NFC Playoff Picture: Teams Destined to Be One-and-Done

The following teams have made the playoffs, but they will enjoy only a short stay. They are all headed for one-and-done playoff appearances. 

Matchups, injuries and various factors ensures these teams will be going home winless in the NFL's postseason. 

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are locked in as the fourth seed, but they are limping into the playoffs. They have lost three straight games and are faced with the task of playing either rookie TJ Yates or the recently un-retired QB Jake Delhomme. These are not options any playoff team wants to face. 

The good news for the Texans is that they will be playing at home. If the Bengals beat the Ravens Sunday afternoon, they will be playing Cincinnati. If they lose, they will host the Titans. 

The only chance Houston has is if they face the Titans. 

The Texans just lost to the Tennessee, 23-22. However, that was a game that meant nothing for the Texans, and as a result, they decided to sit Arian Foster.

Despite their solid showing against the Titans, the Texans will be facing an uphill battle. With the high stakes of the playoffs, it is going to ratchet up the pressure on the QBs, and this is not something the Texans are in a position to handle.  

The Texans will be undone by crippling QB errors, and their first appearance in the playoffs will end after one game. 

Atlanta Falcons

Once the Falcons beat the terrible Buccaneers, they will secure the fifth seed. This would give them a matchup with the winner of the Cowboys-Giants game. 

Either way, the Falcons are going to lose. Facing the Giants or Cowboys means that the Falcons will have to stop an accomplished passing attack. 

Atlanta is 19th in both passing yards allowed and yards allowed per pass attempt. 

That is just one factor that will lead to their demise. The other and bigger factor is that Atlanta will be forced to play on the road. 

The Falcons are a different team on the road, and that different team is not as good. They are 4-4 on the road this season, and just one of those wins came against a team with a winning record.

They will not be able to get over their road woes in the high stakes of the playoffs. 

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers secured the No. 2 seed with their win on Sunday. That is the good news. The bad news is that this dooms them to a one-and-done fate. 

This will lead to an inevitable matchup with the New Orleans Saints, and as good as the 49ers defense has been, they are not equipped to handle the aerial attack of the 49ers. San Francisco entered today's game seventh in yards allowed per pass at 6.4. 

However, that pass defense is getting worse. In the three games prior to today's win over the Rams, the 49ers had allowed 7.1 yards per pass. They then allowed Kellen Clemens and the pathetic Rams passing offense to throw for 226 yards. 

Pitting that defense against the most prolific passing offense the NFL has ever seen is not going to work out well for the 49ers. The Saints will end their season in the second round of the playoffs.