BY JIM LANG
sportsnet.ca

To start, fans get the game's best QB in Peyton Manning and the feel-good story of the post-season in the New York Jets. Not enough? The late game sees two best teams in the NFC and a pair of throw-first, ask questions later QBs -- to be played in one of the wildest locations in all of sports.

Sundays are good.

SPORTSNET.CA NFL guru Jim Lang breaks down the AFC Divisional playoff games in the NFL and offers up his key match ups and picks the winners.

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints

(Sunday, 6:40 pm/ET: Superdome)

Brett Favre grew up in smalltown Mississippi, less than an hour away from the Superdome in New Orleans. The one and only time Favre won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers was when the game was held at the Superdome. Needless to say, the Superdome is a special place to Favre. Then again, it’s special for Drew Brees, too. I find it difficult to believe that there is an athlete in North America who owns his town more than Brees owns New Orleans. As Peter King recently wrote in Sports Illustrated, Brees has been a relentless driving force in the rebuilding of the city from the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. For a guy from Texas, who played his college ball at Purdue and started his NFL career in San Diego, Brees has embraced the Big Easy lock, stock and barrel. On his Twitter account, Brees is asking everyone who goes to the game to wear black so they can have a "black out" at the Superdome. The sight of 70,000 crazed Saints fans wearing all black and screaming their heads off is enough to rattle even the most battle hardened player. In a world filled with parity, it’s kind of nice to see the best of the best going head to head in such a big game. This has the makings of an NFC Championship game for the ages.

Laissez les bons temp rouler

Key match-up: Jared Allen vs. Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod

Lost in all the offensive pyrotechnics of last week's win over the Cardinals is the fact that Bushrod and the Saints offensive line pitched a complete game shutout. Brees was not sacked once and he was only hit three times. Repeating a stellar performance like that against the Vikings pass rush would be a major accomplishment. The great American badass, Jared Allen, was at the forefront of the fearsome Vikings pass rush that assaulted Tony Romo last week.

With Pat and Kevin Williams in the middle demanding double teams nearly every play, that means the man with the golden mullet and his counterpart Ray Edwards will often be in a one-on-one situation. The Cowboys tried to block Allen one on one with tight end Jason Witten and it ended in disaster as the badass nearly decapitated Romo and forced a fumble at the same time. Allen and his Purple People Eaters version 2.0 are damn proud of the fact they led the NFL in sacks this year. Bushrod and the Saints offensive line should also be proud of the fact they only gave up 20 sacks on a team that threw the ball 574 times this year. That works out to one sack allowed for every 28 pass attempts. We saw what happened last week when the Vikings pass rush is allowed to run wild.

Sean Payton would have only had to show his offensive line about five minutes of game film from the Vikings win over the Cowboys last week to hammer home the point that protecting Drew Brees is vitally important.

Key match-up: Wide receiver Robert Meachem and tight end Jeremy Shockey vs. safeties Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams

Assuming his offensive line gives him time to breathe, I’m expecting Brees to attack the middle of the Vikings' secondary. Antoine Winfield is a solid cornerback and can handle Devery Henderson or Marques Colston. Look for Brees to hit Meachem and Shockey in the slots and let them work against Johnson and Williams. One other thing to think about is the time factor. Waiting for his wide receivers to get down field takes time and against the Vikings pass rush that’s a recipe for disaster.

Working out of the shot gun or out of quick three step drops, Brees can make some quick passes to his slot receivers. Brees is better off letting his receivers get the yardage after the catch than sitting in the pocket and waiting for them to run downfield. Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier likely spent a lot of extra hours in his office trying to find the right coverage schemes to slow down the Saints dynamic receivers.

Jeremy Shockey is the Saints' answer to Vikes badass lineman Jared Allen.

Key match-up: Sidney Rice vs. Jabari Greer

From the moment he arrived in Minnesota, Favre has been extolling the virtues of Rice. It’s obvious that Favre took one look at the 6'4 Rice and said, “Son, I am going to make you a star in this league.” Before Favre, Rice had eight career touchdowns in two seasons in the NFL.

Including his redonkulous performance against the Cowboys, Rice has scored six touchdowns his last three games alone. Going up against Rice will be the 5'11 Greer. Make no mistake, Greer is an underrated and respected cornerback. But giving up five inches in height to a stud like Rice is a big challenge. After all these years in the NFL, Favre is smart enough to make the most of Rice’s height and throw the ball up where only he can catch it. After watching what Rice did to the Cowboys secondary I can see defensive co-ordinator Gregg Williams giving Greer a little help up top from one of the safeties.

Speaking of safeties, Favre will have to keep a close eye on Darren Sharper. A former Viking, Sharper is a smart and very experienced player. He’s also a ball hawk and will be looking to pounce on any mistake.

Intangibles:

Coming off of his best game as a pro, I highly doubt the Vikings are willing to provoke Reggie Bush. The team might sacrifice field position, but I don’t see the logic in punting the ball to Bush and giving him an opportunity to run one back.

Bush is also dangerous as a running back and a receiver and I don’t think there’s ever been any doubt over what Bush is capable of producing. He was a superstar at USC, but last week against the Cardinals was the first time in the NFL that he put his entire skill set together in a single game. You can be sure that Vikings defensive co-ordinator Leslie Frazier is spending a lot of extra time this week figuring out a way to neutralize Bush.

With the Cowboys paying so much attention to Jared Allen, they seemingly forgot that the Vikings other defensive end, Ray Edwards, can bring the heat as well. Edwards, who finished the season with two sacks in his last two games, had three sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble against the Cowboys. The big concern for Coach Brad Childress is the status of Edwards’s sprained right knee.

I still say the biggest thing that Favre has brought to the Vikings is the 'Pants on the Ground' factor. Oh sure, Favre can still play quarterback with the best of them, but if you saw the video of Favre in the Vikings locker room after its win over the Cowboys you understand what I’m talking about. Here they are, moments after a huge playoff win and Favre, who is 40 going on 14, is singing that crazy song from American Idol.

His former teammate and back up quarterback in Green Bay Steve Bono says that post-game moment is one of Favre’s greatest gifts. Bono told me that Favre has never really grown up and within the team dynamic, his combination of jokes, pranks and flatulence in the huddle helps to ease the tension.

"Players can’t help but feed off of his playful nature," Bono told me, and added that he thinks it's mind boggling to see Favre playing at such a high level at the age of 40. Bono hinted that we shouldn’t be fooled when Favre gives the impression he’s just a good old boy from the bayou out playing some football. Bono pointed out that Favre “is very smart and a serious student of the game."

Cool fact:

Even though the American economy is still in recovery mode and New Orleans hasn’t fully been rebuilt from Hurricane Katrina, ticket sales for Sunday’s game are brisk. Maybe it’s because this is the first time that New Orleans has hosted the NFC Championship game; or maybe it’s the Brees versus Favre factor, but whatever the reason Saints fever has enveloped the Big Easy. On Stubhub right now you can buy a pair of lower bowl tickets to the Superdome, in row 31 for $25,000 ... each. As a comparison you can buy a pair of tickets on Stubhub to the AFC title game at Lucas Oil Stadium for around $8,600 dollars each.

Who wins: The Vikings

The last time Favre was in the NFC Championship game, he was an aging gunslinger with the Green Bay Packers. With a game played in frigid conditions, Lambeau Field was truly the Frozen Tundra. That day the underdog Giants stunned the Packers and went on to win the Super Bowl. Now Favre is an older, crazier gunslinger. But this time he’s playing for the Vikings and his team is on the road. According to the Vegas odds makers, the hometown Saints are favoured by three-and-a-half points. In the history of its franchise, the Saints have never played football this late in the season. Unlike the AFC title game, this is a showdown of the two best teams in the NFC. This is also a showdown of two of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL. While Favre is a living legend, Brees has become an icon in New Orleans and has the numbers to back up the adulation he’s receiving. The Saints might not have the stars on defence like the Vikings, but it can still boast the likes of Will Smith, Darren Sharper and Jonathan Vilma. There haven’t been many examples where two teams so talented and so exciting and so close in talent met in the NFC Championship game. However, I feel the Vikings have an edge on defence over the Saints, especially when it comes to their pass rush. That and the certain magic that seems to be surrounding Favre this year will play a big role in this game. That’s why I feel the Vikings are going to be packing their bags for Miami.

New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts

(Sunday, 3 pm/ET: Lucas Oil Stadium)

The storylines heading into this game are so complex that it’s hard to know where to begin. First off is what went down in the third quarter between the Jets and Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 16. That’s where Colts coach Jim Caldwell made his extremely controversial decision to pull Peyton Manning and the rest of his starters from the game. Caldwell and GM Bill Polian felt it was more important to rest up for the playoffs than to go for the elusive perfect season.

Of course, the Colts were 14-0 at the time and looked to be well on their way to a 15-0 record. Instead, the Colts basically tanked the last two games of the season so they would be healthy and rested for the post-season. The football gods took notice of what happened in Week 16 and wouldn’t you know it, the Colts are hosting the Jets in an AFC Championship game; one that very few could have predicted.

You want more? The last time the Jets won the Super Bowl (Super Bowl III) it beat the Colts in the famous Joe Namath guarantee game. Guess who was sitting in the stands that day in the Orange Bowl in Miami? Rex Ryan. Rex’s father Buddy was one of Weeb Ewbank’s top defensive assistant coaches that year. I did a sit down interview with Rex in November and his eyes lit up when talking about being there for that game, watching his dad on the sidelines and watching Namath have his way with the heavily favoured Colts. And now Rex Ryan’s life has come full circle. Now it will be a case of the father watching the son in action as the Jets will attempt to pull off a similar miracle to Super Bowl III, and defeat the heavily favoured Colts. As inspiring as the Jets playoff run has been, the Colts are a better team that just so happens to be led by one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen. So yes, a win over the Colts on Sunday would be just as momentous for the Jets as their historic win in Super Bowl III.

Key match-up: Darrelle Revis vs. Reggie Wayne/Dallas Clark/Pierre Garcon/Austin Collie

In Super Bowl III, Joe Namath was the Jets best player. In the 2009 AFC Championship game there is little doubt that the Jets best player is cornerback Darrelle Revis. As good as Revis is, he’s not capable of covering four men at once. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rex Ryan move Revis around and assign him to shut down a different receiver on each play. This would be a great way to prevent Peyton Manning from attempting to avoid Revis. Ryan could switch him off to a different receiver each play and Manning would have to take the time to figure out which receiver Revis is locking down. Make no mistake; Revis will spend the bulk of his reps trying to shut down Wayne.

But Ryan will also assign Revis to other receivers as well. Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen, but he has one weak point: he throws the ball so much that he will toss the occasional interception. Ryan is banking on the fact that if Manning throws 40 to 50 passes like he usually does, than Revis will be able to come up with an interception. Considering what’s on the line, a key interception could be the tipping point in the game. Since Manning’s football IQ is at a Mensa level, I am convinced that he will look for Revis on every pre snap read to make sure he knows where the most dangerous cornerback in the NFL is at all times. Think about that for a second, when was the last time a quarterback of Manning’s stature made sure he knew where a cornerback was before every snap of the ball? That is the ultimate show of respect in a league were respect is everything.

Key match-up:

The Jets offensive line vs. the Colts defensive front seven (AKA, The Man's Game)

The Jets have proven in the post-season that they will not, and can not be discouraged from running the football. It has so much faith in Alan Faneca, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold up front that they will keep pounding away at an opposing defence until they break one open. Witness what happened last week in San Diego; the Jets ran for only 47 yards in the first half but kept banging away in the third quarter and started to get a little success. Then in the fourth quarter Shonn Greene busted one open for a back breaking 53-yard touchdown romp.

You can be damn sure that Robert Mathis, Gary Brackett and the entire Colts front seven know what’s about to hit them. The Jets even have a nickname for its punishing running game: Ground and Pound. If the Jets were a heavyweight boxer they would be Joe Frazier. Ol' Smoking Joe wasn’t the prettiest boxer that ever stepped into the ring, but he would keep coming at you with that devastating left hook until his opponent collapsed. This will be the same mental and physical test for the Colts front seven. Just like Smoking Joe, the Jets running game will keep punching until something gives.

Somehow the Colts have to find away to withstand the pounding.

Peyton Manning generally knows the whereabouts of defenders at the line of scrimmage.

Key match-up: Peyton Manning vs. Jets' defence

Same thing as last week, no one man is capable of stopping Manning. To stop Manning it will take a total team effort from all 11 players on defence. All it takes is one breakdown, one missed assignment and Manning will burn you. I would have to think that Jets safety Kerry Rhodes spent a lot of time looking at the film of last week's game against the Ravens. Despite the loss, Ed Reed was still able to come up with two interceptions. The first one was knocked out of hands by Pierre Garcon. The second one was wiped out because of a penalty. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Reed picked off two Manning passes. To have a shot to win this game, the Jets will need Rhodes and Revis to come up with some turnovers.

There’s a thought among some NFL observers that in order to get serious pressure on Manning you have to blitz him. I don’t now about that; I find it hard to believe that there’s a blitz package out there that Manning either hasn’t seen, or can’t recognize. Having said that, the one thing to remember about Ryan’s blitzes is that they are very unorthodox. Just because Manning sees linebacker Bart Scott creeping towards the line of scrimmage, doesn’t mean a thing. Much like Manning’s famous fake audibles at the line of scrimmage, the Jets do a good job of disguising its blitzes and defensive formations. Whatever Ryan throws at Manning, it still might not be enough to slow down the Colts passing game.

Intangibles:

When I say Mark Sanchez, I should also add offensive co-ordinator Brian Schottenheimer. One of the hottest young coaches in the NFL, Schottenheimer has been able to put Sanchez in a comfort zone in the playoffs with his game plan and play calling. The rookie from USC took a ton of heat in the middle of the season for all his interceptions and turnovers. Well during the Jets two playoff wins, Sanchez has only thrown one interception -- and he’s only been sacked once with no fumbles.

The Jets don’t expect Sanchez to win the game for them; they just don’t want him to lose it. So far so good because Sanchez has executed Schottenheimer’s game plan to near perfection.

Coming off of a great game against the Ravens, Antoine Bethea missed practise Wednesday with a bad back. As well, Colts rookie cornerback Jerraud Powers missed practise Wednesday and Thursday with a foot injury. This is where Jets tight end Dustin Keller comes into play. After only scoring two touchdowns all year, Keller has scored two key touchdowns in each of the Jets playoff wins over the Bengals and the Chargers. If Bethea is playing with a bad back, that is something Schottenehimer can exploit in the Jets game plan. It’s obvious that Sanchez has a real comfort level with throwing to Keller and the two have developed a nice little chemistry together in the post season. In the obsession to stop the Jets running game, I bet Schottenheimer has something up his sleeves so Sanchez can exploit the Colts secondary.

Cool fact:

So far in this year’s playoffs, kickers have missed 11 of 26 field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Jay Feely and Matt Stover are both a perfect two for two. Feely is younger and has the stronger leg. The Jets kicker has nailed a 55-yarder in the regular season and a 46-yarder in the playoffs. Stover’s longest is 44 yards. Although in the Colts offence, kicking field goals is a lot less important than the Jets.

Who wins: The Colts

As if there wasn’t enough to talk about in this game already, Sunday will mark the first time in NFL history that two rookie head coaches have met in a conference title game. There could not be two more different people on the planet than the Jets' Ryan and the Colts' Caldwell. An outgoing, bombastic man, Ryan is a reporter's dream and his players love him. For a team that barely made it into the playoffs, the Jets realize by this point in the post season, they’re playing with house money. This makes them a very dangerous team. When it comes to his personality and willingness to fill reporter’s notebooks, Jim Caldwell is Ryan’s polar opposite. I highly doubt that Caldwell would do something like hand out schedules to his players that included the date of the Super Bowl parade. While he's very different, Caldwell is also the coach that led the Colts to a 14-2 record this year. So far in the playoffs, Caldwell has done a good job of preparing his team both physically and mentally. The Colts faced a tough Ravens team last week and played surprisingly tough defence. Here’s something else to chew on: for all his remarkable achievements, Manning has a very pedestrian 8-8 record in the post-season. That mediocre record is a big reason why the Manning era Colts have only been to one Super Bowl despite its amazing regular season record the past decade. This year though, Manning can handle the post season pressure and the crushing expectations of the fans and the media. The Jets will push the Colts to the very brink, but in the end Manning’s greatness will be the difference and the Colts will be headed for Miami. Oddly enough, Miami was the site of the game when the Colts beat the Bears in Super Bowl XLIV.