2. Oben must be on. The individual matchup that the Bucs either must win or at least get a stalemate is left tackle Roman Oben on Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas. Douglas had his way in the first matchup, forcing the Bucs to keep a back or tight end on his side and limiting what they could do offensively. Oben must have a great game.

3. No big plays allowed. The Bucs can't allow the Eagles to get any big offensive plays. They have to keep everything in front of them. When you look over the history of the two teams, each time there has been a big play that has decided the outcome in favor of the Eagles. In their last meeting in Week 7, it was Todd Pinkston's 42-yard touchdown reception. The Bucs can't let it happen again.

4. Win the field position game. Because the Bucs don't have an explosive offense, they must work with a short field, getting help from their defense and special teams. Then they must sustain offense with a balanced attack, mixing the run and the pass.

5. Score early. The Eagles' crowd will be all lathered up with it not only being the NFC championship game, but also with it being the final game at Veterans Stadium. The Bucs need to score quickly, take the lead and get the crowd out of the game.

Five keys for the Eagles
1. Strong corners. The Eagles have shutdown cornerbacks in Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent. If they can win their matchups on the outside, the Eagles can commit safeties Blaine Bishop and Brian Dawkins inside on the short crossing routes and in the running game. They can get involved in all other areas of the game. The Bucs' bigger receivers play right into the hands of Taylor and Vincent, who are strong and physical. They have more trouble with quick receivers like Marvin Harrison. This matchup favors the corners.

2. Commit to the run. The Eagles need to pound the football for four quarters. That's what they did in the last meeting, rushing 34 times for 159 yards. They ran, ran and ran some more. They were getting their three and four yards a pop. Then late in the fourth quarter, Duce Staley ripped off an 11-yard run and a 57-yarder. Pound the Bucs and try to wear them out. The Bucs' defense is based on speed and quickness. The best way to move the football is with the power running game straight ahead.

3. Win the war of attrition. In other words, the Eagles must be physical. It will be a tough battle, what I like to call a "woodshed" game -- let's go out back and get it on. It won't be pretty.

4. Manufacture points by design. The Eagles don't have individually explosive players who will make people miss and take it the distance. Head coach Andy Reid will have to design offensive plays that will get people open, very similar to what he did in the last meeting, when he got Pinkston open for the big touchdown pass. It was great execution, but also a beautifully designed play. Against the Bucs' defense, the Eagles won't sustain offense. The Bucs have only given up 18 touchdowns all season. On 12 of the 18 touchdown drives, there was at least one 20-yard pass play. So the Eagles need explosive plays to score touchdowns.

5. Pressure Brad Johnson. The Eagles need to go after Johnson without having to blitz. The Eagles had their way with their front four last week against Michael Vick and in the first meeting against Tampa Bay, registering six sacks. If they can pressure Johnson without blitzing, he will have tight windows to throw into. And the Bucs' offensive line doesn't match up well to the Eagles' front four.

Ron Jaworski is an NFL analyst for ESPN.