The Atlanta Falcons ride a three-game winning streak into Arizona on Saturday for the first round of the NFC playoffs.
They're playing well, with two tough wins over teams that were in the playoff hunt heading into the final week of the season and one, last week, over the Rams, that proved to be more difficult than originally believed.
The Arizona Cardinals, on the other hand, have lost two of their last three, including a 47-7 shellacking in Week 16 in snowy New England.
They won last week, 34-21 against the Seattle Seahawks, but they've clearly struggled down the stretch. Of their last six games, only two were victories.
While Atlanta fans are worried about the health of their team as they look to play in their first playoff game since 2004, Cardinals fans are most concerned about whether or not they will even get to see the game.
Hosting its first home playoff game in 33 years is exciting, but the recent economic woes may take its toll in Arizona. As of Thursday afternoon, approximately 3,700 tickets remained unsold for Saturday's game.
NFL league rules dictate that the home team must sell out its game before Friday at 2:30 p.m. or the game will be blacked out. A blackout would mean Cardinals fans would miss what they haven't seen in a very long time: a playoff game featuring the home-town team.
It turns out they may miss quite a game. At first glance, it's easy to understand why the road team is favored by two-and-a-half points in this one. A closer look reveals that this might not be as easy as the Falcons faithful perhaps believe.
If Atlanta can accomplish these five things, their flight back across the country on Saturday night will be filled with elation as they look to a second-round playoff game.
Get Healthy
Perhaps the most difficult thing to do for this game, the Falcons need to find health and quick. A few players were held out of last week's game, most notably safety Lawyer Milloy and defensive end Jamaal Anderson. Both players are critical pieces to the most important aspect of the game plan: stopping the Cardinals high-powered offense.
Anderson did not practice with an ankle sprain last week and so far this week he has been unavailable as well. He's listed as questionable, but as game time approaches, it looks more and more like he will not play on Saturday.
Backup Chauncey Davis will look to fill in, bringing his four sacks to the starting lineup again. One of them, incidentally, came last week when he was starting in place of Anderson.
Milloy is listed as questionable, but all indications are that he will play on Saturday.
Standout defensive end John Abraham missed the second half of last Sunday's game and also did not practice on Thursday. He's battled injuries all season, but he's probable for Saturday.
Atlanta also hopes for improved health from tackle Sam Baker, receiver Harry Douglas, and tackle Todd Weiner.
While they need the depth these players provide, they also hope the extra playoff experience helps.
There are five players on this team that were with Atlanta when it was last in the playoffs in 2004. However, 20 of the 53-man roster have at least one year of playoff seasoning.
The Falcons hope the health and the experience will come through for them on Saturday.
Minimize the Cardinals' Offensive Damage
It's going to be tough to stop the Cardinals offense, which features MVP-candidate quarterback Kurt Warner and three wide receivers who each gained over 1,000 yards this season. They will need to at least put a leash on them and hope to slow them down.
The Atlanta pass defense hasn't been a strong suit all season. It has come through at some critical times in games, but statistically they're twelfth-worst in the league, allowing 220 yards a game.
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