NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Who Should Be on Upset Alert This Weekend?

Maybe a better question would actually be, "Who isn't on upset alert this weekend?"

You could make the case, with the potential exception of the New England Patriots, that each of the four favorites in the NFL's Divisional Round are more than capable of being upset this weekend.

Let's start with Saints-49ers.

New Orleans is favored by 3.5 points on the road, partly because of its nine-game winning streak but mostly on the back of its record-breaking offense.

It seems, however, that oddsmakers have forgotten that the 49ers also won 13 regular season games and have one of the NFL's better defenses.

The Saints have been vulnerable outside of the Superdome in 2011. New Orleans averaged just 21 points in their last two games outdoors in 2011. 

It'll be difficult for Tim Tebow to overcome the 13.5-point favorite Patriots on the road Saturday night. But just when people are ready to bury Tebow and the Broncos, that 53-man roster does something incredible.

Beating New England might be beyond those capabilities, but you would have said the same thing about the Broncos' ability to go 7-4 down the stretch. We've see crazier things happen.

What about Houston over Baltimore? Most will tell you that the Texans don't have a chance because of the disparity at the quarterback position. Joe Flacco will surely out-duel fifth-round rookie T.J. Yates, right? 

Not so fast. The quarterbacks actually had very similar seasons. Flacco's final passer rating was just 80.9, but Yates was right behind him at 80.7. Would it really be crazy to think the team with the better run game (Texans) wins this game?

Finally, we get to the upset that everyone is already calling: Giants over Packers. I'm not going to say it's as likely as some, but the Giants certainly have what it takes to go to Lambeau Field and leave with a win.

If New York can run it as well as they did Sunday against the Falcons, and combine the run game with another dominant showing from the pass rush, the Giants will have every chance to knock off the 15-1 Packers.