Faceoff: Your NFC champ? Lovie's hot seat? C.J. or A.D.?

CBSSports.com pro football writers Pete Prisco and Clark Judge face off weekly throughout the season.

Who wins the NFC?

PRISCO: My pick is Dallas. That might seem odd, considering the Cowboys probably won't have one of the top two seeds, but I like the way they are playing. I saw them a couple weeks ago in New Orleans and they totally dominated the Saints. They can run it and they can pass it. Tony Romo is playing great football. He has been sensational the past month. The Cowboys are also getting the running game back to where we thought it might be. The defense is solid as well. If they play with the lead, it's really good. That's when DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer can get after the quarterback without having real run concerns. That's what Ware did at New Orleans. When he can pin his ears back and go, Dallas is a better defense. Spencer is really emerging on the other side. That helps cover up some issues in the secondary. I think the Cowboys beat the Eagles this week and that will probably give them one home playoff game. They've already shown they can win a big game on the road when they beat the Saints. The Cowboys are getting it going at the right time. I think they will win the NFC.

JUDGE:. The winner of the Dallas-Philadelphia game, and I'll take the Eagles for two reasons: 1) They're peaking at the right time, and 2) they know how to win playoff games. Dallas does not. In fact, the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996. The Eagles, meanwhile, have been to five conference championship games the past eight years and have the playmakers this season they haven't since ... well, since Terrell Owens was on the roster. The Eagles went to the Super Bowl in Owens' first season, and I can see them there again -- provided they overcome the loss of center Jamaal Jackson and second-half lapses that keep opponents in games. Donovan McNabb has the weapons he hasn't for most of his career, and the question is: Who do you trust more this time of year, McNabb or Tony Romo? Look at their playoff records, and you have your answer.

Should Lovie Smith be fired?

PRISCO: I don't think so. But I do think that the offensive staff needs to be changed. Coordinator Ron Turner will almost certainly be let go. Turner got a new toy this season in Jay Cutler, but he hasn't quite figured out how to make the offense work with him. It had to be frustrating to Bears fans to see what Cutler did against the Vikings, only to know there wasn't enough of it. Cutler didn't play well this season, and I put that on Turner. It didn't help that the offensive line wasn't very good or the receivers didn't step up at all. But even so, I think a fresh face running the offense will be good. That should get Smith a pass for another year. He also might need to hire a defensive coordinator. He called the plays on that side of the ball this season, and it hasn't worked out. It might be too much for him as head coach and coordinator. Smith deserves one more season -- if he changes his offensive system and staff.

JUDGE: Yes. Look, I like Smith and think he was dealt a bad hand this year when Chicago traded for Jay Cutler. Having Cutler changed the identity of the club, and the Bears still haven't figured out who they are. But that's not what gets me about Smith. This is: He took over the defense this season, saying he wanted to be more involved, and that defense was absolutely atrocious in losses to Arizona and Cincinnati -- games where both teams scored touchdowns the first four times they had the football. That is not Chicago Bears football. If Ron Turner must be accountable for the shortcomings of the offense, Lovie Smith must be accountable for the shortcomings of a defense that ranks 21st in points allowed. That said, I think he returns, but only for one reason: He's too expensive to buy out, with two years left on his contract.

Is Chris Johnson now the best back in football?

PRISCO: Most would say no. I say yes. Chris Johnson has surpassed Adrian Peterson as the best in the league. His explosive, big-play ability is second to none, and that includes Peterson. Johnson is a lot like Barry Sanders used to be. Every time he touches the football, the opposing team has to live in fear that he can go 80. No player, not even Peterson, has that speed. Johnson is averaging 5.8 per rush in getting his 1,872 yards. That's special. Peterson is at 4.4 and Steven Jackson of the Rams is at 4.5. That's more than a yard behind Johnson. In addition, Johnson has 22 20-plus runs compared to 11 for Peterson. The NFL is now a game for explosive plays. Johnson is the game's most explosive runner. That makes him the best in my book. One more thing: He's fumbled twice and Peterson has fumbled seven times. We have a new king at the top of the running-backs list. He's that super-fast back who plays for the Titans.

JUDGE: No. He's the best back this season, and it's not close. But I'll stick with Adrian Peterson, fumbles and all. Peterson can run inside or outside. He can catch the ball in space and he's a threat to take it to the house from any distance. Yeah, I know you can say the same thing about Johnson, except I don't run him over right tackle on third-and-short or at the goal line. I wouldn't hesitate with Peterson. There is nothing missing from his game. So he doesn't have the blinding speed of Chris Johnson. Few guys do. But he has enough speed to run away from tacklers and the same elusive ability that makes Johnson so hard to stop.