NFL Playoff Bracket 2012: Breaking Down Odds for Remaining Teams

Wild Card Weekend in the 2012 NFL season wasn’t too wild until the very end.

The Texans handled the Bengals, the Saints are still scoring points on the Lions, and the Giants embarrassed the Falcons. Then it was Tebow Time. An OT victory later and we have one underdog advancing.

The Saints, Giants and Broncos are infused with gobs of momentum. How rusty will teams with the bye week be?

Over the next three weeks eight teams will be battling to determine who will hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Indianapolis. Here are the odds for each team getting there.

Green Bay Packers: 3-1

The champs are the champs until they are dethroned. While O-line injuries are a major concern, the Packers have proved time and time again that they are able to find a capable replacement.  

With home-field advantage until the Super Bowl, they are the team with the bull’s-eye on their back. They have earned this right.

New Orleans Saints: 5-1

After scoring 10 points in the first half and facing a 14-10 deficit, some teams might have folded under the mounting pressure.

Not the Saints. They scored touchdowns on five straight possessions to beat the Lions with ease.

With a nine-game winning streak and a quarterback in Drew Brees who is playing better than anybody in the league…this is the team that can dethrone the champs.

The offense may be one of the best of all-time.

Baltimore Ravens: 7-1

The Ravens are the most balanced team in the AFC. The Patriots have a better offense, but they have the 31^st-ranked pass defense. Joe Flacco is more than capable of abusing them with the deep ball to Torrey Smith.  

With a playoff win at Foxboro already under their belt in ‘10, the Ravens are comfortable in this situation.  

They have the experience on defense to at least limit the high-powered NFC offenses as well. No team is more dangerous in the AFC than the Ravens right now.

New York Giants: 10-1

We’ve been here before. A close loss to the best team in the league gives a talented but troubled team confidence that they use in the playoffs to make an improbable run.

The parallels between the ’07 team and the ’11 team are uncanny. This is a dangerous team right now and I’d have some major league concerns about their pass rush if I was Green Bay.

New England Patriots: 12-1

The Pats haven’t won a playoff game since 2007, and the pressure on Tom Brady’s shoulders is ridiculous. With a horrific defense, Brady has to score points on almost every possession.

With his biological clock ticking, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Too much pressure for even Brady to overcome.

San Francisco 49ers: 15-1

The 49ers live and die with the play of Alex Smith. Nobody knows how he’ll perform in his first-ever playoff game. The defense is great and Frank Gore has been as solid as it gets in the running game, but none of that matters if Smith can’t keep up with Brees and the Saints in a shootout.

Denver Broncos: 20-1

The Tim Tebow bandwagon just got a lot heavier.

Tallying 316 passing yards against the No. 1 ranked Steelers defense is incredible. He was throwing the ball with accuracy and zip, something that hasn’t been seen by Tebow at the NFL level.

If he throws the ball with the same sort of accuracy against the Pats, this may turn into the story of the playoffs.

They are playing with house money at this point.

Houston Texans: 30-1

The Texans handled the Bengals with a heavy dose of Arian Foster and great defense.

T.J. Yates wasn’t asked to do much and he had a turnover-free game because of it. That will change against a Ravens defense that is ranked second in the league against the run.

No team has worse odds to win the Super Bowl than the Texans. There is no doubt that Yates is the worst QB still standing.