NFL Playoffs: Predicting the Biggest Duds of Conference Championship Weekend

Every player on all four NFL teams still alive for Super Bowl XLVI expects to play well this weekend, but there are going to be big players who fall flat in both the AFC and NFC Championship Games.

In the divisional round, it was Tim Tebow and Aaron Rodgers who dropped the ball. So who will be the duds this week? Here is one player for each team that is going to disappoint in the penultimate weekend of the 2012 NFL playoffs.

Eli Manning, New York Giants

Eli Manning has been a huge part of the New York Giants postseason success thus far. In their two playoff games he has six touchdowns with just one interception and a combined passer rating of 121.8.

However, though Manning had a Pro Bowl season, he was very up and down this year. In the Giants nine wins, Manning had 18 touchdowns and only four interceptions. In their seven losses he had 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

The Giants live and die with Manning, who is very inconsistent. Five of those seven bad games (and Giants' losses) came against opponents ranked in the top 13 in team defense. Manning and the Giants struggle against good defenses and they will be facing one of the best this week with the San Francisco 49ers. Manning is due for an off-game and it will come this week.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco has already played in eight playoff games in his short career with the Baltimore Ravens, with a 5-3 record. However, his quality of play has differed greatly depending on the opponent.

In his four games against the AFC powers of the last decade (the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, and New England Patriots), Flacco has thrown only one touchdown with seven interceptions. In his four other playoff appearances, he has thrown for five touchdowns with no picks.

Flacco was solid last week against the Houston Texans. But he faces the Patriots this week and the trend will continue. Flacco will falter against an elite playoff opponent as he always does.

Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers

Frank Gore had a good season with 1,211 yards and eight touchdowns. He was likewise solid in the San Francisco 49ers first game against the New Orleans Saints, as he had 89 rushing yards on just 13 carries and 38 receiving yards from seven catches.

However, he will be shut down by the New York Giants yet again this week. In their first matchup this year, the G-men held Gore to zero yards on six carries.

The Giants defense is finally healthy and they are subsequently playing excellent football right now. They will load up the box to try and force Alex Smith to beat them in the passing game, and thus Gore will be stifled again.

Devin McCourty, New England Patriots

Mostly as a result of his seven interceptions, Devin McCourty was a Pro Bowler in 2010, his rookie season with the New England Patriots.

However, he has had a terrible sophomore slump this year. Through 13 weeks of the 2011 NFL season, McCourty was pegged by Football Outsiders as one of the worst cornerbacks in the league, both in success rate and yards per attempt allowed.

The Patriots pitiful pass defense (ranked 31st in the NFL) got a break last Saturday when they faced the Denver Broncos and the helplessly inaccurate Tim Tebow. They will have a lot more trouble this week when they face the Baltimore Ravens. And McCourty will be the one who gets picked on, whether he's guarding Anquan Boldin or Torrey Smith.