NFL Playoff Predictions: 11 Players and Teams That Will Flop This Weekend

The stage is set and the first act in this year’s production of the NFL playoffs is about to begin.

This weekend’s Wild Card matchups may be the most competitive in recent history. There are endless story lines swirling around these contests, and there is every reason to believe they are going to live up to every bit of the hype.

Star rookies, Canton-bound veterans, smack talkers, bone crunchers and rocket launchers will all take the field over the next 48 hours. Here are 11 participants who will buckle under the pressure.

Denver Broncos

Every playoff season has its fair share of Cinderella stories. Last year we had Marshawn Lynch and his earthquake-rumbling touchdown gallop that put the lowly Seattle Seahawks over the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

We also saw the sixth seed Green Bay Packers, playoff eligible only as a result of a miraculous Eagles punt return against the Giants, take home the Lombardi Trophy to begin a reign of dominance that continues today.

Head coach John Fox hopes that his Denver Broncos can harness the same lightning in a bottle these desperate underdogs have captured before. It appears though, that Tim Tebow is going to need all the divine intervention he can get against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

There may be many reasons why Denver’s sudden rise to relevance will end this weekend, but perhaps the most damaging has come not on the field, but in the film room.

The Pittsburgh defensive unit has always been, and will always be, one of the most dangerous in the league as long as coordinator Dick LeBeau is pulling the strings. They are a fast, aggressive and frighteningly violent squad that does not need any assistance in exposing a weak offense.

Unfortunately for Denver, that is exactly what they showed last week against Kansas City and that is exactly what they put on tape for the Steelers to drool over all week long. Every concern and every shortcoming of the Broncos offense was on display last week, revealing all of the vulnerabilities they struggle to repair with Tebow at the helm.

If Denver finds itself in a hole early in this game, there is no chance at all that their pension for comebacks will kick in against LeBeau’s forces. Denver has to score early and often with a varied and unique attack.

The second they show any weakness, the game is decided.

Tim Tebow

Steeler defense under their Hall of Fame coordinator is an eclectic mix of violence and aggression with restraint and patience. They find a perfect balance on their defensive line, getting a heavy rush with nose and three technique stunts that force quarterbacks to break pocket on almost every passing down.

While this seems to be custom made for Tebow’s scrambling happy feet, the Steelers defensive sets also allow for strong outside contain and an edge rush that prevents rushers from getting to the boundaries.

Quite simply, the Steelers have shown on dozens of occasions with this defense that they have answers to all of the questions a player like Tim Tebow presents.

Ben Roethlisberger

How many times can Big Ben tape his battle weary body together and hope to play up to the level necessary to win in the playoffs? He is not practicing, he is barely walking, hasn’t played in two weeks and the last time he did it was far from impressive.

And yet, Roethlisberger plans on once again hobbling out to be the Steelers last man standing.

The difficulty for Pittsburgh’s signal-caller this time around will be the defensive line of Denver he will be facing. The Broncos front quartet of Dumervil, Ayers, Bunkley and Thomas has evolved into one of the best young lines in the game.

Add in the tremendous talent in rookie linebacker Von Miller, and the Denver defense is one you surely do not want to face on shaky legs.

If his injuries are as dire as they have been portrayed, I foresee Roethlisberger spending a significant portion of this game handing the ball to his running backs. If not, expect those aching wheels to have to save Big Ben for four quarters.

Mike Tomlin’s Blood Pressure

See Ben Roethlisberger.

NY Giants Running Game

The reality of the situation is this: The Giants are in the playoffs in spite of their inability to effectively run the ball. The 1,230 yards provided by the combination of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw does not even rank among the Top Five single rushers in the NFL this season.

If you add in the yards gained by third-string tailback D.J. Ware, there would still be two running backs in the league who rushed for more yards than the trio combined.

Against an Atlanta defense that has only allowed 1,500 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns all season, the outlook is not good for the two New York backs for a breakout performance.

No need to worry though right? I mean if things don’t go well in the Giants backfield, Brandon Jacobs will probably just have another car delivered to his house to nurse his wounds.

Justin Tuck

NFL athletes in 2011-2012 make it really easy to remember that you don’t necessarily need to be effective on the field in order to feel justified in holding court on the microphone.

Making more appearances on television swallowing footlongs from Subway than as an active participant in football games this season, Tuck made the regrettable decision of referring to the Falcons offensive lines recently in a very unflattering way.

Perhaps that duty should have been reserved for a player ranked higher than 12th on his own team in tackles.

I’m not entirely sure that it was in Tuck’s best interest to volunteer for the proverbial target on his back, and I believe it's even more ill-timed to do so against the line that has ushered the third-best tailback in the league down the field.

I suppose he can at least feel validated when Michael Turner is celebrating with his dirt bag linemen in the Giants end zone.

Matt Ryan

When Matty Ice goes under center for the first time against the Giants defense with the intention of planting his feet in the pocket, he can only hope he doesn’t shatter when he meets John Pierre-Paul.

I would be shocked if the Falcons went into MetLife Stadium this weekend with any other intention but to run the football. Doing so would serve dual purposes: taking away the outstanding pass rush of Pierre-Paul while also keeping Eli Manning off the field.

Should Atlanta fall behind in this game, I fully expect Pierre-Paul and his defensive cohorts to pin their ears back and aggressively attack Ryan.

A close inspection of Ryan’s 2011 season statistics shows that in his losing efforts this year, he makes a hugely increased number of pass attempts. Conversely in their victories this season, Ryan is asked to throw rarely, instead relying on a strong running attack.

If Matt Ryan is asked to carry the load against the Giants this weekend, the end may be near for the Falcons' season.

T.J. Yates

The T.J. Yates/Andy Dalton subplot beneath this weekend’s AFC Wild Card game is phenomenally entertaining. It's the young kid from small-school Texas Christian who has lit the football world afire in Cincinnati against the third-stringer who—just one month—ago thought he would never see the field in Houston.

This matchup has all the makings of a shocker. I can’t explain why I feel this way, but I see these two coming out of the gates tomorrow with guns blazing looking to stake their claim early.

Unfortunately for the Texans, rational logic would lead you to believe that the likelihood of success for the quarterback in orange and black is much higher than that of Yates.

At the very least, Dalton has big game experience on the national level—defeating Wisconsin in last year’s highly competitive Rose Bowl. Of course this does not automatically guarantee a Dalton masterpiece tomorrow in Houston.

But considering the complete void of playoff experience between these two quarterbacks, we have to work with what we have.

Cedric Benson

The Houston Texans defense has only surrendered eight rushing touchdowns this season—second only to the 49ers and Steelers. Additionally, they have only surrendered 1,536 yards rushing, ranking them fourth in the NFL.

With a young and inexperienced quarterback to lead them, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips knows that his squad may shoulder the responsibility of winning this playoff game.

Things are not boding well for the seven-year veteran running back.

I myself will be paying especially close attention to the Bengals use of Cedric Benson in their attack against the Texans defense. There are so many variables involved with rookie quarterback Andy Dalton that the course of this game could go in one of several directions.

If Dalton can rekindle his regular season magic in the postseason, I would expect the Dalton and Green showcase to continue in Houston. If Dalton has a rookie meltdown in his first playoff appearance, Benson will be relied upon heavily to keep the Bengals offense in the game.

In either case, I don’t believe that it is a best-case scenario for Mr. Benson.

Ndamukong Suh

There is absolutely no chance that the offensive genius possessed by quarterback Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton will allow for a monster Suh performance on the grandest stage of them all.

The extensive Saints playbook will keep Suh off balance and irrelevant for the majority of the game.

Standout tight end Jimmy Graham makes the short and intermediate passing game a reliable safety blanket to keep the Lions pass rush at bay and the speed of the Saints running game from sideline to sideline will outrun Suh constantly.

I do believe that the Lions/Saints game has the potential to be the tightest of all the Wild Card Contests this weekend, but the Saints offense appears to be an irresistible force that may not be stopped.

The Scorekeeper in New Orleans

The firepower that will take the field tomorrow night in New Orleans is downright scary. Quarterbacks Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford occupy the Top Two rankings in nearly every statistical category, and the potential for an offensive explosion is probably the safest bet in these NFL playoffs.

Just look at some of these numbers: Brees and Stafford (Ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively) account for 889 pass completions, 10,514 passing yards, 91 touchdowns and 329 average passing yards per game.

Both teams combined for over 13,811 total yards and 1,021 points on offense in the regular season.

It may be in the best interest of both teams' defenses to call in sick tomorrow.