NFL Playoffs: Ranking the Best Matchups of Divisional Weekend

Usually as the playoff weeks go on, the games get more intense. As teams advance, the dream of a Super Bowl appearance gets closer with every step.

For this weekend, the match ups are familiar.

For those that say regular season games don't matter as much, here's a good stat for you. Out of the first eight playoff games, (4 wild card 4 divisional) five of them are rematches from the regular season. The only game in the divisional weekend that isn't a rematch is New Orleans at San Francisco.

Another storyline going into this weekend is going to be home-field advantage.

All four wild card match ups saw the home team winning. Can this happen again, for a wash in the playoffs?

No matter what happens, all four games should be good ones and must watch TV.

Here's my rankings of the games 1-4.

New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers

This game could be upset city in Lambeau. The Giants are playing arguably the best football of any team not named the New Orleans Saints.

Many people will look at this game and say on paper the Packers will win because they’re 15-1 and the Giants are 10-7. The Packers have the third ranked offense, and no one can stop them. They may also look at New York’s stats and see they ranked 32^nd (dead last) in the league in rushing and ranked 30^th against the pass on defense.

I can say honestly: don’t look too deep into that.

New York is coming off of a 24-2 win last weekend over Atlanta with the only points for the Falcons coming on a safety. Also, prior to last weekend’s game the Giants had 11 sacks in the last two regular season games.

This defense will surely be able to slow Green Bay if they get the same kind of pressure that they’ve been getting lately.

On the offensive side of the ball, the rushing attack is getting better and the Giants as a team rushed for over 150+ yards last week. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are tough to stop.

Also, Eli Manning is playing arguably the best ball of his career right now. He almost threw for 5,000 yards in the regular season and he’s not turning the ball over.

Mix this new found balanced offense against the worst defense statistically in the league, and you have an upset lurking.

Another reason this will be a good game is because New York won the NFC Championship Game in Lambeau a few years ago in their Super Bowl season, and are honestly built for more of this type of game than the Packers.

If it wasn’t for a last minute drive from Aaron Rodgers to set up Mason Crosby for the 31-yard game-winning field goal in the beginning of December, then the Giants may have handed the Packers their first loss then.

That loss though for the Giants was during a tough time. It was their fourth straight loss during that stretch. The Packers on the other hand were playing for a division title as they clinched the NFC North that day.

The Giants defense sacked Aaron Rodgers three times and picked him off once. They also held Green Bay to basically no rushing attack as Aaron Rodgers led the team in rushing with 32 yards. Starting running back Ryan Grant had only 29 yards on 13 attempts.

Don’t get me wrong though after all of this, Green Bay is the defending Super Bowl champs and have the best record in the league for a reason. That’s why I think this game will be a must watch.

Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens

This game will be a battle of smash mouth football. Both teams are built almost identical, and whoever makes the least amount of mistakes will advance to the AFC Championship Game.

Baltimore has a mediocre offense that’s gotten better this year than in year’s past, but they’re not barnburners.

The Ravens rely heavily on running back Ray Rice to gain positive yards and set up quarterback Joe Flacco to hit open receivers due to the defense being off balanced trying to stop the run. Baltimore ranks 10^th in rushing offense, and 19^th in pass.

The Texans are the exact same way.

Houston won last week’s divisional matchup against Cincinnati by doing the exact same thing. They got Arian Foster going in the rushing attack, and that forced Cincinnati to wear down and stack the box. Once they did that, it opened up the play action and passing lanes for rookie third string quarterback TJ Yates.

Yates didn’t play extremely well, but he didn’t hurt them either.  The Texans relied on their second ranked rushing attack, and let Yates get comfortable.

Both teams do this so it limits mistakes and they can maximize field position by getting stops from their great defenses as well.

The Ravens rank third in total defense while the Texans rank second. They both are great at stopping the run, but just as good in covering the pass.

I think this game will come down to who can maximize possessions, get a solid running attack, and not make mistakes.

These two teams played each other in week six and Baltimore won 29-14 at home. Flacco threw for 305 yards, but kicker Billy Cundiff was the star with making five field goals.

Don't let the score fool you either though, because it was a 21-14 game with only 4:01 left in the contest. The Texans were also without Andre Johnson and Mario Williams in the game, and it was early enough in the season to where they hadn't adjusted to that yet.

Also in this matchup the Ravens held Arian Foster to only 49 yards on 15 carries.

Don't forget the Ravens were a perfect 8-0 at home during the regular season.

Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots

This game is the primetime CBS matchup on Saturday night. You can rest assure that the NFL and CBS are extremely pleased to have these two teams playing in primetime with so much at stake.

Usually games of Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady get tons of viewers and attention, but I think this matchup of Tim Tebow vs. Tom Brady will rival those of the previous Colts vs. Patriots games.

Last week the Pittsburgh vs. Denver game broke the record for highest ratings in a Wild Card round game. No matter if you love him or hate him, people are tuning in to watch Tim Tebow.

On the other hand, it’s the same scenario for New England’s games. Outside of the New England region, most people don’t like Tom Brady. People will tune in to cheer against him.

That’s why I feel this AFC Divisional round game in primetime on Saturday will break records. The popularity of these two quarterbacks will have even casual fans tune in.

Also, I feel this game will be close too.

New England’s defense is dreadful. They ranked 31^st in total defense and total pass coverage in the regular season. If Tim Tebow scorched the number one ranked defense for 316 passing yards on Sunday, what’s he going to do to a team that plays wide receivers in the secondary? Don’t give me the excuse New England fans that you guys already beat them. It’s a totally different game now.

I also think Denver’s defense will do a much better job of putting pressure on Brady than they did just a few weeks ago as well. Brady doesn’t like getting pressured, and if the Broncos secondary can play press coverage, this game could go down to the wire.

I think New England’s passing attack vs. Denver’s pass defense will be the biggest factor in this game. If Denver can slow the Patriots on the offensive end then there very well could be an upset.

Also, Denver has the number one ranked rushing attack coming into the playoffs, and if they can control the line of scrimmage, slow the game down, and keep New England guessing this game will be a must see.

New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers

This game may not get a lot of attention, but it will be a good one. This matchup is the first game of the NFL Divisional round.

San Francisco had one of the biggest turnarounds we’ve seen in quite sometime with new coach Jim Harbaugh leading the 49ers to a 13-3 record and first round bye. The 49ers are built to play tough defense, and to slow the game down on offense.

New Orleans on the other hand has one of the best offenses I’ve ever seen, and they’re getting better as the season goes on. They haven’t lost a game since Halloween weekend if that says anything.

In playoff football, you advance by how well your defense can get stops, and how well you can run the ball.

San Francisco has the fourth overall defense, and the top defense against the run. They didn’t allow a single rushing touchdown until the last couple weeks of the season. This will be key if they can do this against a Saints team that doesn’t look to run the ball as much.

Also, New Orleans has shown that their offense suffers when playing outside compared to in their home that’s indoors. In the Superdome, the field is obviously built for speed and ideal footing. Outdoors, the field can get sloppy and slow you down a bit. That’s a huge advantage for the 49ers.

On the other side of the ball New Orleans has struggled a bit on defense, but San Francisco isn’t exactly blowing people out of the water on offense. The 49ers rank 26^th in total offense while New Orleans’ defense ranks 24^th.

Most people think New Orleans will win this game, but I don’t think it will be as lopsided as many people think. Look no further than last year when New Orleans was clearly the better team and had this how powered offense, and went on the west coast to play outdoors against a pretty bad Seattle team. Seattle stayed with them and ended up advancing to the divisional round in this same time slot they’re playing in on Saturday. Only difference is it was a week earlier in the Wild Card game last year.

This game will get overlooked I feel, but I think it can come down to a last minute drive to win the game.