NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Ranking the Wild Card Weekend Matchups

The NFL regular season is officially over and the playoffs are just days away. 

The New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers all earned first-round byes with their strong play through 17 weeks and will await the winners on wild card weekend.

But before the 2012 postseason gets under way Saturday night, find out where each wild card matchup ranks on the must-see scale:

4. Atlanta Falcons (10-6) vs. New York Giants (9-7)

This is a very intriguing matchup of two NFC teams that are flying under the radar heading into the postseason. 

Last year the Falcons were crowned far too soon and were exposed in the divisional round at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion Packers. 

This season the pressure will be off for both teams, as Matt Ryan looks to earn his first career playoff win on the road at MetLife Stadium.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) vs. Houston Texans (10-6)

This game will be much anticipated as NFL fans look to get a glimpse of the Texans in January for the first time in history.

Houston lost three-straight games to round out the season and will have huge question marks on the offensive side of the ball on wild card weekend.

The Bengals finished 3-5 over the second half of the season and have a defense talented enough to win a road playoff game, especially over a team as inexperienced as the Texans.

2. Detroit Lions (10-6) vs. New Orleans Saints (13-3)

The Saints' offense is firing on all cylinders right now as Drew Brees continues to set records and New Orleans looks to put the finishing touches on what has been a brilliant season.

The Lions, meanwhile, return to the postseason for the first time in more than a decade, and will do so in the most hostile dome in all of football, the Superdome.

New Orleans stomped Detroit 31-17 in the Superdome back in Week 13, so revenge could potentially be sweet for the road team.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) vs. Denver Broncos (8-8)

This matchup is too good to miss. Both defenses are stifling, and the legend of Tim Tebow could grow 10-fold with a victory over two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The Mile High crowd will be out of its mind to start the game, and they will make life tough on the banged-up Steelers' offense, who could be missing running back Rashard Mendenhall after the Pittsburgh star suffered a knee injury in Week 17. 

Denver's lack of consistency at home, however, could open the door for another Steelers' wild card run.