NFL Playoffs 2012: Baltimore Ravens and Underrated Super Bowl Contenders

By now, we've all heard that one of the three, between the Green Bay Packers, the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints, will emerge from Super Bowl XLVI with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

That's all well and good, but NFL playoff predictions are usually worth their weight in salt, if that. Just ask last year's Packers and Saints, the 2008 Arizona Cardinals, the 2007 New York Giants, the 2003 Carolina Panthers...

You get the idea.

So aside from the NFL's Big Three, which other teams can lay legitimate claim to ultimate glory?

Baltimore Ravens

It may seem strange to think of the two-seed in the AFC as "underrated," but that's exactly what the Baltimore Ravens are, thanks in large part to Joe Flacco. The fourth-year quarterback has been maddeningly inconsistent for the Beltway Birds this season, accounting for nearly as many turnovers (21) as total touchdowns (22).

Still, Flacco's had his moments with Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, and can lean on Pro Bowler Ray Rice whenever the going gets tough.

Oh, and I hear the Ravens' defense is pretty good, but only through the grapevine.

Baltimore will kick off its run to the Super Bowl this weekend against a Houston Texans team they walloped in Week 6, 29-14. The Ravens would likely have to head north for the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, though they can take comfort in knowing that Tom Brady and company lost rather handily to the Pittsburgh Steelers, against whom Baltimore went 2-0 this season.

San Francisco 49ers

If the John Harbaugh's Ravens take care of business, the Super Bowl could ostensibly turn out to be an All-Harbaugh affair.

Jim Harbaugh's 49ers just so happen to be a championship-caliber team, too, and are flying well under the radar thanks to all the attention being paid to the Packers and the Saints in the NFC.

San Francisco has all the ingredients needed to win tough football games any time, anywhere—an excellent defense, especially against the run; a strong ground game, behind Frank Gore; and a quarterback, in Alex Smith, who knows how to manage games and doesn't make mistakes.

The Niners will be the underdogs when the Saints come to town but don't count out Harbaugh's team playing at home against a New Orleans squad that scored just under 24 points per game outdoors this season—more than 10 points fewer than its overall average.  

New York Giants

The Giants will have a much tougher task on their hands—playing the Packers in the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field—though they should be more than up to the challenge.

Remember, Big Blue almost beat the Packers in Green Bay earlier this season, with Eli Manning throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns and New York's defensive line harassing Aaron Rodgers in a 38-35 win for the home team.

Green Bay's offensive line has been bitten by the injury bug since while the Giants' D-line has healed up considerably over the very same span. What's more, the G-Men are nearly as hot as any team in football, having won their last three games, including a 24-2 trouncing of the Atlanta Falcons on Wild Card weekend.

And, as the Packers and the Arizona Cardinals will tell you, beating the Falcons in the playoffs is a pretty good way to get moving on the road to the Super Bowl.

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