarterbacks too though, so Romo needs to be ready to use his legs and buy himself some time.  He is great a rolling out to his right and making plays on the move, so I think Romo will be able to handle the Jared Allen led Vikings line.

Brett Favre loves the big stage and will be ready to face the Cowboys strong defense.  Favre is rested, but hopefully rusty after two weeks off.  So, if Favre makes some erratic throws the Cowboys secondary needs to take advantage and try and get some turnovers.  Teams that win the turnover battle win over 80% of the time, so if the Cowboys can get an interception off the old gun-slinging Favre it will be huge.  They also have to worry about Adrian Peterson, but Peterson hasn’t been putting up the numbers he used to.  He hasn’t rushed for over 100 yards since week 10, and the Cowboys are holding teams to 90 rushing yards per game this year, so I think they should be able to contain him.  I expect a close game, and even though the Cowboys are the underdog on the road, I think they are playing great football and will take down Favre and the Vikings.

PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 28, Minnesota Vikings 24

The Dallas Cowboys made a big statement with their convincing 24-0 win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week, giving them home-field advantage in this rematch and the NFC East Title.  That doesn’t mean it will be another easy win for the Cowboys though, as Andy Reid and the Eagles will have revenge on their minds and they have also dominated the Cowboys in recent playoff years.  The Cowboys have been playing great though, and Tony Romo needs to get the big monkey off his back and finally win a playoff game.  He had one of his best seasons this year and the Cowboys are finally peaking at the right time.  With Romo playing well and the running combo of Marion Barber and Felix Jones, you have got to feel good as a Cowboy fan heading into this game.

The Cowboys’ defense has been doing more than their part for the Cowboys lately, getting great pressure on quarterbacks and not missing tackles.  They had a ton of success against the Eagles last week, giving them their first shutout in a few years.  They did it with strong pressure on Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb, which limited McNabb’s opportunities to look down the field.  McNabb and DeSean Jackson led the league in passing plays of 50+ yards, so the Cowboys secondary can’t let the speedy Jackson get behind them.  If the Cowboys can stop the Eagles’ big plays, then they will really limit what the Eagles’ offense can do.  They don’t run the ball great, but they did average 104 yards per game, so they can’t just focus on McNabb and the pass.  If they shut down the run, it will make things even harder on McNabb.  McNabb has proven he can do it with just his arm at times though, buying time with his athleticism, so the Cowboys need to keep him contained.  This should be an exciting game, but I think the Cowboys are the better team right now and will beat the Eagles again.

PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 27, Philadelphia Eagles 17

The Dallas Cowboys (10-5) have made the playoffs, but their game Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles (11-4) has the NFC East title on the line.  If the Cowboys can take down the Eagles they will be the NFC East Champions and may have a bye in the first round of the playoffs.  The Cowboys need Tony Romo to take care of the ball as any turnover could make or break this game.  Romo had gone four straight games without an interception before throwing one last week against the Redskins.  The Eagles’ defense has been playing well lately too, and it has helped them win six straight games.  So Romo will need help from the Cowboys running backs, something he should get as they have been running very well lately.

The Cowboys’ defense needs to limit the Eagles big plays, especially Donovan McNabb going deep to DeSean Jackson.  Jackson is a very fast play-maker and the Eagles have a lot of success when he has good games.  If the Cowboys can limit Jackson they will probably win.  Michael Vick will also get some snaps for the Eagles at quarterback, so the Cowboys defense needs to be prepared for that as well.  This game will have a playoff atmosphere and it should go down to the wire.  I’m going with the Cowboys in a very close one.

PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 28, Philadelphia Eagles 27

The Dallas Cowboys (8-4) are hosting one of the hottest teams in the league, the San Diego Chargers (9-3).  The Chargers have won seven games in a row and have a dynamic offense.  Philip Rivers leads the way at quarterback and the Chargers can win games with his arm alone.  He has a solid running game to go to though, with LaDainian Tomlinson running the ball very well the last few weeks.  If the Cowboys want to win this, they will need to slow down the running game and try and force Rivers into some mistakes.

The Cowboys offense has the ability to keep up with the Chargers, but if they don’t get some help from the defense it will be a tough task.  Tony Romo is coming off one of his best games, even though the Cowboys lost.  Romo usually has a fall-off this time of year, but it hasn’t happened yet.  If Romo can have another big day this will be a very close and exciting game to watch.  If Romo falters, the Cowboys won’t have much of a chance.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  San Diego Chargers 34, Dallas Cowboys 28

The Giants won the first match-up between these teams back in September 33-31 at Dallas but that seems like a long time ago.  The Giants appear to be a battered and bruised team so the Cowboys need to jump on them early in this game and get them to quit.  The Cowboys will likely come out running the ball in this game with the three pronged attack of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice against a Giants’ D that is allowing 4.2 yards per carry and 107.8 yards rushing per game.  The Giants will likely be blitzing the Cowboys a lot so Tony Romo might have to use a shorter passing attack with his ole buddy Jason Witten getting a lot more action than usual.  If the Giants’ safeties creep up to deal with the running game and Witten, then Romo should go up top to Miles Austin or Roy Williams.

The Giants will likely come out throwing the ball against the Cowboys as they are allowing 224.9 yards passing per game this year.  Eli Manning will need the O-Line to keep DeMarcus Ware away from him but that will be easier said than done.  Manning does a good job of spreading the ball around so the Cowboys won’t likely be able to double anyone.  Brandon Jacobs will likely shoulder a huge load in the running game as most of his caddies are injured and out for this game.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 30, COWBOYS 27