Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson could very well rush for 200 yards on Saturday night at Green Bay. The question, though, is does it really matter?

Adrian Peterson was at his best in two games against the Packers. (Getty Images)

While Peterson has amazed and thrilled the NFL with his 2,097-yard season and been at his best in two games against the Packers (409 combined rushing yards and three total touchdowns), that didn't equate to a season sweep of the Vikings' division rival. Fact is, Peterson ran for 210 yards at Green Bay in Week 13 and the Vikings lost.

Historically, teams have fared well when a running back has rushed for at least 200 yards. Teams went 6-2 in those circumstances this season, 71-2 (97.3 winning percentage) from 1990-2011 and won 92.1 percent of the time (118 out of 126) through '11 dating back to the first-ever 200-yard game in 1933.

Yet given the explosive nature of passing games in general and specifically with Green Bay being armed with reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, overcoming such a huge rushing effort is deemed

The news of Ray Lewis' latest injury was barely 24 hours old back in October when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stopped for a minute to talk about a man who had caused both joy and heartache in the league throughout 17 seasons.

"I love Ray," Goodell said as he reached into his pocket to get his cell phone and show the exchange of text messages he had earlier in the day with Lewis, who had suffered a torn triceps on Oct. 14 against the Cowboys. Goodell had checked in to see if Lewis was doing OK. Lewis, a man who scorns pity, gave a typically resounding reply of yes.

"I really do. I love the person he has become over his career and what he means to our league," Goodell said.

Ray Lewis reacts after a touchdown during the Ravens' Week 16 victory over the Giants. (AP)The story of Lewis, who announced Wednesday that he plans to retire when the Baltimore Ravens' season ends, is a complicated tale of accusation and absolution. He was connected to one of the darkest moments in league history – a double-homicide in the hours just after a Super Bowl was played – and

Before we look too far ahead to a possible Tom Brady-Peyton Manning matchup in the AFC championship game, it's worth examining how bad the Texans have looked over the past seven games. Between scratching out two overtime victories against inferior teams (Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions) and then losing three of their final four games, Houston looks like anything but the team that was 11-1 at one point.

[Related: Texans lose swagger, grip on AFC's top seed | Wilson vs. RG3]

Put that together with the inconsistencies of the Ravens and you have two interesting games where a good argument can be made for a pair of upsets in the first round of the AFC playoffs. The flipside is that quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Andy Dalton don't have the experience you'd like to see on this kind of stage.

Here's a quick breakdown of next week's AFC wild-card contests:

Indianapolis Colts (11-5) at Baltimore Ravens (10-6)

Keys for the Colts: They have excelled this season with a

Given the Vikings-Packers rematch of Sunday's classic season finale and the Russell Wilson-Robert Griffin III showdown, the NFC certainly has the more intriguing matchups during wild-card weekend.

In fact, between Wilson, Griffin, Andrew Luck, Christian Ponder, Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton, half of the quarterbacks in the playoffs this season are either rookies or in their second season. Four of the six are in the NFC bracket, so get ready for what should be an unpredictable ride.

[Related: Texans lose swagger, grip on AFC's top seed | Deja vu for Bengals?]

Here's a breakdown of the first-round NFC matchups:

Minnesota Vikings (10-6) at Green Bay Packers (11-5)

Keys for the Vikings: They are a throwback team of sorts, an offense that starts with the running game. That, of course, is Adrian Peterson, who in two games against the Packers this season has 409 rushing yards as part of his total of 2,097. That said, the growth of second-year QB Christian Ponder has been

Now that San Diego Chargers head coach Norv Turner has officially been dismissed, a team source said a consideration has to be made that's foreign to other franchises:

Who will play to the Los Angeles market?

As the Chargers (7-9) fired Turner and general manager A.J. Smith on Monday following another disappointing season, there are some unusual assessments that owner Dean Spanos must think through.

Spanos must settle whether the Chargers are going to stay in San Diego (which is his hope) or move to Los Angeles. And Spanos has roughly one year to settle it all.

"Everybody understands that Dean wants to be in San Diego," the team source said. "That has always been his priority."

Norv Turner 56-40 in six seasons with the Chargers. (AP)Whether San Diego voters approve a ballot measure on a new stadium is critical, but so will be upcoming talks with new San Diego Mayor Bob Filner. Shortly after being elected in November, Filner declared that there would be no "sweetheart" deal for the Chargers.

According to

MINNEAPOLIS – While Adrian Peterson staked his claim to the NFL's Most Valuable Player award by propelling the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs and nearly breaking one of the league's most hallowed records, quarterback Christian Ponder may have done something more subtly brilliant:

He became a big-play passer.

In the grand scheme of an athlete's progression, this is akin to going from being single to married. Of course, Ponder just did that, too. New Year's Eve also happens to be the two-week anniversary of Ponder's marriage to ESPN reporter Samantha Steele, an extremely rare in-season ceremony.

Christian Ponder looks to throw a pass in the second half of against the Packers. (AP)In other words, Ponder is in the middle of taking some giant steps, and the array of throws he made in the second half of a 37-34 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday were enormously important.

There was a perfect deep throw to Jarius Wright for a 65-yard gain immediately after the Packers had tied the score at 27, seemingly taking control of the momentum. There was

MINNEAPOLIS – Since winning its last Super Bowl a little less than two years ago, the Green Bay Packers have perfected the art of the high-wire act. Whether it's taking a run at an undefeated season last year with Aaron Rodgers putting up other-worldly numbers or the team overcoming a slow start this season, the Packers are nothing if not entertaining.

Aaron Rodgers, right, watches from the sideline. (AP)But when it comes to focusing on the little things that win and lose games, Green Bay sometimes makes you wonder. Such instances occurred Sunday, when Green Bay dropped the regular-season finale 37-34 to the Minnesota Vikings and blew a first-round bye.

Among the little things the Packers did wrong were …

• Committing three false-start penalties and a delay-of-game error. Two of those four flags contributed to stalled drives that ended without points.

• Inexplicably burning two timeouts inside Minnesota's 10-yard line in the first half, leaving them without a timeout and the opportunity to challenge a

While eight NFL sources told Yahoo! Sports that the league’s annual firing spree will likely result in six to eight head coaches losing their jobs at season's end, at least 13 jobs appear to be in some state of discussion. In addition, another six general manager jobs are also in flux.

Here’s a rundown of what could happen come as early as Monday, along with potential replacements for the most likely fired coaches.

Most likely changes

Norv Turner is 55-40 in six seasons with San Diego. (AP)1. San Diego Chargers – A year after Norv Turner was kept over the objections of the Chargers fan base, his reign as coach appears to be down to a matter of hours. Turner will end up somewhere as an offensive coordinator, but his career as a head coach is likely done.
Possible replacements – Andy Reid (Eagles head coach), Bruce Arians (Colts offensive coordinator), Hue Jackson (Bengals assistant), Jim Caldwell (Ravens offensive coordinator).

2. Kansas City Chiefs – Romeo Crennel deserves a medal for what he has been through this season,