NFL Week 12: Predicting the Playoff Field and How Each Round Will Pan out

If the 2011 NFL playoffs were to start today, the field would be much different than it will likely turn out to be over the next six weeks of football.  Both the AFC and NFC North currently have three teams in the playoffs at this time.

Will that be the case once the dust has settled and the brackets are set after Week 17?

Most likely not.

The Green Bay Packers have not suffered from a Super Bowl hangover and are currently the only undefeated team left in the NFL.  Their road to the Super Bowl, though, is going to likely have to run through the offensive juggernaut New Orleans Saints and then the smash-mouth and resurgent San Francisco 49ers.

The defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers have their work cut out for them if they are to reach a second straight Super Bowl appearance.  In order to do so, they will likely have to win to avoid losing an astonishing third contest against their divisional rival—the Baltimore Ravens.

Injuries to quarterbacks Matt Schaub, Jay Cutler and Matt Cassel have changed the dynamic of the field and, ultimately, the plot of the playoffs.  

Without their starting quarterback, can the Houston Texans ride Arian Foster AND Ben Tate to the Super Bowl?

With Caleb Hanie behind the helm, can the Chicago Bears continue to play great football and reach the postseason and ultimately the big dance?

There are so many question marks as the NFL moves into Week 12.  I'll answer a few of them with my 2011-12 NFL playoff predictions.

AFC Playoff Picture

Without Matt Schaub, the Houston Texans have a very daunting task if they are to reach the Super Bowl—especially due to the fact there are three stout rush-defending AFC North teams in the postseason.  

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens could see each other for the third time in 2011-12.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots look to rebound from recent playoff struggles and return another Lombardi Trophy back to New England.

The AFC West was up for grabs until Darren McFadden was back to full strength and Carson Palmer settled in behind center.  After that, the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers were left in the dust.

AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)

AFC South: Houston Texans (10-6)

AFC East: New England Patriots (12-4)

AFC West: Oakland Raiders (10-6)

Wild Card No. 1: Baltimore Ravens (11-5)

Wild Card No. 2: Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)

NFC Playoff Picture

There are no major surprises in the NFC.  The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons, divisional rivals, will meet one more time in 2011.  This could alter the structure of the bracket if the Falcons were to score a victory.  However, both teams will be in the playoffs.

The Chicago Bears could not weather the storm with Jay Cutler missing time and as a result, missed the playoffs by one game.

Green Bay and San Francisco earned first-round byes and rightfully so.

Unfortunately for the Philadelphia Eagles, their late-season heroics came up short and the Dallas Cowboys, riding standout rookie running back DeMarco Murray, just squeaked by to win the NFC South. 

NFC North: Green Bay Packers (14-2)

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys (10-6)

NFC South: New Orleans Saints (11-5)

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers (13-3)

Wild Card No. 1: Detroit Lions (11-5)

Wild Card No. 2: Atlanta Falcons (10-6)

AFC Wild Card Round

Matchup No. 1: Baltimore Ravens (11-5) at Houston Texans (10-6)

Winner: Baltimore Ravens (12-5)

Unfortunately for whoever is quarterbacking the Houston Texans, his name is not Matt Schaub.  That, and he is facing one of the premier defenses in the NFL. 

The Baltimore Ravens are not only a defensive juggernaut in 2011—they can put up some points, too.  The Texans, lucky to have gotten this far without injured quarterback Matt Schaub, will not be ready—even at home—for the soaring Ravens.

But what about that great rushing attack of the Houston Texans, you ask?

The Ravens will hold the Texans to under 100 yards of rushing and swoop away to the AFC Divisional Round to take on their archrival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in their third encounter of the season.

Score Prediction: 31-10

Matchup No. 2: Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) at Oakland Raiders (10-6)

Winner: Oakland Raiders (11-6)

What a great story this first-round matchup would make.  Carson Palmer, now quarterbacking the Oakland Raiders, hosts his former employer—the Cincinnati Bengals.

The best spin, though, lies in the game's outcome.  Not only does Palmer beat his old team and their new quarterback Andy Dalton—he crushes them.  Behind a dominating rushing attack consisting of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, Palmer and the offense put up big numbers and send the Bengals back to the drawing board for 2012.

Score Prediction: 31-14

NFC Wild Card Round

Matchup No. 1: Detroit Lions (11-5) at Dallas Cowboys (10-6)

Winner: Detroit Lions (12-5)

The surprising Detroit Lions and their stout defensive front are able to bottle up the explosive Dallas Cowboys rushing attack.  Quarterback Matthew Stafford throws for three touchdowns and their running game—consisting of Kevin Smith and Jahvid Best—scores three of its own.

Score Prediction: 45-21

Matchup No. 2: Atlanta Falcons (10-6) at New Orleans Saints (11-5)

Winner: New Orleans Saints (12-5)

The New Orleans Saints, winners of two previous regular season matchups, prove they have the key to the Atlanta Falcons puzzle.  Drew Brees and company, likely upset from their first-round ouster on the road in Seattle in 2010, come out firing at home in the Superdome.

Score Prediction: 31-21

AFC Divisional Round

Matchup No. 1: Baltimore Ravens (12-5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)

Winner: Baltimore Ravens (13-5)

The previous two meetings between these two bitter rivals did not turn out so well for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Baltimore Ravens know the Steelers better than any other team in the NFL.  If there is going to be someone who can dethrone the Steelers, the Ravens are that team.  

Joe Flacco and company ride the confidence they gained after their two big wins over the Steelers earlier in the season.  Baltimore walks into Pittsburgh's Heinz Field and makes short work of the defending AFC Champion Steelers.

Score Prediction: 27-13

Matchup No. 2: Oakland Raiders (11-6) at New England Patriots (12-4)

Winner: New England Patriots (13-4)

The New England Patriots look to capture another Super Bowl victory in 2011.  Their offensive firepower is too much in this one for a porous Oakland defense.  Usually, Patriots head coach Bill Belichik's defense does a good job of holding near the end zone.  In this one, it takes a final defensive stand in their own red zone to move on to the AFC Championship Game.

Score Prediction: 41-38

NFC Divisional Round

Matchup No. 1: Detroit Lions (12-5) at Green Bay Packers (14-2)

Winner: Green Bay Packers (15-2)

The Green Bay Packers are ultimately too much in the second half for the trailing Detroit Lions.  As was their stigma during the regular season, the Lions started off poorly in the first half and could not fight back against the 49ers imposing defense.  A last minute comeback effort fails on a Matthew Stafford pass, intended for Calvin Johnson in the end zone, that would have sent the Lions on to the NFC Championship Game.

Score Prediction: 35-31

Matchup No. 2: New Orleans Saints (12-5) at San Francisco 49ers (13-3)

Winner: San Francisco 49ers (14-3)

The New Orleans Saints offense, at times, is one of the finest-tuned point-scoring machines in the NFL.  To make it back to the NFC Championship Game, though, the Saints would have to conquer the mighty San Francisco 49ers defense.

A task that is easier said than done.

Drew Brees has a good game but the Saints abandon the running game early and Brees cannot carry the Saints on his shoulders.  The 49ers utilize the play-action passing off of an amazing breakout playoff performance from Frank Gore to secure their place in the NFC Championship Game.

Score Prediction: 28-24

AFC Championship Game

AFC Championship Game: New England Patriots (13-4) at Baltimore Ravens (13-5)

Winner: Baltimore Ravens (14-5)

After the Patriots pick off quarterback Joe Flacco in the second quarter, for the second time, Jim Harbaugh gets creative and steals a page from the Patriots' game plan.  He involves tight ends Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson into a potent passing attack that cuts holes in the Patriots' decimated secondary.

Ray Rice catches a screen out of the backfield and takes it to the house to end the scoring.

A last-ditch effort by Brady and the Pats comes up short and the Baltimore Ravens go to their first Super Bowl since their victory in 2001 at Super Bowl XXXV.

Score Prediction: 31-27

NFC Championship Game

NFC Championship Game: San Francisco 49ers (14-3) at Green Bay Packers (15-2)

Winner: San Francisco 49ers (15-3)

Unexpectedly, the San Francisco 49ers offense ignites at Lambeau Field on their biggest stage yet.  Seventh-year quarterback Alex Smith manages the game perfectly.  He makes his best plays off of play-action from Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter's incredible games on the ground.

The Green Bay Packers are simply outmatched by a hard-nosed and well-rounded football team.  Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a great game, but it is not enough.  The 49ers defense completely shuts down James Starks and Ryan Grant and makes Aaron Rodgers beat them on his own.

Ultimately for Rodgers and the Packers, it is not enough and the 49ers head to their first Super Bowl since 1994.

Payback for the 49ers, perhaps, for the 1995 and 1996 consecutive ousters from the playoffs by the Green Bay Packers?

Score Prediction: 31-27

Super Bowl XLVI

Super Bowl XLVI: Baltimore Ravens (14-5) at San Francisco 49ers (15-3)

Winner: Baltimore Ravens (15-5)

The Harbaugh brothers do battle in Indianapolis to determine the champion of the 46th Super Bowl.

The Baltimore Ravens have seen it all on the defensive side of the ball.  They've also stopped it all.  The hard-nosed, play-action attack of the 49ers may have stumped the defensively challenged Green Bay Packers, but Ray Lewis and friends had different plans on the big stage.

What started as a blowout by the 49ers, who led 14-0 in the first quarter, ended with the Ravens getting the last laugh and their second Super Bowl victory in the past 11 years.

Joe Flacco rode a great second half from running back Ray Rice and found Anquan Boldin and Ed Dickson on a pair of touchdowns early in the third quarter and the Ravens never looked back.

The Ravens defense allowed only a field goal in the second half and they sealed the victory on an Ed Reed interception of Alex Smith with minutes left to play.  Down 10 points and demoralized, the 49ers defense allowed the Ravens to run the clock out on their hopes of a Super Bowl championship.

Score Prediction: 27-17