NFL Playoff Picture: Wild-Card Teams That Will Pull off 1st-Round Upsets

Last year, the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl as the No. 6 seed and second wild card in the NFC.

They blazed through the playoffs despite not having a single home game, overcoming plenty of injuries along the way.

So, which team is this year's Packers? Which wild-card teams will make some noise in the first round of the 2012 NFL playoffs?

Let's take a look at three teams with upset potential now.

Detroit Lions

The Lions don't have a great defense, but they can get after the passer, and they can score plenty of points on offense.

They are going to be a tough out in this year's playoffs. Even though they'll probably be matched up against the New Orleans Saints in the first round, they can still win.

Both teams will benefit from the controlled weather environment of the Superdome, and plenty of offense will be on display.

I like Detroit's defense a little bit more than I like the Saints' defense, so I'll give a very slight edge to the Lions in this game.

If New Orleans can find someone to stop Calvin Johnson, though, it'll be a different story.

Atlanta Falcons

I don't really like the Falcons this year. But against whichever team comes out of the NFC East, I think they have a chance.

The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are both way too inconsistent to predict what will happen in a playoff game.

But if the Falcons catch them on a bad week, they should have no problem advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

And if the Falcons can get an early lead, they can pound the ball on the ground and kill the clock with Michael Turner and Jason Snelling.

This team isn't good enough to make it to the NFC championship game, but they can probably make it out of the first round against either the Giants or Cowboys.

Whoever Plays Houston

The Texans are already without Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart. Now they could be without T.J. Yates, who left Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans with a shoulder injury.

That means the team is down to Jake Delhomme. Delhomme is old and hasn't been around the Texans' system for very long.

Heading into the franchise's first-ever playoff game, the situation seems pretty dire.

Whatever AFC wild-card team draws the Texans will basically be getting a first-round bye.