NFC Curtain Call: Which Teams Will Be Home Come January?

If you are a true sports fan who eats, drinks and dreams about great sports games and cold beer, then their is no better time of year than now.

College football is heading into the bowl season, college basketball is heating up, the NBA is in full swing and the NFL playoff push has teams literally fighting for their post-season lives.

Grab the 12-pack of Labatt Blue Light. Matter of fact, make that an 18 with a compliment of succulent Buffalo wings.

Dick Jauron had his last wing as the coach of the Buffalo Bills after being fired last week to the tune of Bills fans chanting, "Shanahan, Shanahan!"

That chant may be short-lived, but the Bills seem in good hands for now with interim coach Perry Fewell finally stretching the field the way Bills fans hoped they would when T.O arrived.

We know who the best team in the AFC is at this point (hint: their QB wears the #18, I wonder who that is?).

But do we know who the best team in the NFC is?

I'll pay anyone a milli if they can make a no-holes, convincing argument for any of the top two teams in the NFC, the Vikings and the Saints.

I've heard the analysts say time-and-time again that the Vikings are clearly the best team in the NFC, but they have a loss.

The New Orleans Saints don't, but the Saints QB Drew Brees' achilles heel has always been a lackluster defense. However, they've bent but not broken this season and have been turnover magnets.

Minnesota has a budding defense with Jared Allen sacking anything moving, Kevin and Pat Williams stuffing the run like a Thanksgiving turkey and guys like Chad Greenway exceeding expectations.

And speaking of exceeding expectations, anyone notice slick #4, Mr. Retirement Brett Favre?

I have to take my toes out of my mouth for what I said about him coming into this season about being old and unable to lead a winning ballclub. Let's forget about all of that, shall we?

Favre has been remarkable, and all of that mess about handing the ball off to human robot Adrian Peterson being his only key to success seems long gone like Byron Leftwich' career.

What does all of this mean?

It means that NFC supremacy may have to be determined come playoff time.

If the Saints can obtain homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, they may be the highest scoring Super Bowl team of all time.

Something tells me that homefield is of the utmost importance for New Orleans, and their passionate fans make them play at an unbelievably high-level.

We know the Vikings and Saints are the cash-crops of the NFC, but what happens after that?

Who will join them in the playoffs this year? Here's a look at their contenders and the chance they have of making the post-season by percentage.

This should be fun.

Dallas Cowboys (7-3, 1st in NFC East)

Remaining Games: OAK, at NYG, SD, at NO, at WAS, PHI

Dallas has proven to be one of the most inconsistent teams in the league. That isn't a big surprise, and it must change if the Cowboys want to play in the playoffs in January.

Tony Romo has been the engine running the show, and Marion Barber has been the transmission. Romo's improvisational skills have been good enough to land him on a reunion episode of Who's Line Is It Anyway?

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, injuries and shifty offense may do them in come Week 18.

With games against the Giants, Chargers, Saints and Eagles in the coming weeks, if their offense doesn't get it together they will be home along with their former compatriot, Mr. Terrell Owens.

Playoff Chance: 50%

Philadelphia Eagles (6-4, 2nd in NFC East)

Remaining Games: WAS, at ATL, at NYG, SF, DEN, at DAL

Coming into this season, the acquisition of Michael Vick was supposed to propel the Eagles atop the NFC. That experiment hasn't worked so far, and the Eagles are 6-4.

Vick hasn't been on the field much, and Kevin Kolb filled in well for Donovan McNabb when he was injured in Week 1.

Andy Reid has historically been a pass first coach, and that hasn't changed a lot this season. Brian Westbrook has been gone most of the year with concussion issues, but rookie LeSean McCoy has done well in his place.

Defensively the Eagles have been respectable, allowing over 20 points just twice this season.

The problem is the Eagles don't have an offensive identity. McCoy has ran for 452 yards for 3 scores and also catches well out of the backfield, but McNabb has thrown the ball 250 times despite missing two games.

If Philly wants to earn a division title or Wild Card, they need to run the football more and concentrate on offensive balance.

Playoff Chance: 49.5%

New York Giants (6-4, 3rd in NFC East)

Remaining Games: at DEN, DAL, PHI, at WAS, CAR, at MIN

And, we have the New York Giants.

A team that started the season 5-0, then lost four of their next five games to rest at 6-4.

Who knows which Eli Manning and Giants team we will get. This makes them extremely difficult to gauge, more than any other NFC team.

"Bad Eli" has shown its' face more than Giants fans want to see, but "Good Eli" has been as good as anyone.

This  team needs to play more consistent and cohesive as units.

Defensively, the Giants are 24th in total points per game but 2nd in yards per game.

Offensively, the Giants are in the top-10 in most categories, but turn the ball over too much and have 4 losses. If the Giants want to be a playoff team Manning B must limit his turnovers.

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw must get healthy to help Eli by establishing the run, and the secondary must stop the pass.

Playoff Chance: 55.2%

Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons (GB 6-4, 2nd in NFC North, ATL 5-5, 2nd in NFC South)

GB Remaining Games: at DET, BAL, at CHI, at PIT, SEA, at ARI

ATL Remaining Games: TB, PHI, NO, at NYJ, BUF, at TB

Green Bay was a perennial wild-card choice for many fans entering this season, but nobody could account for the lack of protection the offensive line has given QB Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers has been as good as any QB in the league when given time, and RB Ryan Grant is on pace for a 1200 yard season.

Wins against the Cowboys and Bears made the Packers look great, but a horrible loss against the Bucs makes them a head-scratcher.

Similarly, the Falcons entered the season with lots of promise after last season's playoff run, and some were thinking Super Bowl (including me).

QB Matt Ryan has been good, but has turned the ball over far too much and injuries to the secondary and RB Michael Turner have hurt the teams' fluidity on both sides of the ball.

Green Bay's potential to make the post-season lies on one simple concept: protect Aaron Rodgers. If they can do that, all should come together barring any huge injury.

Atlanta, well they have a little more work to do. They cannot rush Turner back because he has to be healthy for them to have a chance.

That play-action style of offense will get much better when he returns, and Ryan needs to make better decisions in the pocket. As for the Falcon defense, there's no help for them other than intervention.

They'd better pray.

Falcons Playoff Chance: 35%

Packers Playoff Chance: 40%