NFL Playoff Predictions: 6 Rookies Who Need to Shine on Wild-Card Weekend

The following rookies need to have big games if their teams are to advance past wild-card weekend and deeper into the 2012 NFL playoffs:

Andy Dalton/A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

The first time the Bengals played the Houston Texans this season (a 20-19 Texans win), Dalton and Green hooked up just five times for 59 yards. They have to be better this weekend for the Bengals to upset the Texans on the road.

Houston's defense can be a tough outfit to move the ball against if you're unable to take the lid off it a few times. Green has that kind of home-run ability.

Von Miller, Denver Broncos

As Miller has struggled over the past month, so has the Broncos defense. Denver really needs their young linebacker to find his mid-season form, especially since the Broncos offense is going to struggle to score points. Denver's defense has to play its best game of the season to keep the Broncos in it, and Miller is the key part of that equation.

Titus Young, Detroit Lions

There will be plenty of offensive fireworks going on in the Superdome this weekend, and the Lions really need role players like Young to help Detroit keep up. If Young can help provide some coverage relief for the likes of Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson, the Lions can score with the New Orleans Saints.

And if Young continues to get favorable matchups, the second-round pick has to win them. No opportunities can missed on the road in the postseason.

Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

As the games started getting bigger, Jones started playing a bigger role in the Falcons offense. Over the last four games of the season, the first-rounder caught six of his eight touchdowns.

With the biggest game of his young NFL career in front of him, Jones needs to continue his recent run. The Falcons offense is tough to stop when Jones is making an impact.

T.J. Yates, Houston Texans

No rookie has as much on his plate this weekend as T.J. Yates. Not only is he coming off a shoulder injury suffered on Sunday, but he's now about to start the Texans' first home playoff game in franchise history.

For a guy that was drafted in the fifth round to be nothing more than a developmental backup, that's a lot to ask. A big performance would imprint his name in Texans lore.