The Bucs plight in Philadelphia is well known. When they get to Philadelphia, the Bucs are more of a wreck than Veterans Stadium. They've lost four in a row to the Eagles since Dec. 31, 2000. Whether it's the regular season or the playoffs, the Bucs have only bad memories of their visits to the Vet.

The Titans don't have time to reflect on their early season 52-25 loss in Oakland. It was a strange game. They gave up two special teams touchdowns. Their secondary was injured. They were in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

Can the Titans and Bucs change history? Perhaps. What they face is the reality that they are playing two solid, well-coached football teams that have the confidence to beat them.

Tampa Bay Bucs at Philadelphia Eagles, 3 ET

	Brad Johnson had to leave Tampa's Week 7 loss to the Eagles with bruised ribs.

1. Keep Brad on his feet: Brad Johnson has to stay upright and the offensive line has to keep the pressure off of him in order for the Bucs to win. He's a pocket passer who is accurate and tough. He doesn't have the strongest arm in the playoffs. But his lack of mobility makes him a target if the pass protection breaks down. He missed three games with back problems, but he didn't show any problems last week in beating San Francisco. It took Johnson time to get accustomed to the changes in the offense made by coach Jon Gruden. But in his past seven starts, Johnson has thrown for 17 touchdowns and had only two interceptions. In his first seven games, he had seven touchdowns and five interceptions. His sack totals have also decreased. After being sacked two times a game during his first seven starts, he's had only eights sacks in his past seven.

2. Be quiet! The war of words between the two teams only hurts the Bucs. Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp called Veterans Stadium a place that his mother can't even come. Eagles running back Brian Mitchell returned the insult by calling Sapp "Warren Sackless." The Bucs love doing the talking, but they haven't had the success in big games to intimidate the Eagles. The Eagles know that running straight ahead and trying to physically wear down the Bucs defensive line is the way to beat them. Of course, the Bucs take that type of style as an insult and won't be caught off guard when the Eagles try that. The Bucs will always talk a good team and will usually play it. But they can't wilt against the run.

3. The real McNabb: Donovan McNabb will be much smoother than he was in his return from his broken ankle last Saturday. McNabb did a better job of spreading the ball around than his backups Koy Detmer and A.J. Feeley. Of course, he should. McNabb is the more experienced quarterback and is one of the best in the game. He hit two big passes to James Thrash for 77 yards. Thrash's big play ability may ease up the coverage on Todd Pinkston, who was Feeley's main go-to receiver. There were a few dropped passes last week as the receivers adjusted to McNabb's throws and timing. That should improve in his second start. Of course, what will make things difficult is that he's going against one of the best pass defenses in the past two decades.

4. Cold-weather blues: As much as the Bucs might try to dismiss it, they still have to win a game against a good team in cold whether. They can take heart in their season-ending 12-0 victory over the Bears in Champaign, Ill. But this wasn't the Bears team of 2001. The Bucs are 1-21 in road games played in temperatures below 40 degrees. The forecast is for temperatures in the low 30s Sunday. Bucs coach Jon Gruden doesn't like to dwell on negative stats, but his job is turn around the negative. The Bucs are 0-6 in road playoff games. They are 0-4 against the Eagles in the past couple of seasons.

5. Running to daylight: Even though this has been a passing league this season, the team that establishes the run the best might be the winner of the game. Duce Staley had 24 runs for 152 yards in the first meeting but a 57-yard run in the final three minutes made it appear that he dominated the game. Staley has to try to get 100 yards, and that might wear down the Bucs to beat them. The run sets up the play-action passing. The Bucs don't have much of a consistent running threat. The Saints were able to win two games against the Bucs because Deuce McAllister had 109 and 99 yards during the two meetings. But the Bucs really don't have a runner who can go for 100 yards.

Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders, 6:30 ET

	Eddie George had to leave last week's game with a concussion.

1. Big-game George: This might be the most important game in Eddie George's career. George needs a big game to reclaim his legend as being one of the sports big-game players. He rushed for modest numbers this year -- 1,165 yards in 343 carries, a 3.4 yard average. Some wonder that George, who is 29, is starting to wear down from all of the hits he's taken over the past several years. George averaged only 3 yards a carry last year when he was fighting a bad toe injury. George had 15 carries for 33 yards against a tough Steelers run defense last Saturday. The Raiders have dramatically improved their run defense, but George has had enough success running against the Raiders in the past that he has a chance for a good game.

2. Healthy outlook? Are the Titans healthy enough to mount one more effort to get to the Super Bowl? Steve McNair has a swollen right thumb. George is coming off a concussion. Defensive end Jevon Kearse had a setback in his recovery from a broken foot. To get a few plays out of him on Sunday, coach Jeff Fisher is keeping him out of practice during the week. He doesn't know how many plays Kearse can go. Cornerback Andre Dyson might be able to start but he has a shoulder injury. Left guard Zach Piller is still struggling from his calf injury that nagged him during the final month of the season. That's a lot of things for Fisher to worry about.

3. Stop picking on Tim: I don't understand why the Titans are verbally picking on Raiders receiver Tim Brown. Brown is no longer the Raiders main pass receiving threat. Adjustments in the Raiders passing offense have Jerry Rice being the go-to receiver and Jerry Porter as the deep threat. Halfback Charlie Garner caught 91 passes, one less than Rice. Brown missed the 1,000-yard plateau. In some routes, he's the fourth option. Titans safety Lance Schulters calls Brown a crybaby who is always looking for a call from the refs. "He doesn't want you to touch him." But why pick on Brown, it will only serve as motivation.

4. Shutting down Wycheck: The Raiders will do a much better job of shutting down Titans tight end Frank Wycheck, who had 10 catches in last Saturday's playoff win over the Steelers. Wycheck only caught 40 passes this season, his lowest totals since 1995. That goes back to McNair's rookie season. The Steelers safeties were too slow to contain Wycheck. The Raiders have some of the fastest safeties in football -- Rod Woodson, Derrick Gibson and Anthony Dorsett. They match up better against Wycheck if they need to use some man-to-man coverage in the middle of the field.

5. Tough task for Titans: It's hard for any defense to make a seven-day adjustment in preparing for the Raiders offense. The Raiders are as imaginative as any team in football. They are based in a three-receiver set but a lot of times they will send four and five pass-catchers into routes. Often, they will put two receivers on each side of the field and try to attack a defense with a high-low approach. The receiver who runs the deeper route clears out a path for the other receiver on that side to make a reception. And you can't discount the chance that the Raiders will try to run the ball. They have one of the best offensive lines in the league and they love to run block. It's a tough turnaround.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.