Championship games are set

In a strange weekend in the NFL, 3 of the 4 teams who earned first round byes in the NFL playoffs got beat at home, the most improbable being the 9-7 Arizona Cardinals who had lost all 5 of the games they played in the Eastern time zone beating the Carolina Panthers who were 8-0 at home this season. Home field advantage didn't seem to mean much as both number 1 seeds went down at home as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Tennessee Titans 13-10 Saturday, and the Philadelphia Eagles upended the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants at the Meadowlands. This was the first time in NFL history that 3 teams with first round byes got beat at home in the playoffs.

So the AFC and NFC championship games are set for next week as the 9-7 Arizona Cardinals and their #4 seed host the NFC Championship game against the #6 seeded, 9-6-1 Philadelphia Eagles, and the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens in what looks to be a classic "smash mouth" defensive battle with the winner moving on to Super Bowl 43 in Tampa Florida.

Make sure you grab some NFL Merchandise for this weekends upcoming games so you can be a true fan and support your team if you are lucky enough to have one in a conference championship game.