NFL Playoff Predictions: 4 Stars Who Could Stumble in January

Sometimes a player's regular-season success doesn't continue into the playoffs. With the start of the postseason comes new challenges and often new opponents, and even the league's best players can stumble when faced with some of the NFL's top teams.

In the following slides, I detail four players who could see their success limited in the playoffs this year.

RB Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Though Houston Texans running back Arian Foster has continued to be successful running the ball (and catching passes) with former third-string and now starting quarterback T.J. Yates under center, the playoffs are an entirely different animal altogether.

Though Yates has performed relatively well in his four starts, his lack of professional experience will be plainly evident once Houston is matched up against the top teams in the AFC. That leaves just the Texans' high-producing running game to hold up the team's offense.

Opposing defenses are going to be acutely aware of this fact and will key in on Foster play after play in hopes of limiting his production and ultimately defeating his team.

Though Foster has gained a significant amount of yardage in the Texans' last two games, both losses, he won't see defenses as soft as those in the postseason. His days of 100 or more yards rushing could be numbered, as far as this year's playoffs are concerned.

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

Aside from the New England Patriots' Tom Brady, there's no quarterback in this year's NFL playoffs with more postseason experience than the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger. This puts both him and his team at a great advantage, but there are reasons to believe he could struggle this postseason.

Injuries are the major reason why Roethlisberger, and by extension, the Steelers, could be in trouble in this year's playoffs. Roethlisberger is currently recovering from a high ankle sprain, which he suffered in Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns.

Though he didn't leave that game, nor did he sit out in Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, he did not play in Week 16 against the St. Louis Rams and will likely play up to 30 snaps in Week 17 to make sure he's not rusty.

But Roethlisberger's performance against the Niners belies what may happen should the injury linger or worsen. Though he threw for 330 yards, he completed just 25 of his 44 pass attempts, was picked off three times, lost a fumble and was sacked three times as well.

Roethlisberger's strength lies in his ability to extend the play by scrambling out of the pocket and making the unlikely completion. With his ankle injury, that ability is severely limited and actually forces him to make bad decisions and throw interceptions.

If Roethlisberger isn't healthy in the postseason, then it could cost the Steelers another Super Bowl appearance.

RB Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is the heart of his team's offense. Without him, it's not likely the Ravens would be a playoff team this season. However, his success thus will determine the success of his team when it comes to their postseason hopes.

Rice is the league leader in total yards from scrimmage, rushing 267 times for 1,173 yards and 10 touchdowns and catching 74 passes for 696 yards and three more scores. It's clear that stopping him is a good way for opposing teams to stop the Ravens in the playoffs, and he might find his production slowed as a result.

Much like the Texans' Arian Foster, Rice is a threat in both the passing and running game and makes up for the shortcomings of his quarterback, in this case Joe Flacco. Opposing defenses need to force Flacco to throw and hopefully capitalize on any mistakes he might make in their bids to advance in the playoffs.

The best way to do this is to stop Rice. If Rice is no longer a threat, then the top offensive player for the Ravens is neutralized, making it hard for the team to gain meaningful yards and score points. Rice will have a major target on his back this postseason, and as a result, may struggle more than he's used to.

QB Eli Manning, New York Giants

The NFC is home to most of the top quarterbacks in the NFL this season, and that includes the New York Giants' Eli Manning. Manning, who is having one of the best seasons of his career—if not the best—has thrown for 4,587 yards, 26 touchdowns and 16 interceptions thus far this season.

However, that's nothing compared to the other elite quarterbacks in the conference, guys like the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers and the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees, and that might come to harm Manning and the Giants' chances to advance very far in the playoffs this year—that is, if they even get in.

The Giants first need to defeat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night to win the NFC East's playoff spot, and while it will be difficult, I do see them succeeding.

Their first playoff test will come via the Detroit Lions, who field a high-powered offense as well as one of the tougher defenses in the NFL. If they win that matchup, they'll have to travel to Green Bay and face the Packers, a team that has already defeated the Giants once this year.

Should they best the Packers, they're then likely to meet the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game, and the Saints too have already defeated the Giants in the regular season.

Simply put, Manning will have to engage in a number of shootouts against some of the more mistake-free quarterbacks in the league. Though Manning scored five touchdowns total in the two games he's already played against the Saints and Packers, he's also thrown two picks and lost a fumble.

With the stakes far higher in the postseason, Manning could prove more mistake-prone while trying to play catchup against some of the most prolific scoring offenses in the NFL.

Add into that the Giants' league-last rushing game that's averaging just 88.1 yards per game, and it's clear the responsibility on offense will rest on Manning alone, making him vulnerable to poor play and a downturn in production.