5 Player Injuries That Could Greatly Affect 2012 NFL Playoffs

The 2012 NFL playoffs have been locked in, but there are a few teams in the dance that may be wishing that 18-game regular seasons schedule got done so they could get healthy.

Teams like the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers have been plagued by injuries all season, and though it's impressive they were able to make it to the postseason, injuries hurt teams the most in January.

Here are the top five injuries that will affect the playoffs this season.

T.J. Yates

Houston Texans quarterback T.J. Yates probably didn't expect to take the field for his team in the regular season this year, let alone find himself trying to recover from a shoulder injury and start the franchise's first ever playoff game.

Yates has performed well enough for the Texans to win the AFC South and head coach Gary Kubiak claims he's throwing the ball fine, but it's hard to get healthy in just seven days.

Houston is taking on Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and that up and coming Cincinnati Bengals squad, so they'll need their quarterback to play through the pain come Sunday.

Andre Johnson

I promise you this isn't an exclusively Houston Texans slideshow.

The fact is, the Texans are just flat out banged up right now, and wide receiver Andre Johnson still isn't at 100 percent healthy thanks to that nagging hamstring injury.

Johnson told the media he felt healthy after he 20 snaps in Week 17, but head coach Gary Kubiak seems determined to limit No. 80 to just 45-50 snaps this weekend against the Bengals.

With only a limited amount of time for Johnson to help his team, Houston will need to look at other options to throw to at wide receiver.

Rashard Mendenhall

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall has already been ruled out of the upcoming playoff game against the Denver Broncos, leaving the team without its top rusher.

Mendenhall suffered a torn ACL, likely ending his 2011 season, meaning Pittsburgh will have to rely on a banged up Ben Roethlisberger to air out the football at Mile High Stadium.

The Steelers have proven to be a more pass friendly team through out the regular season, but it hurts a team's confidence knowing their down one of their playmakers heading into hostile territory for the playoffs.

Chris Kuper

Denver Broncos offensive guard Chris Kuper may not be the biggest name on this list, but he's the biggest man with the most difficult job.

Kuper has been playing well as of late, despite his other linemen allowing defenders to sack quarterback Tim Tebow several times the past few weeks. However, the Broncos will have to go into the first round of the playoffs without Kuper, who was injured in Week 17.

Denver has had enough issues on offense as of late with the Tebow magic wearing off towards the end of the regular season, and now they'll be without one of their top guys on the O-line.

Mario Manningham

New York Giants wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz have been having a phenomenal 2011 season, but Eli Manning has missed slot receiver Mario Manningham.

Manningham has been in and out of the Giants lineup this season, leaving Manning without one of his favorite targets underneath.

The Giants receiver has had an up and down year due to injuries and the stellar play of his other two receivers, but he claims his knee is doing fine and he's ready for the upcoming game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Manning and company will need to have all offensive hands on deck if they wish to combat the Falcons and Manningham needs to produce when targeted.