NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Bold Predictions for Wild Card Showdowns

The Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers will take to the road on Sunday in hopes of becoming the first wild card teams to win this weekend. The New York Giants and Denver Broncos, both division winners, will try to prevent that. 

So who wins Sunday's Wild Card showdowns? Here we go.

Atlanta Falcons Over New York Giants

Matt Ryan has to win a playoff game sooner or later, and what better team to get his postseason career going against than the shaky Giants team that needed two wins just to get into the playoffs.

There is no guarantee which NY team will show up Sunday, the Giants have been the definition of inconsistent at home all year long, going 4-4 at MetLife Stadium as the home team. The Falcons have a capable offense that is as much a big play threat as N.Y.'s.

Julio Jones has added a significant deep target for Ryan this season, and expect to see a lot of balls come No. 11's way on Sunday. New York's below average defense and lackluster running game (ranked last in the NFL) is just too much to overcome for a 9-7 team that has played worthy of a top-10 draft pick at times this season.

Atlanta has been a bounce-back type of team in 2011 and has the playoff experience as well as heartbreak to inspire a big road on Wild Card Weekend.

Prediction: Falcons 21, Giants 13

Denver Broncos Over Pittsburgh Steelers

Everyone likes the Steelers in this game and honestly, it's tough to take the underdog given how they have looked the past three weeks. Still, this game has "three-point win in overtime" written all over it.

Three of Denver's seven wins under Tebow came in overtime this season, and I believe that late-game magic has to return to Mile High if the Broncos are to be successful on Sunday. Despite being the home team, Denver would be pulling off an upset over a favored 12-4 squad which is dealing with its own problems.

Injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall will continue to slow the Steelers' offense down, and the absence of safety Ryan Clark in the secondary will make Tebow's life that much easier. Pittsburgh is the top pass defense in the league through 17 weeks.

An elimination game is the one game where Tebow can't be counted out, though. Similar to his play in the fourth quarter for most of this season, the last three games don't matter, it's the fourth one on Sunday that counts.

Prediction: Broncos 16, Steelers 13 OT