TIKI Barber.
He should be the NFL’s MVP and he is The Reason you pick the Giants over John Fox’s excellent Panthers in the NFC wild-card game Sunday. Maybe The Only Reason.
You certainly can’t arrive at that conclusion based on the quarterbacks. Jake Delhomme, who led Carolina to a Super Bowl and nearly shocked the Patriots two years ago, rates a clear edge over shaky first-timer Eli Manning. And you might want to close your eyes if you don’t want to see Steve Smith burn Corey Webster, Will Allen and what’s left of the Giants’ linebacking corps.
But after 1,860 yards rushing and another 530 receiving to give him the second-most yards from scrimmage (2,390) in a season in NFL history, I just don’t believe Barber will allow the Giants to lose a playoff game in their house.
The picks: Giants -21/2. Over 431/2
TOMORROW
Redskins (+21/2) over BUCS
Over 37
Rematch of one of the games of the year in the NFL, won 36-35 in Tampa by the Bucs on Nov. 13. That game will be remembered most for Jon Gruden’s decision to go for two points and the win after Chris Simms hit Edell Shepherd for a 30-yard TD pass with 54 seconds to go to cut Washington’s lead to 35-34. The Skins blocked the tying extra point, but were offside, and Gruden decided to try to ram it in for the win with Mike Alstott from the 1.
That gutsy call and its result obscured some numbers that likely will prove important tomorrow afternoon. The Redskins won the ground battle, 185 yards to 61, with Clinton Portis producing 23 for 144 and a TD vs. Cadillac Williams’ 10 for 20. That kind of disparity in the trenches could become even more telling in the playoffs.
Simms has been great in the second half of the season, but this is his first postseason game, while Mark Brunell is a playoff-tested vet. And the most dangerous player on the field will be Santana Moss.
PATS (-71/2) over Jags
Under 37½
The Jaguars are 12-4, two games better than the Patriots; the Jags are 6-2 on the road, while the Pats are 5-3 at home. But if you have to ask why New England is still favored by more than a TD, you haven’t watched much football since, oh, the turn of the century.
It was really nice of the NFL to give a Florida team a Foxborough Freeze 8 p.m. game, but you also could argue the Pats have earned it. And never mind that Miami just won there. You can throw out any result that includes a Doug Flutie drop-kick PAT after a Matt Cassell TD pass.
Like Manning and Simms, this is Byron Leftwich’s first playoff game. But the task is infinitely tougher for him, because he’s coming off a six-week layoff after a broken left ankle, and he’s going against Tom Brady, who’s 9-0 in the postseason.
SUNDAY
BENGALS (+3)
over Steelers
Over 46
Going this way in the toughest game of the weekend with more than a little trepidation. But the feeling here is just that the Bengals are the exception.
I’m willing to give first-time-playoff QB Carson Palmer a shot, unlike the others above, because with 32 TD passes, he’s just better than Ben Roethlisberger. And he has more dangerous weapons, with Rudi Johnson and Chad Johnson, than Big Ben has.
I’m even willing to overlook the Bengals mailing it in at K.C. in Week 17 after blowing a chance at a bye with an inexcusable home loss to the Bills.
The Steelers have won their first playoff game seven times in a row under Bill Cowher and they did win 27-13 in Cincy. But the Bengals won 38-31 in Pittsburgh in December, meaning now they know they can do it. Add in a home crowd that has been waiting for a home playoff game since the 1990 season and the home-dog status which could serve as a rallying cry, and this becomes worth a shot.