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Plenty to watch in AFC divisional playoffs
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

PITTSBURGH -- Emotionally devastated by his team's last-minute defeat Sunday afternoon, distraught over the inexplicable reality the Cleveland Browns are not advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs, linebacker Earl Holmes nonetheless offered a prediction as he left Heinz Field and headed for a long bus ride home.

"After what happened here today," said the seven-year veteran, who played his first six seasons for the Steelers before signing with the Browns as a free agent last summer, "no one should be shocked over anything that happens in the AFC. It's wild and woolly out there. Anybody can win and anybody can lose. I'm telling you this much: Be prepared for the unpredictable."

To this point, at least, the AFC playoffs have held to "the chalk." By virtue of the Steelers' epic comeback victory, all four division champions remain alive in the AFC bracket, and the two wild-card entries are eliminated. But after this, as Holmes pointed out, the "real fun" begins.

Even the Steelers, who stumbled into the playoffs and almost bumbled their way out of them Sunday, have a chance to fulfill what some players still feel is their manifest destiny.

"With what happened last year," said Pittsburgh weakside linebacker Joey Porter, alluding to the Steelers' home defeat in the AFC title game, we feel we owe ourselves one. There's still a chance for redemption."

There is a chance, it seems, for almost anything as the junior conference embarks on the divisional round, and another step toward determining its representative in Super Bowl XXXVI. Here then are five things to look for in the AFC matchups next weekend:

  • Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET)
    1. Anytime the Titans and Steelers square off, you can bet on a physical, hard-hitting game. There is much mutual respect between the teams, who played in the same division until realignment this year, and coaches Jeff Fisher and Bill Cowher are cut from the same bolt of cloth. Five of the past seven meetings, including Tennessee's 31-23 victory Nov. 17, were decided by eight points or fewer. The Titans have won five of the games, but virtually all were decided in the fourth quarter, and the franchises seem to thrive on each other's competitiveness.

    Bulluck
    Bulluck

    2. One of the major subplots in the matchup of former division rivals is the fact that, in the regular-season game, Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox suffered the severe concussion many felt would end his '02 campaign, as he scrambled and was hit by Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck. After the comeback victory Sunday over Cleveland in the opening round, Maddox insisted there will be "no revenge (factor)," and reiterated the hit by Bulluck was a clean one. Still, the injury is sure to be revisited this week. Maddox had one of his worst games of the season against the Titans, as he threw three interceptions before the head injury in a 31-23 defeat. He'll have to play significantly better if Pittsburgh is to have a chance of upsetting the red-hot Titans.

    3. Through the first 13 games of the season, the Titans were one of just two teams that started the same offensive line unit every week to that juncture. But then left guard Zach Piller was sidelined by a badly sprained ankle and, just a week later, left tackle Brad Hopkins sustained a partially torn medial collateral ligament. Piller is a tremendous in-line drive blocker and, while he gets called for too many holding penalties, Hopkins remains one of the NFL's best pass protectors. Both linemen could be back for the playoff contest, and that would help a Titans offense that has been sporadic with them out of the lineup, and which has struggled to run weakside. It's also a plus to have experienced linemen to block a 3-4 Pittsburgh front that can be confusing at times.

    4. Look for the linebackers from both clubs to set the tone. Even though the teams play different fronts, Pittsburgh in its trademark 3-4 scheme and the Titans in a more conventional 4-3, the linebackers are the centerpieces for coordinators Tim Lewis (Steelers) and Jim Schwartz (Titans). The Steelers' foursome of Joey Porter, Jason Gildon, Kendrell Bell and James Farrior is one of the NFL's most talented. Porter has enjoyed a breakout season, Gildon is a streaky pass rusher and Bell is a Pro Bowl-caliber performer. Keep an eye on Bell's injury, a high ankle sprain, one he aggravated Sunday. If he plays, he will likely do so without practicing at all during the week. The Tennessee trio of Keith Bulluck, Randall Godfrey and Peter Sirmon isn't nearly as well known but is equally effective. Bulluck in particular has come on strong and probably should have been included on the AFC Pro Bowl team.

    5. Both defenses will have to contend with mighty-mite wide receivers, the Titans' Derrick Mason and Antwaan Randle El of Pittsburgh, who also double as dangerous return men. Mason and Randle El are elusive runners after the catch, work well between the hashes, and have the kind of quickness to turn short passes into big plays. Randle El returns kickoffs and punts and, as he demonstrated Sunday, he can erase a lot of mistakes. He had a fumble against the Browns, and has had some problems in that area, but redeemed himself with a touchdown return. Mason is very explosive, a playmaker who doesn't need much room, either catching the ball or returning punts.

  • New York Jets at Oakland Raiders (Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET)
    1. Jets coach Herm Edwards noted after his team's Saturday dismantling of the Indianapolis Colts that "you knock one monkey off your back at a time." The young Jets took a big step Saturday, winning their first postseason contest under Edwards, in his second year with the Jets, playing superbly in all facets of the game. But in facing the Raiders, the Jets get more than a monkey, trying now to keep a gorilla from riding piggy-back for another year. The Raiders have won three of the last four matchups with the Jets, eight of the last 10, and destroyed New York in the first round of the 2001 playoffs. Playing at Oakland provides the Raiders a significant advantage, because New York has to travel cross-country, but this is a Jets team playing with confidence and moxie right now. That said, the only monkey business the Jets can afford is the issue of trying to knock another ape off their backs.

    Pennington
    Pennington

    2. Young quarterbacks rarely perform well in their first exposure to the playoffs, but Chad Pennington of the Jets was near-flawless in the wild-card round victory Saturday over Indianapolis, and it will be interesting to see if he can remain similarly unfazed with the stakes raised a notch. Pennington appears about as emotionless as it's possible to be and there is a reason the Jets now have won nine of his 13 starts. The third-year pro just doesn't rattle and, because Oakland rarely blitzes more than one player and prefers a conservative, fairly low-risk approach on attacking the pocket, he could grow comfortable in the pocket. What he must avoid is trying to match throws with Raiders quarterback and league most valuable player Rich Gannon. One of the keys to Pennington's improvement is that he played within himself this season. Pennington must follow the formula that has brought him success, and that means allowing the people around him to make plays, to spread the ball around.

    3. New York loves to lull opponents with its power running game, led by tailback Curtis Martin, and then get the ball to its swift wide receivers when the defense commits a safety to the ground attack. The critical factor for the Raiders, as they try to contain wideouts Laveranues Coles, Wayne Chrebet and Santana Moss, is the health of cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Tory James. Both the veteran cover men have undergone leg surgeries in the past five weeks. One of the game's brashest defenders, and a guy who plays with a huge dose of confidence, Woodson began practicing last week but likely will play at less than 100 percent. The secondary has been a concern for the Raiders since the first month of the season, mostly because of injuries, and Oakland was forced to play its Nos. 4 and 5 corners the final few weeks. It's time for "all hands on deck," now that the playoffs have begun, and some of the Oakland defensive backs will have to suck it up.

    4. Once considered a first-round bust, Oakland's Lincoln Kennedy has now developed into the premier right offensive tackles in the NFL, and was once again selected for the Pro Bowl. He probably will draw left defensive end John Abraham, the Jets' best upfield pass rush threat, and a fellow Pro Bowl player. Kennedy is more than just a power blocker and, while shoulder problems sometimes keep him from locking out on the speed rushers, he can envelop smaller linemen. Abraham is undersized, of course, and is known to have problems disengaging from mammoth right tackles. Abraham is a far better defender against the run than he was early in his career, but he could get knocked off the line by Kennedy at times.

    5. A matchup that won't draw much attention, but which could be crucial to the Jets' ability to run the football inside, will be New York's three interior offensive linemen against Oakland tackles John Parrella and Sam Adams. The two 300-pounders might not make a lot of plays individually, but they do a superb job of stuffing everything between the tackles, and of keeping blockers off linebackers like Eric Barton (a young player on the come) and Napoleon Harris. The Jets have a Pro Bowl snapper in Kevin Mawae, one of the best young guards in the NFL in Randy Thomas and a savvy old pro at the other guard spot, Dave Szott. It's always difficult to discern who is winning the interior line battle but this dance of the elephants will be worth close scrutiny.

    Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.


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