Rested, healthy Ravens relish benefit of bye week

As a reward for going 12-4 and winning the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens got to watch football over the weekend instead of playing it.

It was a luxury they did not take for granted.

In each of the previous three years, the Ravens reached the playoffs as a wild-card team and had to play on the road during the opening weekend of the postseason.

This season, Baltimore earned a bye during wild-card weekend by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 24-16 on Jan. 1 to earn the AFC North title in a tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also went 12-4 but lost twice to the Ravens.

So, while the Steelers lost at Denver, the Ravens kicked back and watched the show. And now, Baltimore is rested and healthy heading into Sunday's matchup at home against the Houston Texans (11-6).

"We did what we had to do to get that first-week bye," Ravens defensive end Cory Redding said. "We came out of the backstretch 3-1, and that was our main focus. Guys were fighting on the field with big gashes down their legs, bruised ribs, messed up knees and toes and ankles and hands. Everyone got in that Cincinnati game and just played because we knew we were fighting for a week off."

Packers fear worst with coordinator's son missing: The Green Bay Packers canceled player availability on Monday, bracing for bad news as authorities searched for the missing 21-year-old son of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin amid fears that he had drowned in an icy Wisconsin river.

Police in Oshkosh, Wis. have been searching for 21-year-old Michael T. Philbin since Sunday evening. He disappeared at about 2 a.m. Sunday after an outing with friends in the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus area, about 50 miles from Green Bay.

Joe Philbin spent Monday in Oshkosh, where divers recovered the body of a man between the ages of 20 and 25 from the Fox River in late afternoon after a security guard reported hearing cries for help from someone on the ice. Oshkosh Police said no foul play was suspected, but the man's name was being withheld until his family is notified.

Giants defense getting its wish, the Pack again: The New York Giants' defense wanted another shot at Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers after a last-second loss last month. They got their wish.

And this time it might be a fair fight.

The last time the Giants (10-7) faced the Packers, Rodgers shredded the defense for 449 yards and four touchdowns, winning the game with a 68-yard drive in the final minute to set up a 31-yard field goal in a 38-35 decision.

That's ancient history. The Giants' defense has come light years in five weeks. The front four is dominating, led by All-Pro Jason Pierre-Paul, with Justin Tuck finally healthy, and Osi Umenyiora recovered from an ankle injury.

The secondary is covering receivers and opponents are being stuffed on the run. It's shutdown football, as was evident on Sunday in a 24-2 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC wild-card game at MetLife Stadium.

That set up the rematch with the Packers (15-1) at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Thomas emerging for Saints in playoffs: One of Pierre Thomas' teammates referred to him as "an animal" after the Saints' playoff opening triumph over Detroit.

Thomas is just happy to be healthy and able to help New Orleans in another playoff run.

The fifth-year running back was a key player in the Saints' lone championship two seasons ago, turning screen passes into long touchdowns in both the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl. In 2010, however, he struggled with a left ankle injury for much of the regular season and was on injured reserve by the time the Saints were bounced from the playoffs in a first-round loss at Seattle.

Thomas made his postseason return against the Lions in Saturday night's first-round game, slipping numerous tackles and bouncing off of some heavy hits on his way to 121 combined yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.