Jacksonville will hope to be celebrating this weekend

The 'M-word' has been all the rage in Mediaville this week as everyone previews the first round of playoff action with a very mixed reaction to how teams finished off the regular season.

In this case, M stands for momentum, and only a handful of teams appear to have it for the Wild Card round which leaves a number of previously promising contenders looking decidedly shaky.

Of course, the great debate now centres on whether the M-factor is, actually, particularly significant or if the teams that concluded their campaigns with most of their regulars sitting on the sidelines (and with fairly feeble performances) have really damaged their chances.

Consider the following then decide if the pundits are right on the money or just crying wolf:

Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay both backed into the playoffs with three defeats in their final four games, including pretty miserable displays in losing to no-hopers Baltimore and Carolina respectively last Sunday.

By contrast, Washington and Tennessee completed late charges (winning 7 of their last 8 games between them) to grab their playoff berths, while San Diego ultimately dominated the AFC West, winning their final 6 games after starting the season 1-3.

Jacksonville and Seattle both chose to rest many starters and lost their final games, but after some convincing late-season form.

And the New York Giants put up a valiant battle - and arguably one of their best performances of the season - against New England before slipping to a 38-35 defeat in the Patriots' history-making 16-0 conclusion.

If the momentum-backers are to be believed, Washington and the Giants should both be way too sharp for Seattle and Tampa Bay; Jacksonville should take full advantage of Pittsburgh's late-season slump; and San Diego should have their hands full with Tennessee but, ultimately, should prevail.

Home advantage?

Look a little closer behind the theory, and the facts are particularly worrying for the Steelers and Buccaneers, despite them both having home advantage.

Mike Tomlin's outfit have already lost (at home) to Jacksonville, as recently as December 16, and were given a pretty good pounding into the bargain.

The Steelers also have a huge casualty list, with up to six starters definitely out (including running back Willie Parker and key offensive lineman Max Starks) and another six all carrying nagging injuries (notably quarterback Ben Roethlisberger).

Tampa Bay also had injuries to key players down the final stretch and quarterback Jeff Garcia seldom looked the player he was earlier in the season when he returned, although he was rested for much of their last three outings (completing just 27 passes in that span).

The Buccaneers also suffered a home defeat the last time they appeared in the Wild Card round, to Washington in 2005.

Last year, both Baltimore and San Diego crashed to upsets despite having home advantage, while Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, Denver, New York Giants AND Chicago all fell at home during the 2005 playoffs, and four of the 10 road teams won in both 2004 and 2003.

So, home advantage is not necessarily much help, and the momentum factor has definitely worked in the past for the likes of Pittsburgh (the 2005 wild cards who went on to win it all).

That means all four visiting teams should fancy their chances this week - and there is real reason to think the Jaguars and Giants could both prosper. The pundits over here all seem to think that way, too, although the balance is that the Redskins might just run out of steam at Seattle.

As for Tennessee at San Diego, this is the game most will focus on, if only because it has the makings of a good, old-fashioned punch-up.

After the regular season game on December 9, which featured an overtime Chargers win, multiple injuries, late hits, a bunch of fines and San Diego accusations that Titans head coach Jeff Fisher put a 'bounty' on the head of Shawne Merriman, there is enough needle here to keep the NHS in business for years.

However, provided Chargers QB Philip Rivers avoids the occasional meltdown tendency we have seen this season, few believe Tennessee can pull off an upset in San Diego.

For my part, here's how I think they'll go (bearing in mind I didn't pick any of Washington, Seattle, Tampa Bay, the Giants or Tennessee to reach this stage!):

Seattle to hold off Washington around 24-10; Jacksonville to repeat their win at Pittsburgh 20-17; the Giants to triumph at Tampa Bay in the region of 27-20; and San Diego to handle Tennessee comfortably, say 31-17.

LAST WEEK

Full kudos to Giants coach Tom Coughlin for playing his starters for the full 60 minutes against champions-elect New England and keeping the pedal to the metal for a truly memorable game, even though his team had nothing at stake and risked injuries to key players (like center Scott O'Hara).

The New York defence gave Tom Brady all he could handle to keep the Patriots unbeaten - but what a tough, indefatigable competitor Brady truly is.