Choke Alert: NFL Playoffs Divisional Round

Every year NFL teams that have locked up their place in the playoffs shut down their star players a week or two early to get rested up. Go through the bye week. And then come out totally flat and out of sync and completely fail against a team they should ordinarily dominate.

Spotting which favorite is going to fall flat isn't always easy, because often one of the other teams that rests its stars goes on to win the Super Bowl.

This year some of the NFL playoff divisional games have favorites that definitely deserve to be on fail-watch and some teams that look like the locks they really should be.

Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints starters were legitimately stumbling down the stretch before shutting down Brees and crew for their Week 17 loss to Carolina.

They may not have had anything to play for in their losses to Dallas and Tampa Bay in weeks 15 and 16, but their starters were already a little out of sync.

Arizona's offense is on fire, but their defense is burned up which gives New Orleans a little margin of error. They can miss some big plays because of rust and still expect to get more opportunities. They just can't let Arizona get too far ahead.

Choke Alert Threat Level: High

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts

Like the Saints, the Indianapolis Colts rested their starters down the stretch and finished an otherwise perfect season with consecutive losses. Unlike the Saints, the Colts starters were playing well when they got the rest.

The Colts were up at half-time when their starters got pulled in their Week 16 loss. Week 17 was played in white-out conditions which makes it hard to use the poor play of their starters as an indication of any problems that will last in to the playoffs.

Baltimore sheltered their injured quarterback by running a ton against the Patriots in weather that favored running games. The Colts have a much better run defense and with the Ravens air attack crippled, they should win this one handily.

Choke Alert Threat Level: Very Low

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings didn't start resting their starters until the 4^th quarter of their Week 17 rout of the New York Giants. The Vikings looked like they were making the final adjustments on a championship performance vehicle in that game and they only had the bye week to accumulate rust.

The Cowboys were one of the hottest teams down the stretch ending New Orleans' quest for perfection before embarrassing a Philadelphia Eagles team that had looked like a hot team ready to make a playoff run twice in a row.

The Vikings are by no means a lock to win this one, but it will be because they lost to another team playing excellent football and not because they choked.

Choke Alert Threat Level: Low

New York Jets at San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers won 11-straight to close out the season resting their starters for the final game against Washington. Unlike the other teams that rested their starters, San Diego's backups were able to get the win too which is probably a good thing.

With three weeks off there's bound to be a little rust, but the Jets' top-ranked defense isn't very forgiving of rust. They can turn rust in to frustration which doesn't wear off after a quarter or two.

Compounding the problem for the Chargers is a defense that's struggled a little against the run going up against a running offense that will eat up the clock. This will be very difficult to watch for a rusty and frustrated Chargers offense.

The Chargers looked good down the stretch, but the Jets leave no margin for error so the Chargers had better be sharp.

Choke Alert Threat Level: Moderate