NFL Playoffs 2012: Grading the Quarterbacks from Wild Card Weekend

With the NFL's 2012 Wild Card weekend in the books, let's take a look back at how the eight quarterbacks fared in their respective matchups:

Andy Dalton, Bengals

Hard to blame Dalton for struggling in his first ever playoff game, especially on the road and against a really good Texans' defense. Four sacks and three interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown, were tough for the Bengals to overcome. That many mistakes in the playoffs will almost always get you beat.

Grade: C-

T.J. Yates, Texans

Like Dalton, Yates had his moments where he looked like a rookie. But you have to hand it to Yates for sticking with the game plan and staying within himself. Avoiding mistakes was the key. His 40-yard strike to Andre Johnson all but put the game away. 

Grade: B+

Drew Brees, Saints

Brees threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns, all while leading the Saints to 45 points and a playoff-record amount of yards. What more can you really say? One thing, however: A secondary with better ball-hawks likely would have had two or three interceptions on Brees.  

Grade: A

Matthew Stafford, Lions

Few players have been as under-appreciated this season as Stafford, and his performance against the Saints was largely swept under the rug as New Orleans pulled away. Still, Stafford threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns to cap off a fantastic season. His turnovers were big ones, however.

Grade: B

Matt Ryan, Falcons

I'm not really sure what more you could have asked out of Ryan with the way his offensive line played Sunday. The Giants pass rush was on top of him all afternoon and the running game never materialized. That said, you expect your franchise quarterback to bail you out of those spots. Ryan never did. And because of it, the Falcons have yet to win a playoff game under their young quarterback. 

Grade: C

Eli Manning, Giants

Take away his stupid grounding mistake in the end zone, and Manning played one of the better games of the weekend at the quarterback position. He sliced up the Falcons' secondary for 277 yards and three scores, two of which came in the second half. If he plays that well this weekend in Green Bay, you have to think the Giants have a chance.

Grade: B+

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

It was painfully obvious how much Roethlisberger's ankle injury limited him against the Denver Broncos. For most of the game, he was a sitting duck for the Broncos' pass rushers. He did make some big throws, however, and on the game-tying throw in the fourth quarter, the ankle looked plenty healthy as he scrambled to his right. Who knows what would have happened had he gotten the ball in overtime. 

Grade: B+

Tim Tebow, Broncos

Finally, we get to the prize pupil of the weekend. In throwing for 316 yards and three touchdowns, Tebow shut up at least half of the country (including me) who said that defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau would eat him up and swallow him whole. Tebow was always one step ahead of the legendary coordinator. The 80-yard touchdown in overtime was put right on the money for Demaryius Thomas to complete the catch and run. 

Grade: A+