NFL Playoff Predictions: Wild Card Boasts Royalty That Will Purge Young Upstarts

There will be four teams sitting at home getting ready for their first playoff opponent.  The New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers have earned the right to rest and play at least their first game at home.

For the rest of the league who played well enough to make it to the postseason, they will be playing this coming weekend for a chance to visit one of those Top 4 teams.

The wild-card round offers up the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals, who are led by young quarterbacks getting their first taste of playoff action. 

It also has perennial contenders such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, who are led by Super Bowl champion head coaches and quarterbacks. 

Then, we have the Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans, who have been considered contenders before, but never lived up to expectations.  They are both young teams still looking to make their own stamp.

NFC Scenarios

No. 6 Detroit Lions at No. 3 New Orleans Saints

A rematch of Week 13 in New Orleans, where the Lions lost to the Saints by two scores, will send one team a step closer to the Super Bowl. 

A lot has been made of Drew Brees' record-setting season, and rightfully so.  He broke Dan Marino's record for passing yards which had stood since 1984, and he shattered it by 392 yards. 

Still, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, in his first full season not hampered by injuries, amassed over 5,000 yards himself.

The Lions also boast the league's top wide receiver in Calvin Johnson, who has looked unstoppable at times en route to 1,681 yards.  The Lions will not be the easiest out after proving their comeback abilities, setting an NFL record for comeback wins after being down at least 13 points.  They are young and very beatable through the air and on the ground. 

Drew Brees and the Saints will be favored coming in.  Still, the Saints have the league's third-worst pass defense and will face a team that, at times, forgets about the run and strictly airs it out. 

It will be a dangerous draw for New Orleans, but they have beaten them already and are running better than almost anyone in the league.  Look for Drew Brees and company to stay hot in a certain shootout which should be the weekend's most exciting game.

Scenarios:

If Saints win, they play at San Francisco.

If Lions win, they play at Green Bay.

No. 5 Atlanta Falcons at No. 4 New York Giants

The Giants found a way to overcome another likely late-season collapse and squeak into the playoffs via the NFC-East crown.  They also get a home game against the Atlanta Falcons, who were just 4-4 on the road this year.  But then again, the Giants are just 4-4 at home this season.

The Falcons made the playoffs last year, while the Giants end a two-year hiatus with this playoff berth, yet you still have to like the experience of this Giants team.  They have looked awfully inconsistent over the course of the season, but won when they had to, and many of these guys have won on the biggest stage back in 2007.

The Falcons have some weapons on offense and will try to keep Matt Ryan upright long enough to find them.  Ryan has only been sacked 26 times all season, but will face a Giants pass rush that can be ferocious—especially with the growth of Jason Pierre-Paul, who has been a terror to block this year.

In the long run, the Falcons will have to dial up the pressure to get Eli Manning into making mistakes, and I don't think John Abraham alone will be enough.  Manning and his newfound stud, Victor Cruz, should take a lead that Ryan, under duress, is not used to playing behind.  At least for this round, the Super Bowl champions have the upper hand.

Scenarios: 

Winner plays at Green Bay if Saints win.

Winner plays at San Fransisco if Lions win.

AFC Scenarios

No. 6 Cincinnati Bengals at No. 3 Houston Texans

Neither of these clubs have much playoff experience on their rosters—at least not at key positions. 

The Texans may be forced to start Jake Delhomme, who has played in a Super Bowl with Carolina. But, at age 36 and not having played a meaningful game in years, he isn't their top choice to start. 

T.J. Yates is a rookie and started the year at third string before injuries threw him into the fire.  He did win some games and would likely be their starter if healthy.

The Bengals are also starting rookie Andy Dalton, but he was a second-round draft pick and was chosen to start right away.  In his first year, he has teamed with rookie A.J. Green and second-year pro Jermaine Gresham to win nine games. 

The Bengals also sport a Top-10 defense against the run and the pass and will need to bottle up a large dosage of the Texans' Arian Foster.

The Texans, with their erratic quarterback play, will call on Foster and Ben Tate as usual, who have led them to the No. 2 rushing attack in the NFL.  They also have a Top-5 defense against both the run and the pass. 

Defense and clock control on the ground will determine the lifetime of their playoff run and should be enough to get a home win over Cincinnati.

Scenarios:

If Houston wins, they play at Baltimore.

If Cincinnati wins they play at New England.

No 5. Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 4 Denver Broncos

Denver, at one point, won six straight contests, but dropped their last three to finish the season.  The Tim Tebow show seems to have come to an abrupt halt with a storm of late turnovers and inefficient passing. 

They did win enough to close out the AFC West and earn a home playoff game, but it's against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who went to the Super Bowl a year ago and have won their fair share of them behind Ben Roethlisberger.

Mike Tomlin's Steelers are coming into the playoffs winning their last two, but are banged up.  Running back Rashard Mendenhall will miss the playoffs with a torn ACL, and Roethlisberger seems to have been hurt since Week 1. 

Still, based on the way Denver has played of late, the experience the Steelers defense has in these types of games will reign supreme.  The Broncos only scored three points against Kansas City to end their year and will see a tougher defense in Pittsburgh.

Scenarios:

Winner plays at New England if Texans win.

Winner plays at Baltimore if Bengals win.