Three wins away

Your chance to read my column from Ireland's Saturday Night before anyone else

AS American Football teams square up for this weekend’s divisional play offs, fans, coaches, and players know that their team is just three wins away from lifting Super Bowl XV.

The action gets under way tonight (Saturday) when Washington travel to the west coast to play Seattle, followed by the New England Patriots visit to Mile High Stadium to take on the Denver Broncos.

Sunday’s games feature the Pittsburgh Steelers match-up with AFC favourites, the Indianapolis Colts.

The divisional weekend concludes when the Carolina Panthers travel to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Bears.

And this is one game when defence will be the key. Chicago were the number two ranked, with Carolina number three in a season where the defensive mind-set has been the key to success.

And it is a game where home field advantage could be key for the Bears. The Monsters of the Midway allowed the fewest home points (61) in a season since the 16-game schedule began in 1978.

The teams’ top two rushers did not do much on November 20 when the Bears beat visiting Carolina 13-3 – and sacked quarterback Jake Delhomme eight times.

The key to the game could be the Bears’ ability to stop the NFL’s 2005 receiving-yards leader, Steve Smith. In the November game, Smith had 14 catches for 169 yards but no touchdowns.

“I’ll take 14 catches and no touchdowns anytime,” said Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher of Smith’s first game. “I would hate to have a game where he catches three balls for three TDs. The times he does catch it, you just have to tackle him.”