NFL Playoff Picture: The Ideal Wild Card Weekend for Each Team with a Bye

In less that one week, the NFL playoffs will be officially underway. There are four teams that have earned a bye week due to their exceptional play in the regular season.

The other eight teams will go right back to work this weekend and battle it out for a chance to keep their seasons alive. I'll examine which of these teams would be the ideal matchup for each team with a bye. I'll also examine the likelihood of these scenarios actually taking place.

Baltimore Ravens

While the Baltimore Ravens take a week off, their siblings in the AFC North prepare to battle the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. 

No matter which team they end up facing, the Ravens will be favored to win, but out of the four wild card teams in the AFC the team that would give the Ravens the least amount of trouble in their divisional round would be the Broncos.

The Ravens have the kind of defense that will give Tim Tebow fits. Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs are relentless pass-rushers from their respective positions, and Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are both healthy. 

For the Ravens to receive the gift of Tebow, the Cincinnati Bengals will need to win in Houston against the Texans. In my mind, there is a strong possibility that this will happen.

The other thing that needs to happen is that the Broncos will need to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. This is the part that will require some faith, because I don't think the Broncos will be able to win this game.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots can score points and rack up yardage better than just about any other team in the NFL, but then again, they have been known to allow teams to do the same in return.

The ideal scenario for the Patriots in their divisional round would be if the Denver Broncos were coming to town. The Patriots have already dealt with Tim Tebow once, and they did that on the road.

Bill Belichick has a knack for coming up with brilliant defensive game plans, and I would pick the Patriots to win this matchup 99.9 percent of the time at home.

In order for the Patriots to get this ideal matchup, the Houston Texans must beat the Cincinnati Bengals at home. I'm not convinced they have enough offense to score many points against the Bengals stout defense. 

The second thing that needs to happen is that the Broncos need to win at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't see it happening, but that's why they play the games.

San Francisco 49ers

The fact that the San Francisco 49ers have a first-round bye this year is nothing short of a minor miracle. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has managed the strengths and weaknesses of his team to perfection.

If the 49ers could pick the team they'd like to face in their divisional matchup, they would likely choose the New York Giants. They already beat the Giants at home once this year, and they have the tools to do it again.

In order for the 49ers to get their wish, the Giants need to defeat the Atlanta Falcons at home. I think they will win, but a Giants win doesn't guarantee that they will face the 49ers.

The second half of this equation is that the Detroit Lions will need to beat the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. The likelihood of this actually happening is slim. The Saints are the hottest team in the NFC right now, and the home crowd will be cheering as loud as they can. 

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers were a hiccup away from ending the season with a perfect record of 16-0. They have shown the ability to score on any team, and their defense has gotten back to their ball-hawking ways.

Out of the four teams playing in the Wild Card Round, the Atlanta Falcons are least-likely to give the Packers any trouble. The Falcons are a dome team, and their record shows they don't like playing on real grass (1-3 in those games). 

In order for the Packers to host the Falcons in the divisional round, the Falcons need to win in New York against the Giants. I don't think they will, however, as the Giants have too many weapons on offense and their defense is coming around at just the right time.

The second thing that needs to happen for this scenario to come to life is that the New Orleans Saints need to win at home against the Detroit Lions. This seems like a lock to me. The Lions were no match for the Saints when they faced off in Week 13, and the Saints are even hotter now than they were then.