NFL Playoffs: Teams That Will Be Watching from Home Next Round

The NFL playoff picture is now set, but teams like the Denver Broncos, who have made a miracle run under quarterback Tim Tebow, should be worried in the first round of the NFL's postseason.

While every team has fought a tough road to get to where they are at this point in the season, there is always going to be another team who could ruin a potential Super Bowl run.

Nobody is safe, not even those teams who will have home field advantage. The playoffs are a completely different playing field, so most of the time the better team comes out with the victory.

There will be plenty of action going on in the first week of this year's NFL playoffs, but these teams will be sitting at home to watch the next round.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans will be hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in the first week of the NFL playoffs, but they will be in trouble as Andy Dalton and crew have looked good this season.

With quarterback Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart out, the Texans have fallen to third-string quarterback T.J. Yates in their last six games.

With Yates under center, the Texans have gone 3-3 after starting out 7-3. In the Texans' Week 17 game against the Tennessee Titans, Yates was knocked out after injuring his left shoulder.

According to ESPN.com, Yates told the media that he is good-to-go for their first playoff game.

Even with Yates, the Texans' offense is still in trouble. They did defeat the Bengals 20-19 back in Week 14, but the team has been unable to claim a victory since that game.

The Texans were looking to be one of the teams to beat this season, but without Schaub, they are nowhere close to being the same team. 

It won't be an easy game for either team, but the Bengals are healthy and have been playing excellent football throughout the entire year. Dalton has thrown 20 touchdowns with 3,166 yards rounding out a great rookie campaign.

While it is hard to favor a corps that is as raw as the Bengals, the Texans have never made the playoffs. On the other hand, the Bengals have been there in 2005 and 2009. They never made it out of the Wild Card round, but they have experience and have an offense that has been consistent all season.

The Texans have a huge weapon in running back Arian Foster, but the Bengals have been a force in stopping the run all season. They only allow 96.9 yards per game on the ground—which is fifth best in the league.

The Texans will likely have wide receiver Andre Johnson back, but who knows if he will be in full form after missing most of the season due to a hamstring injury. If the Bengals can stop the Texans' depleted passing attack, they should have no problem continuing to slow down their opposition's rush attack.

Dalton and the Bengals will need to get their pass offense going off, as the Texans are only allowing their opponents to gain 184 yards a game through the air. What the Bengals have going for them is an offense that runs on potential in terms of explosiveness, especially from rookie wideout A.J. Green.

This game will be close, but in the end a young Bengals team will defeat an injured Texans squad.

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have completely turned things around this season. For a team that could only accumulate eight wins in its three past seasons, Matthew Stafford and crew have gone 10-6 in 2011 and find themselves in the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

While the Lions have been tough all season long, they will be playing the New Orleans Saints on the road, which is not an easy place to win. The Saints have won all eight home games this year, including a 31-17 slaughtering of the Lions back in Week 13.

Although the Lions have had a strong defense all season-long, they have had a hard time stopping pass-heavy offenses like the Green Bay Packers and the Saints.

In Week 17, the Lions were unable to stop the Packers—who were led by backup quarterback Matt Flynn. The Lions were in a must-win situation to lock up the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. The Lions defense couldn't stop Flynn, who threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns.

The Lions just haven't looked good as of late. They should be in trouble when they will have to find a way to stop the Saints, whose offense is playing at an all-time high at this point in the season.

Quarterback Drew Brees has the Saints running on full throttle, as they have accumulated over 300 passing yards in each of their last seven games. Even more impressive is the fact that Brees has thrown 14 touchdowns in just his last three games. 

Saints wide receiver Marques Colston has been strong all season as well, having at least seven receptions in each of his last four games. He also has five touchdowns through those games. The Lions' pass defense has been strong, but they will have a hard time stopping Brees and Colston who seem to really be on the same page as of late.

There is no doubt that the Lions are going to have their hands full in trying to stop Brees.

The Saints defense is also playing on a high note, only allowing 17.4 points per game in their last five games. Trying to stop wide receiver Calvin Johnson won't be an easy task.

There is no denying what Johnson can do for the Lions, as he has been perhaps the most dangerous player on the receiving end this NFL season.

Against the Packers in Week 17, Johnson embodied on what he has accomplished this season, catching 11 receptions for 244 yards including a touchdown.

The Lions don't have much of a run game, as they lost Jahvid Best early on in the year. Kevin Smith has done a fine job filling in, but he isn't a game-changer that is going to throw off a Saints defense that has been strong as of late.

The Lions are making a move into the right direction, but they are going to have a hard time moving on to Week 2.

Denver Broncos

Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos have shocked the NFL, going 7-4 after getting off to a 1-4 start. Under Tebow, the Broncos have found their way into the NFL playoffs, but with an 8-8 record they will have to hope that their string of luck will continue against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers may be without running back Rashard Mendenhall, but that still won't be enough to help the Broncos find success in this game.

Tebow took the Broncos on a six-game winning streak between Weeks 9 and 14, but they have failed to win in any of their last three. They were demolished by both the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills—being outscored 81-37.

They kept things close in their Week 17 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, but they still managed to lose despite only giving up seven points.

Things were looking good for the Broncos, but this offense hasn't been able to find the magic that it had over Tebow's early season success.

Unfortunately for the Broncos, they will be playing one of the best defenses in the entire league. This season, the Steelers have the best pass defense—only allowing their opponents to gain 172.2 yards per game. Their rush defense has also been strong, ranking at ninth as they have allowed only 101.7 yards per game.

Considering how much the Chiefs have locked down Tebow in their two matchups, the Steelers shouldn't have any trouble.

The Chiefs are only allowing 211.4 passing yards per game—ninth best in the NFL. In both games against Tebow and Broncos, they have held No. 15 to less then 70 yards through the air.

The Broncos do have the best rushing attack in the NFL, but who knows if they will be able to keep up with the 161.1 yards they have managed to put up this season.

A veteran Steelers' defense will know how to stop a one-trick pony, and they know that if they stop Tebow, they will stop the Broncos.

While early on one would have considered the Broncos' defense a threat to stop any opposing offense, their inability to stop both the Patriots and Bills as of late has made them a lot less threatening.

The Steelers are not coming off an impressive win themselves, as they barely defeated the Cleveland Browns 13-9 in Week 17. Still, this is a Steelers team that went 12-4 this season, and if it wasn't for a strong Baltimore Ravens team that handed them two of their losses, they would be on a bye right now.

This is also a team that was in the Super Bowl just a year ago, so many shouldn't write off the Steelers even though they will be the road team in this playoff game.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has already been to three Super Bowls, two of which he won. He is already a veteran, despite playing only being 29-years-old. When Big Ben is under center, the Steelers are always in position to win.

The Steelers will be facing some injuries, but they are a veteran team who will be able to outlast a Broncos team who still have much to prove.

In the end, coach Mike Tomlin will have his Steelers once again proving why they are one of the best teams still in the NFL.

New York Giants

The New York Giants proved that they were the best team in the NFC East on Sunday night, as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 in a game that had the winner heading to the NFL playoffs. Still, that win isn't all that impressive, considering how weak the NFC East has been this season.

The Giants come into the postseason with a 9-7 record, with eight of their wins coming against non-playoff teams. The only team they defeated this season that is in the playoffs is the New England Patriots, who they defeated 24-20 back in Week 9.

While the Giants did the play the best out of all the teams in their division, they will have a tough time stopping an Atlanta Falcons team—despite having to play on the road.

This season, the Giants have lost three games at home. The Falcons have managed to spoil the party five times this season, as they defeated their opponents on their home turf.

While the Giants did look impressive in their defeat over the Cowboys, the game cannot be considered that much of a statement game considering that the Cowboys are not that good. They hardly managed to make the playoffs, and seven of their eight wins came against teams that didn't even make the playoffs. Sure, they defeated the San Francisco 49ers back in Week 2, but that play wasn't consistent throughout the entire year.

Also, quarterback Tony Romo has never played well under pressure situations, so his inability to make things happen was not much of a surprise.

The Giants also have not had much of a pass or rush defense, allowing 255.4 yards and 126.1 yards through the air and on the ground, respectively. With quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner, the G-Men will have a hard time slowing down what is considered a strong offense.

The Falcons did fail to get things going against the New Orleans Saints back in Week 16, but their showing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the last week of the season really proved that this offense is ready to make some noise this postseason.

Turner was able to get things going with the rushing attack, steamrolling for 172 yards and two touchdowns. If he can keep his legs moving like this, he can really make things happen when he takes on the Giants.

The Giants will have to hope that quarterback Eli Manning will be able carry on the success he had against the Cowboys, but things really haven't been so pretty as of late.

In Week 15 against the Washington Redskins—a game played in the Meadowlands—Manning was completely ineffective as he threw three interceptions with no touchdowns. Even though he saw a complete flip in those numbers in Week 17, the inconsistencies can't be ignored.

The key battle in this game will be between two young wide receivers. The Falcons have a huge weapon in rookie Julio Jones, while the Giants have seen a ton of success with Victor Cruz. Both players will likely be the ones making the huge plays in this game.

The Falcons are not going to come out of this game dominating the Giants, but in the end it will be a battle that will be won by the better team. At this point in the season, that team is the Falcons.