NFL Playoff Predictions: Stars Who Will Thrive Under Pressure This Weekend

The playoffs are what separates the stars from the wannabes. So how will the biggest names of all fare with a Super Bowl berth on the line this weekend?

Neither the NFC Championship nor the AFC Championship will be a gimme for any team involved. Both games could go either way, and it will all come down to how the stars perform—and how they deal with the pressure.

Here's a look at some of the guys who have everything to lose—and everything to gain—from this weekend.

Joe Flacco

There is much more than a Super Bowl berth riding on Sunday's AFC Championship Game as far as Joe Flacco is concerned. The Ravens quarterback is nearing the end of his contract, and this is his opportunity to show the guys holding the checkbook that he's worth the kind of big-money contract the rest of the league's top quarterbacks are receiving.

This is Flacco's chance to prove he really is one of the elites. If he leads the fourth-seeded Ravens to the Super Bowl, someone is going to have to pay him. For him, the payoff couldn't possibly be bigger than it is right now.

Obviously, that comes with pressure, but Flacco isn't scared of anything. He's not afraid to make a mistake, and he's not tentative—he's gutsy. That much was evident last week in Denver when he led Baltimore's game-winning touchdown drive with about 30 seconds left in regulation and then put his team in position for the game-winning field goal in double overtime.

Flacco may be heading to Foxborough for a playoff game, but that comes with no more pressure than he faced last weekend. And last weekend, he handled it just fine.

Aaron Hernandez

With Rob Gronkowski out of commission for New England for the remainder of the postseason, the onus is on fellow tight end Aaron Hernandez to make up for his production.

There were very few games this season that Gronk and Hernandez were on the field at the same time, so this isn't anything new for the No. 2 guy. And for the most part, he fared just fine when he returned from an ankle sprain midway through the season and when Gronk promptly went down with a forearm injury. There were times during this season, in fact, we saw Hernandez really step up and make himself The Guy when Tom Brady needed a sure-fire offensive weapon the most.

Take, for example, his performance in a resounding 42-14 win over Houston in December. Hernandez had eight receptions for 58 yards and two big touchdowns. He can show up in a big game—he proved that earlier this year. This week, though, he needs to if New England's offense has any intention of rolling over the Ravens.

Matt Ryan

Finally, Matt Ryan shed the monkey from his back on Sunday. It wasn't easy. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback—who had never won a playoff game despite making three postseason appearances in his first four years in the league—got the best of the Seattle Seahawks in dramatic fashion.

The Falcons took a 27-7 lead into the fourth quarter only to squander it by allowing three unanswered touchdowns. When Seattle took a 28-27 lead with 31 seconds remaining, it seemed like this would be yet another heartbreaking end for Ryan—until he threw a couple of quick completions to get Atlanta within field-goal range before handing the reins to kicker Matt Bryant, who sent the game-winner through the uprights.

Getting that first win was huge for Ryan. Now, the questions stop and the confidence returns. The Falcons are a good team—they needed to be in order to put up 30 points against the NFL's top defense. Ryan knows he can lead an efficient offensive attack against a great defense, and knowing that will be crucial against stingy San Francisco.