NFL Playoff Picture: 5 Bold Predictions for December

November is behind us, and December is the time of year NFL fans dream of all year long. The playoff picture is getting clearer and the final spots still up for grabs are being hotly contested.

It is time for some bold predictions.

Some teams will be coasting through the final month of the NFL regular season, and some will be praying for it to end. The rest will wage five more savage battles to sort out the final two to three spots left for the playoffs in January.

Which teams will rise to the challenge and vanquish their opponents?

Which teams will crumble beneath the weight of expectation?

Let me tell you what I think. 

The Houston Texans Will Finish the Season 12-4 for the Top Seed in the AFC

The Houston Texans field arguably one of the top three defenses in the NFL. Until a couple of weeks ago, they also had one of the best offenses in the league.

The team was shocked to lose their starting quarterback Matt Schaub to injury, and to make matters worse, they lost their second stringer Matt Leinart the very next game. 

T.J. Yates is now at the helm, and the Texans will need to adjust their plans accordingly. The thing is, they have all the pieces in place to pull this off with flying colors.

Though they now have no viable option at quarterback, the Texans still possess two of the best runners in the NFL. Arian Foster and Ben Tate will now be tasked with carrying the load on offense.

It is a load they are fit to carry.

With the continued dominance of the team's defense, the duo of running backs should be enough offense to allow veteran kicker Neil Rackers enough opportunities to really earn his paychecks, and I expect head coach Gary Kubiak to take an approach much like the one San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh has taken with his team.

The Texans will win by dominating the time of possession battle and creating turnovers. 

Unfortunately, they will probably be blown out in their first postseason game. 

The New York Jets Will Not Make the NFL Playoffs

The New York Jets have been on a roller coaster all year long.

Rex Ryan has put his foot in his mouth more times than anyone can count, and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer thinks he has Tom Brady instead of Mark Sanchez.

The Jets won't make the playoffs this season, and the reasons won't really surprise anyone. 

The team hasn't been able to establish a running game all year long. They have, instead, relied completely on the unreliable arm of Mark Sanchez. Sanchez can be brilliant one week and then the next week throw four interceptions. 

The biggest reason for the team's decline, however, is that the Jets really don't have a very good defense this year. 

Ouch!

It's true, though, and that is why they will miss the playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys Out...New York Giants In

The way things look right now, there is no way the New York Giants will get into the 2011 NFL playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys are on a hot streak, and the Giants have been trending down.

I predict that somehow the Giants will win out the rest of the way.

At the same time, the Cowboys will flounder, and Tony Romo will do his best impression of Rex Grossman.

Eli Manning is really a good quarterback.

Unfortunately, his offensive line hasn't performed well and his best running back has been hurt. Brandon Jacobs isn't going to stretch anyone's defense, so teams have really been able to key in on what Manning is trying to do in the air.

This will change, and the Giants will get into the playoffs this year.

Denver Broncos In...Oakland Raiders Out

The Oakland Raiders are playing sound football right now, and Carson Palmer is developing tremendous chemistry with his young receiving corps.

The Raiders defense has also been stepping up their game lately, and everyone knows how dangerous Darren McFadden and Michael Bush are in the running game.

The Raiders last five games are dangerous, though. On the road against a hot Miami team this week, they travel to Green Bay the next and then host the Detroit Lions the week following.

I can see them losing all three games.

On the other hand, the Denver Broncos are riding Tim Tebow to four straight wins, and he has convinced them they are contenders.

In their final five games, the only one that I'd consider a loss is the game against the New England Patriots. The rest of their games I could easily see them winning. 

The bottom line is this: Oakland is out and Denver is in. 

The Green Bay Packers Will Lose

The Green Bay Packers will have the No. 1 seed sewn up by  Week 16. The team's last two games are against divisional rivals the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. Both the Bears and Lions are likely going to be vying for the same playoff spot.

The Packers will be inclined to rest many of their key starters as a precautionary measure. It is the right thing to do.

The Bears and Lions will throw the kitchen sink at the Pack, and one of those teams will succeed. 

There will be no perfect season.