Tim Shaffer/Reuters

Packers at Eagles

Sunday, 4:30 p.m.

Line: Eagles by 2½

Blame the Packers. With 7:42 to play in the second quarter of the season opener, Clay Matthews sacked the jittery quarterback-of-the-future Kevin Kolb, causing the concussion that eventually knocked Kolb out of the game. Enter Michael Vick, and soon President Obama is talking about second chances, Tom Coughlin is screaming at Matt Dodge and the supposedly rebuilding Eagles are streaking to the division title. If Matthews was just a little less tenacious, the Eagles would be 7-9 and Vick would be just another backup of dubious provenance hoping for a fresh start in Arizona or San Francisco.

The Packers won that fateful opener, then trudged through a season like all their others in the post-Favre era: lots of passing yards, lots of injuries, some lopsided wins, a few inexplicable losses. The Packers lost a 51-45 overtime shootout to the Cardinals in last year’s playoffs. This game promises to be just as fast-paced and unpredictable.

Packers on Offense

Mike McCarthy uses more exotic formations than any other coach; even the Saints don’t deploy T-formations or full-house backfields. McCarthy uses retro-chic formations to hide the fact that the Packers have no running game. The Packers are the only N.F.L. team with three active fullbacks: John Kuhn, Korey Hall and Quinn Johnson. Carrying three fullbacks is like installing five garbage disposals, but Kuhn doubles as a short-yardage runner, taking the job description literally at 3.3 yards per carry. Aaron Rodgers is among the league’s best deep passers and may be the second best rushing quarterback in the league (356 yards, four touchdowns), so the Packers can win despite minimal contributions from running back Brandon Jackson.

The weak link of the Eagles’ defense is cornerback Dimitri Patterson, an adequate backup pressed into starting duty when Ellis Hobbs was injured.

Eagles on Offense

Vick (ankle) spent the week updating his health status in percentage terms: he went from 70 percent to 90 percent to 100 percent in the course of a few days. It was like monitoring the stock exchange (the NASVIQ), except the numbers never went down. Vick and DeSean Jackson (also limited in practice this week) will attempt their usual run ‘n’ gun tactics, but LeSean McCoy (1,080 rushing yards, 78 catches) must make the most of his early carries to keep the Packers’ defense honest. Andy Reid still sometimes abandons the run before sunrise (see the Vikings game), so early success is key for McCoy.

The Packers’ all-angles approach to blitzing met with mixed results against Vick in Week 1; Vick took three sacks but also rushed for 101 yards and nearly led an Eagles comeback. Look for the Packers’s defensive coordinator, Dom Capers, to lay off the avant-garde stuff: Matthews (13½ sacks) will be ever-present, but Capers will send fewer safeties and more interior linemen in an attempt to keep Vick pocket-bound.

Special Teams Note

DeSean Jackson often returns punts for the Eagles in high-pressure situations. But then, you knew that.

Pick

An exciting, sloppy game between two exciting, sloppy teams. Eagles.

Ravens at Chiefs

Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Ravens by 3

The Ravens won 12 games this season, satisfying no one. After making the playoffs in 2008 and 2009, then acquiring the All-Pro wide receiver Anquan Boldin, the Ravens became victims of oversized expectations. Fans and analysts seemed to expect 60 points per game, a 24-win season, or a Super Bowl parade on Halloween. Instead, they got typical Ravens football: bomb-dependent offense, opportunistic defense, and grungy 17-14 and 13-7 wins.

Like the Ravens, the Chiefs are grinders who win with rushing and defense. Unlike the Ravens, expectations are low, so 10 wins against a patisserie schedule felt like a season-long party in Kansas City. With offensive coordinator Charlie Weis leaving for University of Florida after the playoffs, the hangover may come sooner than expected.

Ravens on Offense

Joe Flacco’s long passes have not been reaching their targets lately. Flacco has thrown for just 399 yards in his last three games, while Boldin’s numbers during the same span (five catches, 26 yards) look like the work of a backup running back, not a go-to receiver. The Ravens suffered similar brown-outs at other times during the season; when the long passes are not connecting, the team relies on Ray Rice as not just a runner but a short-passing target. Left tackle Michael Oher (knee) is expected to play. Oher has had trouble with penalties and speed rushers this year; he must find a way to neutralize linebacker Tamba Hali (14½ sacks).



Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers is one of the league’s best young defenders, and his fellow cornerback Brandon Carr came into his own late in the year, shutting down Denver’s Brandon Lloyd. It is always smart to cover all your bases, Brandon-wise, and the Flowers-Carr combo will be the Chiefs’ most important players when Flacco cocks his shoulder and launches.

Chiefs on Offense

Jamaal Charles is a dynamic runner with great quickness, some power, and excellent receiving skills. Thomas Jones is a plodding veteran with waning speed and power. Charles averaged 6.4 yards per carry on 230 carries; Jones averaged 3.7 yards per carry on 245 carries. Their workload distribution makes even less sense on the field than on paper: Weis and Todd Haley often shuffle Charles and Jones in for one play at a time, as if the two backs are carrying inter-office mail. Jones has averaged 2.3 yards per carry over the last month, but he still gets more opportunities than Charles. Opponents have been too baffled by the team’s Jones fixation to notice that Dwayne Bowe is the only starting-caliber wide receiver on the Chiefs roster; the team grabbed Kevin Curtis off waivers this week, and Curtis could play a role on Sunday.

After Ed Reed (whose ability to attract wayward passes has become almost telekinetic), Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, and of course Ray Lewis, the Ravens defense is talent thin. They are weakest at cornerback, which is why they are fortunate to face an opponent that throws 44 percent of its passes to either Bowe or Charles. Reed will spend more time in Bowe’s pocket than a wallet.

Special Teams Note

Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff hasn’t missed a field goal since Week 9. For a team that often stalls short of the end zone, Cundiff’s consistency has been key.

Pick

The Ravens don’t have to worry about style points anymore. Ravens.