The final week of the NFL season was so anti-climactic in most cities that it reminded us of the first time we had sex (and most of the other times we've had sex, too). To get the pigskin juices flowing again with games that actually matter, here's a look at the wildcard contests that kickoff next Saturday. We’ll be back, of course, with plenty more before the games are played.

 

Joe Gibbs might no longer have his fastball, as his critics have charged. But he can certainly come out of the bullpen and close. The 2007 Redskins charge into the playoffs with four straight victories. The 2005 Redskins won five straight to reach the playoffs. That’s bad news for the Seahawks, who enter the game as the single most untested and unproven team in the playoff field. They’ve played just three games against Quality Teams and their lone win over a winning club came way back in Week 1 against the powerhouse 9-7 Buccaneers.

 

This is the marquee match-up of the weekend and it does not bode well for the once-dominant-looking Steelers, who lost four of their last seven – including a 29-22 home loss to these very same Jaguars just a couple weeks ago. Pittsburgh’s only wins during its seven-week fall from gridiron grace came gainst the hopeless Dolphins, the pathetic Bengals and the incompetent Rams.

 

Tom Coughlin earned praise in many circles for having his boys ready for battle Saturday night, and then for playing his starters the entire game in the quest to dethrone the mighty Patriots. But we’ll know about the wisdom of his decision in a week. And don’t be surprised if that tepid praise quickly turns to scathing criticism by a media wolfpack that changes its storylines more often than Paris Hilton changes sex partners during a Vegas coke bender: The track record of the teams that blew their wad in an effort to beat New England is pretty poor. The mighty Colts lost the following week, the Eagles lost the following two weeks (knocking themselves out of the playoff picture), and the Ravens lost the following three weeks. The Giants need only one bad day.

 

As we noted in the year-end Quality Standings report, the Chargers have seemingly resurrected themselves over the last several weeks. But they’ve built the “new and improved” Chargers by beating up bad teams. So it seems any playoff team will provide a true test of how far San Diego has come over the past two months. The Titans, meanwhile, may be the first playoff team in history with more wins (10) than touchdown passes (9).