Pro Bowl quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre take center stage Sunday when the Philadelphia Eagles host Green Bay in the second round of the National Football League playoffs.
The Eagles are seeking their third straight trip to the National Football Conference championship game under coach Andy Reid.
Favre and the Packers are a formidable obstacle to that goal.
"You try not to get caught up in it, but it's going to be exciting," McNabb said.
"Brett Favre is a guy who is a Hall of Famer. To be able to play this game is obviously exciting for me, but I'm not going to get caught up in it. I just have to go out and play the game."
Both quarterbacks have overcome injuries to lead their teams to division titles.
McNabb struggled with an injured thumb early in the season. Favre broke his right thumb in an Oct. 19 game at St. Louis and has played with a splint.
Favre has also played with a heavy heart since the death of his father on Dec. 21. After leading the Packers to a 4-0 record in December, Favre completed 26-of-38 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay's 33-27 overtime victory over Seattle in the wild card round.
The Eagles, meanwhile, had a first-round bye, as did the St. Louis Rams, who host Carolina Saturday in the weekend's other NFC game.
The Rams have won 14 straight at home, dating to Sept. 29, 2002. This season they have dominated at home, winning by an average of 17.1 points.
"They are going to be a very worthy challenge for us at their place where their record is good," Panthers coach John Fox said. "We're going to give it our best shot."
Making just their second postseason appearance and first since 1996, the Panthers were brilliant in the wild card round last week with a 29-10 victory over Dallas. Carolina became the first team since Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 10 to go through a postseason game without a turnover or penalty.
In this week's AFC match-ups, the Indianapolis Colts visit Kansas City Sunday in a game that promises to be a high-scoring affair.
With six Pro Bowlers leading the way -- running back Priest Holmes, quarterback Trent Green, fullback Tony Richardson, tight end Tony Gonzalez, tackle Willie Roaf and guard Will Shields -- the Chiefs led the NFL in scoring with 484 points (30.3 per game) this season.
Pro Bowl returner Dante Hall had something to do with that total as well, returning four kicks for touchdowns, although all of those came in the first five weeks of the season.
Holmes set an NFL single-season record with 27 touchdowns and rushed for 1,420 yards. He faces an Indianapolis defense that tied for 20th in the league against the run, yielding 123.8 yards per game.
With Manning at the helm, Indianapolis tied for the second-most points in the league with 447 and faces a Kansas City defense that ranked 29th.
On Saturday, New England launch their quest to win their second Super Bowl in three seasons when they host Steve McNair and the Tennessee Titans.
After splitting their first four games, the Patriots reeled off 12 straight wins to end the regular season, securing the NFL's best record.
The Patriots' winning streak began at home against the Titans with a 38-30 victory. Tom Brady completed 17-of-31 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown and Mike Cloud rushed for 73 yards and two scores to lead the Patriots. New England rushed for 161 yards in the victory.
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