NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Power Ranking the Wild Card Matchups

Whatever you do, don't make any plans for the next five weekends or so. You're going to have some pretty important football to watch.

However, for the sake of asking a question worth asking, what if you only have so much time on your hands?

That would mean you need to choose which NFL playoff game(s) you're going to watch carefully, my friend. If you can't watch all of them, you should at least watch the right one(s).

Allow me to lend a hand. Here is how I would rank the four Wild Card Games in terms of watchability.

4. Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans (Saturday, Jan. 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET)

You've got to love seeing both of these teams in the playoffs, but the fact of the matter is that neither of them are heading into the playoffs particularly strong.

This is especially true of the Texans. They looked like the AFC's best team at one point, but they've been killed by injuries. We all know about Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, and now the latest reports have T.J. Yates suffering from a separated left shoulder.

As for the Bengals, they ended the season by losing five of their final eight games. They got exposed by superior teams, and that has to scare you when you think about their postseason prospects.

As it is, the Bengals are hardly the most dominant team even when they do win. None of their nine wins came easy.

One of these teams will live to fight another day on Saturday, but don't be surprised if both of them look like zombies out on the field.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos (Sunday, Jan. 8 at 4:30 p.m. ET)

This matchup looked much sexier a couple weeks ago when the Steelers were healthy and Tim Tebow was on a mission from God.

The Steelers are no longer healthy, and Tebow has gone back to being human. 

That would be bad enough, but you have to fear for Tebow against Pittsburgh's defense. It's not going to suffer him to pass when he runs the ball, and his infamous inaccuracy could make things ugly in a hurry. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we saw Brady Quinn in this game.

Still, this matchup does have its merits. It will be fun to see Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil chasing Ben Roethlisberger around. Plus, the mere possibility of Tebow doing something Tebow-ish will have you on the edge of your seat.

If you have nothing better to do on Sunday evening, I recommend turning this game on.

2. Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants (Sunday, Jan. 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET)

You're already starting to hear some pundits pick the Falcons to win this game in a blowout.

It's not going to be that easy. While I agree that the Giants are not a strong team, they deserve a little credit for making it this far despite not being all that strong.

They have Eli Manning to thank for that. He was brilliant this season, and it helps that he has some pretty talented receivers to throw to. Victor Cruz in particular is a monster.

Then again, Matt Ryan has some good receivers to throw to as well. If he has to match Manning throw for throw, he will. 

This is, of course, assuming Ryan and the Falcons as a whole have developed a backbone this season. They certainly look like they did.

If so, we might just get to see Ryan's first playoff win, which will hopefully be the first of many.

1. Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints (Saturday, Jan. 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET)

The first time the Saints played the Lions, they dominated them in the first half and managed to survive in the second half.

It's possible that the Lions will be much harder to put away in this game. Matthew Stafford is much healthier now, and he has reestablished his connection with Calvin Johnson. If those two are clicking, the Lions are a threat to light up the scoreboard.

If so, the Saints will have to follow suit. That shouldn't be too much to ask of them, as their offensive awesomeness allowed them to set a handful of NFL records this season.

Besides, Drew Brees > Matthew Stafford.

Or is he? You'll have to tune in to find out.