Eagles, Steelers can begin packing their bags for Tampa

Note: Home team in CAPITAL LETTERS

Eagles (-4) over CARDINALS

Our theme here on Championship Sunday is, the more things change, the more things remain the same.

How much has changed since the Eagles hosted the Cardinals on Thanksgiving night as a three-point favorite? As far as we can tell, only the site.

In his first game back from riding the pine, Donovan McNabb went nuts on Arizona, hitting on 27 of 39 passes for 260 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. And, oh yeah, a tidy little passer rating of 121.7. That's a bunch of "Wows!"

Kurt Warner's stats were not as pretty. He hit on only 21 of 39 for 235 yards and three interceptions. Gotta give the edge to McNabb. Even though Warner has really looked good in the first two playoff games, let's not forget the defense he's gonna see is at least five or six levels above either Carolina or Atlanta, the Cardinals' previous two opponents.

So, if the only differential is homefield advantage, let's give 'Zona the traditional three points. Heck, let's give 'em a touchdown. In fact, give 'em two stinkin' TDs, a field goal and a safety for homefield edge. That still doesn't make up the 28-point deficit from Turkey Day, so there is no trouble covering this four-point spot.

It might not be as bad as the late November destructo, but it should be a double-digit victory that jets the Eagles to Tampa.

Ravens (+6) over STEELERS

In the first meeting, in Pittsburgh, the Steelers beat the Ravens, 23-20, but failed to cover the spread of six (yes, six) points. Sound familiar? In the rematch played at Baltimore, the Steelers won again, 13-9, covering as a two-point underdog.

Now, let me take you back a few years and show you how close the rivalry has been. Last season, the Ravens were spanked at Pittsburgh (38-7), the only game in the previous eight in which the final margin for the Steelers was more than four points. In the game at Baltimore, the Ravens won by 27-21. In 2006, it was all Ravens, feeding the Steelers a 27-0 bagel in Baltimore, and posting a breezy 31-7 victory in the Steel City. In 2005, the Ravens lost at Pittsburgh (20-19) and beat the Steelers by a field goal at home (16-13). So the games, with one exception, have been really tight or Baltimore victories.

The Ravens have been on a sweet run as an underdog, covering eight of the last 11, 15 of the last 19 and eight of their last 10 on the road. It's pretty hard to buck those numbers ... so we won't.

Last week, we called the Baltimore upset. This week, not quite. But we are looking for an all-Keystone State Super Bowl.