NFL Playoff Predictions: 5 QBs Who Could Face Disastrous Postseasons

Making it to the playoffs is just one battle an NFL team faces. Once a team finally get there, it needs to prove it's the strongest, not just in its conference but in the whole of the league.

One thing any playoff team needs is a solid quarterback, one who can reliably lead his team by making the right decisions, accurately executing plays and, of course, throwing as many touchdown passes as possible.

For five playoff quarterbacks, one or more of these traits is lacking, and thus they're more likely to struggle in the postseason than some of the more experienced, proven passers they are going to face.

In the following slides, I detail just who these men are and why the postseason might be a major disaster for each of them.

Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos

While the top team in the AFC West is still unknown, with the division possibly going to any one of three teams, the Denver Broncos currently hold a tenuous grip on the No. 1 spot.

Should they hold on and make it into the playoffs, quarterback Tim Tebow is sure to struggle. Tebow, whose detractors have had similar refrains about his weaknesses since he declared for the 2010 NFL draft, has built up quite a string of successes this year as the Broncos starter.

Despite his still-sketchy mechanics, sub-50 percent completion rate and motley crew of also-ran receivers, Tebow has done more to assist the Broncos cause than to harm it, making plays when necessary and letting the team's solid run offense, tough defense and stellar special teams carry most of the load.

However, once the playoffs come, it will be time for Tebow to step up. He's already shown he's not up to par with the Tom Brady's of the world; however, it is with the likes of him he must compete if his Broncos team is to advance in the playoffs.

He's got the mindset of a winner, to be sure, but Tebow doesn't have the skill set to match. The playoffs will prove too tough for the young quarterback this year, but just getting there should provide him with invaluable experience that will help him going forward.

Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has spent most of his career as a liability to his team, but that's not so this season.

Whether it's the change at head coach or the fact that something finally clicked between him and his receivers, Smith has become the quintessential game manager quarterback, the type who helps, but does not lead, his team to a win and does little to make them lose.

This season, Smith has completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 2,752 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. His low numbers are no coincidence—the Niners are a running team, and the fact that they rank 29th in pass attempts proves it.

Though head coach Jim Harbaugh said on Tuesday that Smith is indeed the long-term answer at quarterback for the team, he's been a Niner since 2005 and only just now is breaking out.

While Smith has performed well thus far, much more is going to be asked of him and his arm in the playoffs. To reach the Super Bowl, he and his team will have to outperform offenses the caliber of the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.

Smith is no Drew Brees, and he's no Aaron Rodgers, and if he tries to be, it might just cost his team a win when it matters most.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo continually finds himself on the precipice of being considered one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks, but for how often he shoots himself and his team in the foot, the idea's never quite stuck.

Romo's built quite the reputation of choking in big games, which makes him at risk for a postseason collapse this year should the Cowboys reach the playoffs. Football Outsiders has Romo ranked in the top four among quarterbacks this season, with more effective yards than the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Cam Newton.

Further, Romo's having the best year of his career, completing just over 65 percent of his passes, for 3,895 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions. With a resurgence in the running game, Romo's been asked to do less, therefore limiting his potential for mistakes.

But with Romo likely to see the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers or the New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees if the Cowboys manage to advance in the playoffs, there's a major risk that Romo could regress to the error-prone passer he's been in the past.

Beating the Packers or the Saints often involves being drawn into a shootout and hoping that Rodgers or Brees can be outscored and out-thrown. If Romo attempts this, his potential to make mistakes increases exponentially, and it could cost Dallas a playoff victory.

T.J. Yates, Houston Texans

Playoff games are hard to win even for the most experienced, accomplished quarterbacks. But for a rookie, it's the most major test he can face.

Houston Texans rookie quarterback T.J. Yates was thrust into the starting position after both Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart went down with season-ending injuries in two consecutive weeks. Lucky for Yates, he was charged with the upkeep of a winning team on its way to its first divisional title in franchise history.

Unlucky for Yates is that now he has to lead his team into the playoffs to face such dominant AFC teams as the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. In his three starts and four games this season, Yates has thrown for 770 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, two of the latter coming in his team's surprising Week 15 loss against the Carolina Panthers.

While the Texans offense is heavily focused on the run, Yates is going to have to throw in the postseason. Opposing defenses are going to be keyed in on stopping that run game, forcing Yates to take to the air. As a rookie, that means only one thing—mistakes.

Mistakes aren't welcome in the playoffs, where a single one can mean the difference between a win and a loss. Yates is high-risk to make those mistakes, however, and that's why the Texans could be one-and-done as far as the 2011 NFL playoffs are concerned.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is very similar to the San Francisco 49ers' Alex Smith. Both are tasked with managing the game rather than dictating its pace and is called upon more often than not to hand the ball off to their respective high-level running backs rather than to make the big passing play.

That's worked out well for Smith so far this season but Flacco's had less success with this approach, mainly because he's more willing than ever to take risks. Those risks are evident in his stat line this year—3,348 passing yards for 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

He's notched just over 400 more passing yards than Smith this year, but it's yielded just one more touchdown and six more interceptions, proving that Flacco is not just more willing to take risks in the passing game, but he's more likely to fall flat after making them.

Another thing Smith and Flacco have in common is that their respective teams field the two top defenses in the league. That should give Flacco some relief in the playoffs this season, but it's generally Flacco's errors and not the Ravens defense's softening that has cost the team three playoff games in the last three seasons.

Flacco needs to reel in his desire to make plays in the style of Tom Brady or Drew Brees if the Ravens are to make it further than the AFC championship game this year. If he tries to be the hero, the Ravens' Super Bowl hopes will suffer as a result.