It's the Divisional Round in the NFL with four teams fighting it out to take place in the Conference games next weekend. All four games will be live on Sky Sports and fresh from calling three out of the four Wildcard games correctly, we have got Kevin Cadle to run the rule over Sunday's showdowns...

KC previews Saturday's games

Philadelphia @ New York Giants

I don't care what anybody says, you have to be concerned about a football team that has lost three of its last four games going into the play-offs.

Westbrook & McNabb: they might be giants

The New York Giants may be the defending Super Bowl champions but the one thing that took them there last year is the one thing they are lacking this year - momentum.

They lost the last game of the previous regular season against New England when Tom Brady came up with that late, late drive, but that game told New York they could mix it with those guys. Losing three out of four this time around, whether or not their play-off berth was secure, is just not the same.

The one positive they can take into this weekend is the fact that Brandon Jacobs will be back.

And that is big. In the first match-up between the two sides back in Week 10, Brandon ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns, so regardless of what New York has done of late, Philly has to find a way to control him.

It's a tough assignment, but the upside for the Eagles is that Eli Manning doesn't really have a receiving corps to talk about. Plaxico Buress was around in that first game, but without him, the Giants do not have a big-name, big-game guy that Eli can link up with.

And let me tell you, he ain't used to that. On the other hand, Donovan McNabb has made a whole career out of working with nothing out wide. He had that one year linking up with TO, but other than that, he is used to getting by, making do and getting the most out of what he's got.

It is not often that Philadelphia goes up against a team and will consider themselves stronger in the receiving department, but that's the deal here. Those Philly defensive backs will be confident they can handle anything thrown at them and then that defense can start thinking about stepping up and trying to take care of Jacobs.

Right now Philadelphia are hot. They are playing great football and offensively they are getting it done. Defensively last week's Wildcard win over Minnesota will have been a big boost for them going into this.

They were up against the league's top running back in Adrian Peterson but kept him down to 80 yards and the fact that they did such a great job against him will tell each and every one of those Philly players what they have to do to keep Jacobs quiet.

If you look at the two games between these sides this season, New York ran the ball more than 40 times for more than 200 yards and won the first, while Philly ran it over 40 times for close to 140 yards and won the second.

The series has proved that whichever of these two can control the football on the ground, can control the tempo of the game - and will end up victorious.

Things change and the formbook takes a bettering come play-off time, but that is one stat that will still ring true after this weekend. This is going to be a battle that is fought, won and lost in the trenches.

And I like Brian Westbrook if it comes down to keeping the ball in hand. Philly will give him as much opportunity to take possession and challenge those linebackers on the outside, which is what he loves doing.

If you're looking for another reason to go with the Eagles, their receivers have got better as the season has gone on, and I am not sure you can say the same thing about the Giants.

Have they got better? Has Eli got more to work with? I don't think so. Steve Smith is a five to 10 yard receiver, Dominik Hixon only does it every now and then, Amani Toomer is in the veteran stage and tight end Kevin Boss is OK, but nothing spectacular.

There is nothing there really to compliment or enhance Eli's skills, whereas Philly might not have have the big names but are probably the only side in the play-offs who have actually improved as the season has gone on.

CADLE'S CALL: I am sticking with the sides I like this weekend and that means the Philadelphia Eagles. They will be used to the weather in New York, this will be another NFC East battle and they are hot right now. Also, they will look at their receiving corps and think it's better than New York's and that will give them confidence, even if this looks like a battle of the running backs.

San Diego @ Pittsburgh

We talk about a good defense not being enough for Baltimore, but the same questions can be levelled against the Steelers.

In fact, there are bigger question marks against the AFC North champions than the team they beat to that title.

For a start, you know Big Ben is gonna get sacked! Play-off time always brings different things to the table, always throws up the odd surprise, but the one thing you can put your money is Roethlisberger ending up flat on his ass, with a Charger on top of him.

It's not the fact that he will get sacked that concerns me about Ben though, it's what happens if he gets hit hard? What happens if he gets hurt... again?

He's already dealing with a concussion this week and the last time he did that and played, I think he was sacked five times and intercepted four!

Mind you, that is a problem Pittsburgh has lived with all season long. It really is something they should have addressed by now. To be fair to them, they looked liked they were redressing the balance on offense but then Willie Parker went down.

And even though he was still being productive, they just didn't have as much faith in Mewelde Moore as a running back, so they decided to move away from him and put even more reliance on the passing game. And of course, all the while Ben was still getting beaten up because Pittsburgh are just a bad pass blocking team, period.

Ben does compound the problem by not letting go of the football sooner as well. Maybe Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and the rest of his receivers are not doing their job and getting free, but from where I've been sat, Ben has taken too long all through his career!

But, he probably had his best game of the season when Pittsburgh beat the Chargers earlier in the year, so maybe I am being too down on him. And it's not as if the Steelers are not used to the whole scenario!

LaDainian Tomlinson's fitness has been the thorn in San Diego's side this year and surprise, surprise, LT is struggling to make this one.

A torn groin tendon doesn't sound too promising and while normally you would want your major offensive weapon out on the field, there is a big difference between playing and producing the goods.

We are talking about the NFL's number one rush defence here, so just what can they expect from LT if he is not fully fit?

So many coaches in the NFL live in the past and deal with what players have achieved and I hope, for San Diego's sake, that Norv Turner is a little more realistic and aware of what is happening right now. And what is happening right now is Michael Bennett and Darren Sproles are more productive runners than LaDainian Tomlinson.

Sproles had a big game last week at just the right time. Where that explosion came from, I am not sure, but I do think the fact that we saw little flashes of LT helped. He gave them what he could give them there and then opened it up for someone else to take over.But it will be interesting to see how they work things this week. It's OK for Sproles to be the number two running back, the relief pitcher, but without LT, do they keep him in that role? Do they promote Michael Bennett to the starting slot, or does Sproles become the main man? And if he does, will he have the same impact?

It will be a crucial factor in Sunday's game, but it would also be wrong to overlook the rest of the Chargers offense that is going up against the meanest defense in the land. For a start, Philip Rivers is one serious quarterback and he might well have to be here.

The conditions in Pittsburgh are not going to be pass-friendly, that's for sure. It is going to be down in the teens in terms of the temperature, there are going to be snow flurries around. Heinz Field is on the point of those three rivers, so the wind is going to be playing tricks as usual. It was a stadium that was built for these conditions, almost with play-off football in mind.

It will be a long, long way from California, believe me! If San Diego cannot get that running game going and they are going to have to depend on the pass, they could be in trouble. But at least now it is Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers and not just LT and the San Diego Chargers.

CADLE'S CALL: I am sticking with the away side here. I know West Coast sides this season have struggled on the East Coast and the Chargers have already lost in Pittsburgh, but they have improved since then. Their defense has made some big big improvements in the last five or six weeks, even if it is still some way short of their Pittsburgh counterparts, and I do have my doubts about Big Ben and that offense.

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