If you like these matchups, you'll love them next week

By Sam Farmer

Jan. 3, 2010 12 AM PT

Instant replay could be a big factor in this NFL postseason -- and not the kind that requires taking another look at the video.

With the playoff seedings still in flux, there’s a chance that one or more Week 17 matchups could be replayed in first-round games.

The Eagles and Cowboys, Packers and Cardinals, and Bengals and Jets might wind up getting another crack at each other.

Of those teams, all but the Jets are already in the playoffs. New York needs to beat Cincinnati tonight to secure a spot and would have to hit the road in the playoffs.

That isn’t a new situation for the Jets, who in 2001 earned a playoff berth by beating Oakland in their season finale. The following week, the Jets played the Raiders in a first-round game and lost.

Jets Coach Rex Ryan is confident that if his team makes it this season, it won’t be a playoff pushover.

“I think we’re built to be a team that can win in December and January,” he said. “I think we would be a very dangerous team if we make the playoffs.”

If Philadelphia wins, it clinches the No. 2 seeding and a first-round bye.

If the Eagles lose, they probably would wind up right back on the Cowboys’ home field for a rematch next weekend.

The Cardinals should know by kickoff if the second seeding is still in play. They would have a chance at it if the Eagles lose, and if Minnesota were to lose at home to the New York Giants.

“You have to prepare and do everything like this one means a first-round bye,” Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner said. “Then, if at any point in time, that changes, it’s a weird situation. You don’t know how you’re going to handle it until you get in there.”

For now, though, the most likely scenarios have the Cardinals playing the Packers again in the opening round.

Does that mean either team will play in an especially conservative way, holding back strategies for the playoffs? Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson doesn’t think so.

“We are who we are,” he said. “At this point in the season, they are who they are. There’s no ‘showing them too much.’ They can go look at the film, they can see everything that we’ve done over the course of the season and vice versa.”

Points aplenty

New Orleans has been held to 17 points in each of the last two games, both losses, but the Saints still are averaging nearly twice that (33.3). Last week, Drew Brees & Co. became only the 12th NFL team to score 500 points in a season.

If the Saints can score 27 points against the Panthers today, they’ll pass the Super Bowl XXXIV champion St. Louis Rams for the fifth-most points in league history.

The teams with the most points scored in an NFL season:

YEAR	TEAM	PTS	W-L	ADVANCED TO
2007	New England Patriots	589	16-0	Super Bowl XLII
1998	Minnesota Vikings	556	15-1	NFC Championship
1983	Washington Redskins	541	14-2	Super Bowl XVIII
2000	St. Louis Rams	540	10-6	Wild Card
1999	St. Louis Rams	526	13-3	Won Super Bowl XXXIV
2009	New Orleans Saints	500*	13-2*
*Through 15 games Source: NFL

Feeling a chill

The Minnesota Vikings are in the playoffs, but, having lost three of their last four games, aren’t riding the wave of momentum they would like.

That ramps up the pressure for today’s game against the New York Giants, even though the Vikings would need to win and get help -- a Philadelphia loss -- to secure a first-round bye.

“It would be easy to push the panic button and point fingers and all those things,” quarterback Brett Favre said. “The fact is, we’re in. We need to play better or we’ll be out rather quickly. If we can put together a big game this week and have a little confidence, that’s really what it’s all about.

“You hear about that in baseball with teams that get into the playoffs. ‘They’re hot.’ The second half the other day [in a loss to Chicago] we were hot. The first half, no. Hopefully, we play this game and beyond like we did the second half.

“We know we can do it. We have done it. There’s not a lot that needs to be said. It’s just either you do it or you’re going to be out.”

CJ2K

Tennessee’s Chris Johnson has rushed for 1,872 yards, meaning he needs 128 more to become the sixth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

Seattle, which plays host to the Titans, has the league’s 25th-ranked defense, a unit ranked 14th against the run.

“Of course, the 2,000-yard mark is not an individual goal,” Tennessee Coach Jeff Fisher said. “That’s a team goal. It’s just not CJ. That’s an opportunity for his offensive teammates to be part of the history book, so it’s not just Chris Johnson. It may [be seen as an individual goal] on the outside looking in. It’s not inside this building.” The five players to rush for 2,000 yards in an NFL season:

YEAR	PLAYER	TEAM	YARDS
1984	Eric Dickerson	L.A. Rams	2,105
2003	Jamal Lewis	Baltimore	2,066
1997	Barry Sanders	Detroit	2,053
1998	Terrell Davis	Denver	2,008
1973	O.J. Simpson	Buffalo	2,003
2009	Chris Johnson	Tennessee	1,872*
*Through 15 games Source: NFL