Playing with rematches

OK, Philadelphia, once more with feeling.

You too, Arizona.

Shamed and slapped around is no way to stumble into the NFL postseason -- especially when your first-round opponent is the same team that just crushed you. But that’s the situation for the Eagles, Bengals and Cardinals, who aren’t just headed for the playoffs . . .

They’re bound for the re-playoffs.

For the Eagles, it’s deja blue. They go back to Dallas for an opening-round game Saturday against a team that just beat them, 24-0, the first time in 68 games Philadelphia had been shut out.

For the Cardinals, it’s welcome back, Pack. On Sunday, Arizona will play host to Green Bay again, seven days after a 33-7 loss to the Packers.

In the night game, the New York Jets secured the last AFC playoff spot by beating Cincinnati, 37-0. That sets up -- what else? -- a Jets-Bengals rematch Saturday in Cincinnati.

The interesting thing about their game Sunday was the widespread speculation that the Bengals would rest Carson Palmer. But even with Palmer in the game, the Jets dominated. He played the first half and completed only one of 11 passes with an interception.

The only first-round game that won’t be a Week 17 rematch is Baltimore at New England on Sunday, and those teams played in Week 4 with the Patriots winning at home, 27-21.

While Arizona didn’t have a lot at stake Sunday and played a lot of reserves -- including backup quarterback Matt Leinart -- Philadelphia was playing for the NFC East title and a first-round bye.

Instead, the Eagles saw the No. 2 seeding flutter away and the No. 6 seeding take its place, a huge letdown on an enormous stage. And it was a bit of sweet redemption for the Cowboys, who were knocked out of the playoff picture last season with a 44-6 loss to the Eagles in their finale.

Now, for the first time in their history, the Cowboys have strung together consecutive shutouts. Once again, they have a chance to win a playoff game, something they haven’t done since 1996.

“This ballclub has done a good job of putting its best foot forward when it has to,” Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said. “We haven’t arrived and we haven’t accomplished anything. This is a step in the process to continue to get to where we want to go. It’s a positive one, definitely, but we still need to keep improving. There’s hopefully a lot of season left.”

Philadelphia, which scored a club-record 429 points this season, had not been shut out in a half through the first 16 weeks, let alone a game.

Rolling the dice

Even as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league will look at ways to create incentives for teams to play their best players in so-called meaningless games, there are painful reminders that resting starters might not be such a bad idea.

New England receiver Wes Welker suffered what appeared to be a severe knee injury on his first catch Sunday, crumpling to the turf after planting his left leg awkwardly. Although the Patriots did not release information on the injury, Welker had to be carted off the field and buried his face in a towel while sitting on the bench. According to multiple reports, Welker has torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, Welker’s father did not sound encouraged.

“We’re sick,” Leland Welker told the newspaper. “We’re absolutely sick. We take all those hits and stuff all season long. And then just one fluke cut, and he just blows it out.”

Meanwhile, quarterback Tom Brady is playing with a sore right shoulder, cracked ribs and a broken index finger on his throwing hand. Losing Welker for the playoffs has to be more painful to him than all of those.

In the Arizona-Green Bay game, both teams wound up with key players on ice. Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin (ankle, knee), cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (knee) and defensive end Calais Campbell (thumb) were banged up. The most severe of those injuries appears to be that of Campbell, who reportedly could need screws inserted to repair his thumb.

For the Packers, star cornerback Charles Woodson left the game because of a shoulder injury late in the first half, after returning an interception for a touchdown.

Exclusive club

Early in the fourth quarter of a game at Seattle, Tennessee’s Chris Johnson cut back, jumped over a teammate . . . and leaped into the NFL history books.

He became the sixth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, joining Eric Dickerson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis and O.J. Simpson.

Johnson joined the club with a four-yard run -- his 62-yard touchdown moments earlier was wiped out by a holding penalty -- and he finished the game with 134 yards in 36 carries and two touchdowns. It was his 11th consecutive 100-yard game.

He finished the season with 2,006 yards rushing and 2,509 yards from scrimmage, breaking the league record of 2,429 set by Marshall Faulk with the St. Louis Rams in 1999.

We’re No. 1

With their loss to San Francisco, the 1-15 Rams “earned” the No. 1 pick in April’s draft. An early favorite to go first is Nebraska defensive tackle Ndumakong Suh, who could add punch to a defense ranked 29th heading into Week 17.

The Rams have had the No. 2 pick the last two years, taking tackle Jason Smith last year and defensive end Chris Long in 2008.

This will be the first No. 1 pick the Rams have earned since taking Oregon State quarterback Terry Baker, the 1962 Heisman Trophy winner, in 1963. But the team did trade up to the No. 1 spot in 1997 to select tackle Orlando Pace.

Something

to think about

* Indianapolis and New Orleans are seeded No. 1 in the AFC and NFC. Those teams get first-round byes. So by the time they play their next games, the Colts will have gone four weeks without a victory, and the Saints will have gone five.

* Atlanta finished the season with three consecutive victories, notching back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history.

* The Texans didn’t make the playoffs -- they were eliminated when the Jets beat the Bengals -- but they did finish 9-7, the first winning season in franchise history.

--

sam.farmer@latimes.com

twitter.com/LATimesfarmer

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

First look

What to expect in the first round of the NFL playoffs:

NEW YORK JETS (9-7)

AT CINCINNATI (10-6)

Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Channel 4

Rex Ryan says his team was built for a late-season run, and it sure looked that way in Week 17. But will the Bengals be a different team with a do-or-die fire under them? Cincinnati is 6-2 at home with its last loss there coming to Houston in mid-October. But the Bengals are not rich in playoff experience. They haven’t played a postseason game since 2005, a one-and-done home game against Pittsburgh, when Carson Palmer suffered a severe knee injury the first time he dropped back to pass.

PHILADELPHIA (11-5)

AT DALLAS (11-5)

Saturday, 5 p.m., Channel 4

Beating a team three times in a season is a huge challenge, but the Cowboys will do it if they can attack Philadelphia’s defense as effectively as they did Sunday. Remember that stuff about Tony Romo falling apart at season’s end? The Cowboys quarterback has 11 touchdowns and two interceptions in his last six games.

BALTIMORE (9-7)

AT NEW ENGLAND (10-6)

Sunday, 10 a.m., Channel 2

The Patriots are a dangerous team in the playoffs, and they’re 8-0 at home this season. Still, the loss of Wes Welker (league-leading 123 receptions through 16 weeks) takes a reliable target away from Tom Brady, who’s already playing with a broken finger and at least one broken rib. The Ravens played very tough at New England in Week 4, suffering a 27-21 loss after Mark Clayton dropped a very catchable fourth-down pass near the goal line. That ended the would-be winning drive.

GREEN BAY (11-5)

AT ARIZONA (10-6)

Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Channel 11

The Packers won their finale at Arizona with ease, but the Cardinals didn’t play Kurt Warner. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was very sharp, completing 21 of 26 passes before being pulled in the fourth quarter, and Green Bay intercepted three passes. The Cardinals can take heart in the fact they didn’t get hot last season until the playoffs.

-- Sam Farmer

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

2,000 club

Chris Johnson became the sixth member of the 2,000-yard rushing club. All played 16 games except O.J. Simpson, who reached the milestone in 14 games:

*--* YEAR PLAYER, TEAM YARDS AVG TD 1973 O.J. Simpson, Buffalo 2,003 6.0 12 1984 Eric Dickerson, L.A. Rams 2,105 5.6 14 1997 Barry Sanders, Detroit 2,053 6.1 11 1998 Terrell Davis, Denver 2,008 5.1 22 2003 Jamal Lewis, Baltimore 2,066 5.3 14 2009 Chris Johnson, Tennessee 2,006 5.7 14 *--*