Four of the last five times the Vikings have had to pack their bags and play on the road, they’ve lost. That doesn’t bode well for them considering that their most important game of the season will also be played on the road.

Everyone wants to talk about Brett Favre’s magical Super Bowl run, but he and the rest of his team haven’t gotten things done on the road this season. They’re 4-4 away from the Metrodome, but three of those four wins came against the Lions, Browns and Rams in the first five weeks of the season. Those aren’t exactly powerhouse teams they played. Their other road win game against Green Bay in Week 8 when Favre threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns to help Minnesota rack up 38 points.

Speaking of Favre, you have to go back all the way to 1997 to reference the last time he won a road playoff game. He led the Packers to a 23-10 win over the 49ers that year, but he’s gone 0-3 on the road with nine interceptions in the postseason since then.

Granted, football is a team game and Favre wasn’t the only reason his teams have failed on the road in the postseason. Plus, previous outcomes have nothing to do with future results so if the Vikings do lose on Sunday, it won’t be because Favre hasn’t won on the road in the postseason since ’97.

That said, it’s worth noting that Minnesota’s Super Bowl hopes are resting on the fact that they must beat a solid New Orleans team in a hostile environment on Sunday. Toss in the fact that Favre has struggled on the road in the postseason and that the Vikings are 0-3 in their last three games away from the Metrodome and you realize what kind of situation Minnesota is walking into this weekend.

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I was listening to Scott Van Pelt’s radio show on ESPN earlier today and he brought up an interesting fact about the NFC Championship Game: Over the last five years, there has only been one team to make a repeat performance in the NFC Championship Game, which are the Saints (2007, 2009). That means we have seen nine out of possible 10 teams that could make the title game.

Talk about parity.

The interesting thing to me about this factual nugget is that every year when fans and media pundits make their predictions, how many of them include the Super Bowl winner or runner-up in the conference title game? I don’t have hard facts, but I’m willing to assume that more times than not, prognosticators predict that teams that won the previous years will at least make another deep postseason run, yet history says otherwise (at least in the NFC, that is).

Take the Saints for example. The 2009 season hasn’t concluded yet, but chances are they’re going to have a similar makeup next season. Sean Payton will still be the head coach, Gregg Williams will still be the defensive coordinator, Drew Brees will still be under center and they’re still going to have a potent offense, regardless of whether or not Reggie Bush is retained. So logic would state that if they made it this far in 2009, that they could repeat next year.

But that’s the great thing about the NFL – it’s completely unpredictable. That’s why teams that didn’t make the playoffs this year still have hope, and not just hope for a postseason berth next season, but possibly more. If history repeats itself, there’s a very good chance that we will see two completely different teams in the NFC conference game next season.

Of course, if you’re a Detroit Lions fan just go ahead and disregard that last paragraph.

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How does a team beat an opponent that had not been beaten in its last 18 games, that had averaged over 36 points and over 410 yards of total offense a game?

The quick answer to the proposed question above is a potent pass-rush. Along with the last-minute heroics of Eli Manning and David Tyree, that’s how the Giants beat the undefeated Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII. And that’s also how the Vikings can beat the Saints this Sunday in the NFC Championship Game.

Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Minnesota offense will get a lot of attention heading into this weekend – and rightfully so. Led by Favre and AP, the Vikings have the fifth best overall and the second best scoring offense in the league. But it’ll be the play of Jared Allen and the rest of Minnesota’s pass rush that will be crucial to the Vikings’ Super Bowl hopes.

The Vikings trail the Saints in terms of total offense and points scored. New Orleans has the best offense in the NFL, led by quarterback Drew Brees and a plethora of weapons ranging from Reggie Bush to Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey. There’s a reason why the Saints earned the No. 1 seed – they put points on the board, especially at home.

But the Cowboys proved in Week 15 that Brees and the rest of the Saints’ offense could be neutralized by a defense that can pressure the quarterback. In that game, DeMarcus Ware treated Jermon Bushrod like a revolving door to Brees, while racking up two of the Cowboys’ four sacks that night. Brees had limited time to throw and was often swallowed up by Dallas’ pressure.

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If recent history was any indication, a Cowboy postseason defeat was inevitable. They had played well throughout December and had gotten the playoff monkey off their backs with a first round rout over the Eagles last week. It figures that Tony Romo and Wade Phillips were due to fail, which they did in Dallas’ 34-3 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.

Romo didn’t play well today, but blame could hardly be put solely on his shoulders. He was under constant pressure because his offensive linemen couldn’t block a statue and he also received little to no help from his running game. That said, there was no excuse for him to turn the ball over three times. His fumble in the second quarter set up a Vikings’ field goal and his brutal interception late in the second half sealed any comeback attempt by the Cowboys.

The turnovers didn’t help, but what killed the Cowboys most of all was the fact that they couldn’t finish off drives. Several times throughout the game Romo led Dallas into Minnesota territory and failed to generate points. Of course, if the Cowboys had anything resembling a kicker they would have sported more than a field goal on the scoreboard. Shaun Suisham missed two field goals and essentially sealed his fate in Dallas this offseason.

As for Phillips, there’s not much more he could have done in terms of play calling. His defense just failed to execute and the big play doomed them in the end. Phillips was able to drum up some pressure and Dallas did a great job containing Adrian Peterson, but they couldn’t come up with that big stop to turn the momentum in their favor.

The question now becomes: Will Jerry Jones keep the combination of Romo and Phillips in the offseason? There’s no doubt that the ‘Boys failed to live up to Jones’ expectations, but Romo and Phillips each turned in a great season. I would have to imagine that Romo will be around in 2010, but there’s no guarantee for Phillips. People said he had to win a playoff game to keep his job, and he did that. But after they played so poorly today, that may not have been enough.

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For those that have been waiting for the Cowboys to self-destruct since December, your wait is officially over. Dallas was a complete disaster in the Metrodome on Sunday, as the Vikings pounded the Cowboys 34-3 to advance to the NFC Championship Game.

The Vikings were led by a defense that harassed Tony Romo the entire afternoon and forced three turnovers. Minnesota’ held Dallas’ potent rushing attack to less than 100 yards (92) and just 248 yards of total offense. They also sacked Romo six times and gave him zero time to scan the field and find open receivers (not that there were many to choose from).

Offensively, the combination of Brett Favre and Sidney Rice absolutely terrorized Dallas’ secondary. Favre completed 15-of-24 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns, while Rice caught six passes for 141 yards and three scores. Given how well he played, I wouldn’t be surprised if fans inside the Metrodome confused Rice for Randy Moss. That’s how good he played today.

The Vikings showed today that when they play up to their potential, they’re as good as anyone in the league. A Saints-Vikings matchup was the best the NFC could offer and that’s exactly what fans will get next week. It should be a thriller at the Superdome.

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