NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Ranking the Most Exciting Games of Wild Card Weekend

Believe it or not, we are finished with 17 weeks of the NFL regular season. The 2012 NFL postseason begins this weekend with the wild card round.

Let's take a quick look at the best games that wild card weekend has to offer:

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

This game has an early over/under line of 58.5, which happens to be the highest in NFL postseason history. That number tells you a little bit about this regular season rematch. With two offenses playing as well as the Lions and Saints are right now, points won't be at a premium. Plus, you know the Superdome will be rocking for a night playoff game.  

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

It might not match the score total of the matchup in New Orleans, but Giants-Falcons has the potential to be an equal contest. The Giants have gotten hot at the right time, beating two of their biggest rivals in back-to-back weeks to clinch a playoff spot. We've seen New York get hot this time of year once before, and they were lifting the Lombardi trophy at the end of the run.

But the Falcons haven't been a slouch down the stretch either, as they've won three of four games to end the regular season. Two teams playing well should mean a really entertaining wild card matchup.

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

The allure of this matchup will come from Tim Tebow vs. the Steelers defense. But should it? Tebow has been horrific down the stretch, and only the ineptitude of the AFC West kept the Broncos alive in the postseason. It's hard to imagine the Broncos' gadget quarterback doing much against the Steelers top-five defense. Against a good team that's won Super Bowls, there will be no magic in the fourth quarter from Tebow. 

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

T.J. Yates (if he is really healthy) vs. Andy Dalton isn't exactly a barn-burner rookie matchup. With two first-year quarterbacks playing against good defenses, points could be hard to come by. And really, neither of these two teams ended the season playing all that well. The Texans lost their final three games and the Bengals won just three of their last eight. Another 20-19 finish (as was the case in a Week 14 matchup between the two) could be the final result again.