NFL Playoff Picture: 5 Matchups That Would Be the Most Fun to Watch

The 2011 National Football League regular season has just about wrapped up, and while a ticket or two remains to be punched, the participants in this year's second season have just about been determined.

Some of the matchups that the 2011 playoffs could potentially feature don't exactly inspire one to clear his social calendar, but here's a look at a fistful of showdowns that could make for epic games filled with high powered offense, bone-crunching defense and thrilling last minute finishes.

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers

The Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers have already played once this season, meeting at Ford Field in Week 6 in a hard fought game that the 49ers won 25-19.

However, the story of the day wasn't the game itself but what happened afterward, when head coaches Jim Schwartz of Detroit and Jim Harbaugh of San Francisco had to be separated after Schwartz took umbrage to Harbaugh's overly enthusiastic postgame handshake/backslap.

We haven't had a good coach fight since Buddy Ryan vs. Kevin Gilbride back in 1994, and who wouldn't like to see some nice HCUFC action on a Sunday afternoon?

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

These two teams are bitter rivals and square off twice a year (at least) every year, with the Baltimore Ravens exorcising a few personal demons in 2011 by sweeping both regular season meetings with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

To truly get the monkey off their backs, however, the Ravens will need to down the Steelers in a playoff game, and watching these two squads butt heads yet again would be a dream matchup for fans who enjoy watching two teams knock the snot out of one another.

New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers

The New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers met in the Thursday night game that kicked off the 2011 season, with the Packers emerging victorious in a 42-34 shootout that literally came down to the game's final play.

A playoff rematch between the two teams would feature a duel between arguably the game's best two signal-callers in Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees and present Las Vegas oddsmakers with the dilemma of having to consider setting the first betting line in history with an over/under in triple digits.

Baltimore Ravens vs. New Orleans Saints

The Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints last faced off in 2010, with the Ravens holding off the Saints 30-24 in Baltimore after defensive tackle Haloti Ngata tipped a Drew Brees pass that was intercepted to kill a late Saints drive.

A Super Bowl matchup between the two teams would be a classic contrast in styles, with the unstoppable force that is the New Orleans offense clashing with the immovable object that is the Baltimore defense.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers was a thrilling contest that more than lived up to its billing, with the Packers jumping out to an early 14-0 lead and going into the locker room at halftime up 21-10.

The Steelers staged a furious second half comeback, cutting Green Bay's lead to 28-25 at one point, but a late clutch drive by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers stretched the lead to six and Pittsburgh's last ditch effort came up short, handing Green Bay a 31-25 win and the Lombardi Trophy.

The same two teams have faced off in consecutive Super Bowls only once before (the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII and XXVIII), but a Packers-Steelers rematch would undoubtedly be more exciting than the pastings the Cowboys laid on the Bills.