PLEASE BEWARE, STRONG GIANTS BIAS IN THIS ARTICLE. I ACKNOWLEDGE THIS NOW, BUT I CAN'T HELP THE BITTERNESS AND SORROW. THIS IS SIMPLY MY EXTREMELY INFLUENCED OPINION PEOPLE, DON'T TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY!

I knew it was too good to be true. As I sat in the Emirates Stadium watching my beloved Arsenal sneak a 1-0 win over a terrible Bolton team, I said to myself ‘everything is going to be alright’.

But my mind betrayed me, and my Giants lost to the pretty average Eagles. In order to compound my misery, the Chargers- my second team- got hammered by the Steelers after a promising start. You see, this is why I hate supporting teams. More often than not, it’s just misery after misery (interspersed with the odd Super Bowl of Premier League win). Woe is me.

Eagles 23-11 Giants

Blimey, where do I start?

OK, you all know I’m a Giants fan, and therefore you all know that it is tough for me to write this mini review without being biased at all. It’s really, really difficult, but I’m trying. However, the next sentence is sure to annoy a lot of people, and I’m happy to debate it in the comments section.

THE EAGLES AREN’T VERY GOOD. Yep, there you go. The Philadelphia Eagles are not a particularly strong team. They won the game based on the fact that a)the Giants can’t kick field goals and b)because some of the New York play-calling was so ridiculous that I feel like eating a pair of my pants for dinner for the next ten years. It was atrocious, and Eli Manning returned to the form that had risked his place as the starting QB for the Giants at the start of the 2007 season. New York had no sense of direction or what to do with the football, and against a stronger offence would have lost by 30 points or so.

But the Eagles do not have a strong offence. No, not at all. They benefited from a few terrible mistakes from Eli, and to give credit where credit is due, made the most of their opportunities. But without Manning’s errors, Philadelphia would have been absolutely nowhere. Their defence is relatively strong but were never tested, and I am looking forward to seeing them attempt to deal with the aerial threat that Kurt Warner will provide this coming weekend.

I’m so angry!!!! This was a fantastic chance for the Giants to repeat, and they were far the strongest team left in the playoffs. My only hope now is that the Cardinals fight through to win the Super Bowl.

N.B Sorry to annoy any Eagles fans, I’m genuinely not doing it on purpose. But for those of us who saw the game last night, you’ll have all seen the same thing: poor Giants play calling, terrible coverage on third down and a lack of creativity. Philly won because New York were awful, it’s as simple as that. Rant over.

Ravens 13-10 Titans

Well, this one went pretty much as expected only the Ravens came out on top in the predicted battle of defences. Ultimately, the Titans fell on their on sword by turning the ball over several times in Ravens territory and throwing away all the good work they put in by dominating the contest in many areas.

Indeed, with this loss Joe Flacco became the first rookie QB to win two playoff games. No offence to the guy, but the fact that a pretty raw QB has got this far is testament to just how good this D is.

An unfortunate loss for the Titans who for so long looked like they would be Super Bowl winners, and this game provided more evidence that home field advantage doesn't mean all that much anymore.

In many ways, this was yet another kick in the teeth for me this weekend as I wanted Kerry Collins to get through to the Super Bowl due to his Giants links. What do I have to do to get a break? Arsenal are stuttering, the Giants are out despite being the no.1 seeds, and even tenuous New York links are failing me!!

Cardinals 33-13 Panthers

Well, I don’t think many people saw this one coming, but should we really be surprised?! They have the second best defence in the league, a QB who can make things happen at anytime and Larry Fitzgerald, arguably the best receiver in the NFL this season.

However, as good as the Cardinals may be, most teams would beat a team who concede six turnovers, which is the incredible stat that Carolina managed to achieve. Jake Delholmme was intercepted FIVE times, I repeat, FIVE times, and also fumbled the ball once. There aren’t many teams who could survive that stat, and it resulted in Arizona being in possession for 40 minutes of the game. The fact that they were so productive with the ball will worry the Eagles quite a lot in the NFC Championship game. Warner’s late season blues appear to have cleared up, and with 21 of 32 passes being completed he is in good form. Suddenly, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the Cardinals in the Super Bowl anymore.

However, I can’t claim to be one of the smart people who anticipated this crushing win because as you’ll all remember, I wrote that ‘it will be an easy win for the Panthers’. I’m too easily influenced by what other people say, so I blame all the 606ers that have been calling Arizona the worst playoff team of all time. I knew it was Philly, why do I listen to you people?!

Chargers 24-35 Steelers

This scoreline flatters to decieve, as this was a relatively easy win for Pittsburgh. Indeed, in the third quarter they restricted the Chargers to eight seconds on the ball which Phillip Rivers used to throw an interception and give the ball back to the Steelers.

Ultimately, the San Diego defence let the side down once again in a season where their prolific offence has been frequently let down. Big Ben was allowed to make far too many big plays, and with LT on the sidelines and Darren Sproles restricted to a bit part with his running game, even the Chargers could not get the 40 points they would have needed to win this game.

I knew this would happen. As soon as the Giants lost, I knew all my hopes for the NFL this year would be destroyed with the Chargers losing and they didn't let me down. I did everything in my power to support Rivers and his men, namely kept on drinking in the belief that getting hammered might change things. It didn't work.

Conference game predictions

Ravens @ Steelers: Just how far can the Baltimore defence take an offence that is about as explosive as my beard after seven day's growth (non-existent)? Not much further. The Steelers D is incredibly strong and I don't think Joe Flacco has what it takes to lead his team to scoring many points against them. Add to that the fact that the Pittsburgh O seems to have woken up from its season-long slumber and we should see the Steelers in the Super Bowl. I sincerely hope so anyway.

Eagles @ Cardinals: I don't think many people would have predicted this as being the NFC Championship game at the start of the season. Indeed, without trying to annoy too many people (again), I don't think the NFC is going to be particularly well represented in the Super Bowl. This is a tough one to call because the Cardinals are at home and are the underdog, which normally results in an Arizona victory. But the Eagles have so much momentum, and should win this game before losing to the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

I hate being a sports fan, I really do. I await your abuse below for my dismantling of the Eagles. Bring it on!