MVN: Most Valuable Network

After a weekend of surprises in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, four teams remain to duke it out to become champs of Super Bowl XLIII.  To preview this Sunday's conference championships, we talked to a few bloggers for their takes and predictions on the upcoming matchups:

Philadelphia at Arizona (3:00 pm ET, Sunday):

The Arizona Cardinals are hosting the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Take a moment to let that sink in...Okay, now that you have done that, I'm going to make this simple for everyone. The Cardinals need to keep the crowd involved early by getting out to a good start. If they can do that then this game will fall the Cardinals' way. If they get off to a bad start then the crowd will fall silent and the Eagles will put up points in bunches like they did on Thanksgiving. I think the moment and the crowd will carry the Cardinals to an upset victory and a spot in the Super Bowl. Arizona 31, Philadelphia 21. -- The Cardinals Report

I predict a Desert Storm of a game that will pit the Kurt Warner air force against the beat-up secondary of the Eagles. Only the performance of Donovan McNabb at his best will stem the tide if he can match Warner completion for completion, TD for TD, and somehow master time of possession without a reliable running game.  Even though McNabb has no prime-time receivers like Fitzgerald or Boldin, he's got to utilize the protection from his o-line to find the receiving talent at his disposal, control time of possession and ultimately score in the red zone.  Forget the Thanksgiving Day debacle in Philadelphia when the Eagles crushed the Cardinals 48-20 and rested their first team the final 12 minutes.  This one goes the distance in a Desert Storm shoot-out: Philadelphia 31, Arizona 30. -- Eagles Eye 

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (6:30 pm ET, Sunday):

Sunday night's AFC Championship Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens sets up more like a death match than a football game.  The Steelers hate the Ravens, and the Ravens hate the Steelers.  It doesn't get any more basic than that.  The Ravens will likely try to control the ball with running back Le'Ron McClain while taking shots downfield with big-armed quarterback, Joe Flacco.  Look for defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau to counter by unleashing linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley to attack the rookie QB, while Troy Polamalu leads the best overall secondary in the NFL.  It should be a long day for the Ravens hapless offense, who will have to depend on the big play to beat the Steelers.  Pittsburgh will counter with a Willie Parker-led running attack, which is as good as it's been all season.  The Steelers still won't have an easy time running the ball, but should be slightly more effective controlling the clock than the Ravens.  Ben Roethlisberger should have just enough time to take advantage of a tiring Ravens secondary by attacking their man-to-man defense, especially if Samari Rolle is hurt.  If the Steelers offense stays away from turnovers, Pittsburgh should pull away in the second half.  Pittsburgh 24, Baltimore 10. -- Steel Tradition

If you're a football fan, you belong on your couch this Sunday night to watch what could be a game that will be remembered for many years to come.  The showdown between the Ravens and Steelers for the AFC Championship will be a good ole fashioned grind-it-out defensive battle that seems destined to become an instant classic.  I'm thinking this slugfest will be decided by a field goal or two -- but this one's a hard game to pick.  I've gotta lean towards the home team, but then again, Ed Reed can take control of a game like very few defenders can.  Keep the ball away from Reed, don't give the Ravens defense any opportunities to make the big play, and the Steelers probably escape. They'll need some production from Willie Parker -- he racked up 146 yards on the ground against San Diego, but he faces a considerably more difficult challenge from the Ravens.  Nevertheless, LeBeau's defense dominates the Baltimore offense and the Steelers advance.  Pittsburgh 16, Baltimore 10. -- NFL Outsider