NFL Playoff Predictions: 4 Teams We Trust Most on the Road

Winning on the road in the regular season is tough enough, but it's increasingly difficult in the postseason. Whether the team is the No. 2 or No. 5 seed, there's no guarantee of more than one home game and, obviously, the No. 6 is on the road throughout.

That being said, only once since the 1993-94 NFL playoffs has both No. 1 seeds qualified for the Super Bowl (Colts and Saints in 2009-10). So when the playoffs begin, be very aware that the road teams have history on their side

And here are four teams who can get the job done.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have done it before (most notably 2005-06) in the playoffs, so when they go on the road this season, they're not an easy out.

With The Steel Curtain defense shutting down opposing offenses and the offense led by Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh can make another Super Bowl run. Now, they may have lost twice to Baltimore, and that's to the Ravens credit.

However, the Ravens have yet to beat the Steelers in the playoffs (0-3) and have lost twice to them in the past three postseasons. Pittsburgh knows how to run the ball despite it not being their first option, and in the cold weather, they're virtually unbeatable.

That being said, until we actually see the Steelers lose in the playoffs, they will be considered legit Super Bowl contenders and a team to trust on the road.

San Francisco 49ers

Right now, the 49ers are slated to be the NFC's No. 2 seed. However, they are just up one game on the 9-3 New Orleans Saints, so worst case-scenario: Frisco ends up as the No. 3 seed.

Either way, however, chances are that the 49ers have to play the Saints and Packers consecutively if they want to win the NFC. Obviously, the Packers would most likely be in the NFC title game and the Saints in the divisional.

And with their road reputation (wins over Detroit, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Washington), they've proven to win outside of the Bay Area. Now, winning over the Saints and Packers in New Orleans and Green Bay is definitely more difficult than any of their road wins, especially in the playoffs.

But with a ground game to control the clock and a good enough pass rush to disrupt any timing on passing plays, we can't discount the 49ers for not being an explosive team. Both the Saints and Packers allow almost five rush yards per carry and have vulnerable pass defenses.

Green Bay may be more opportunistic, but Alex Smith is careful with the ball and his targets aren't awful either. If San Francisco slows the game down, they're odds of winning on the road against whomever are quite good.

The question is whether they can actually slow the game down.

Denver Broncos

2011 has been a tale of two seasons in the Mile High City. First, they couldn't win for anything but have revived their season with Tim Tebow under center.

The defense has been playing extremely well, and the rush offense is ranked No. 1 in the NFL. Once Tebow took control, the Broncos have been 6-1 and are 5-0 on the road. It doesn't matter who you are or who you play, winning five straight road games in the NFL after starting 1-4 is damn impressive.

We have to expect the immensity of the games to increase in the postseason. However, as long as Denver continues to perfect their game plan, winning on the road in the playoffs is possible.

Tebow has improved his passing game, and the ground game has been unstoppable. As for their defense, pass-rushers Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil are menacing to opposing QBs and they never give up the double-whammy.

Meaning, the Orange Crush either allows points but gets turnovers, or does allow decent yards but not too many points. Whether we choose to believe in it or not, Denver can win on the road in January.

Houston Texans

One step up from the Broncos are the Houston Texans. Houston has a complete defense, ranking third against the pass and fourth against the rush.

As for their offense, the Texans rank third in rushing and have two stud RBs (Arian Foster, Ben Tate) who are dynamic and cause numerous matchup problems for a defense. Also, TE Owen Daniels is a complete player, as he's just as good of a run-blocker as he is a reliable target.

And despite their QB situation, as long as turnovers are limited and Andre Johnson gets back to 100 percent come January (he wasn't 100 percent even when he returned a few weeks ago), Houston can go further than expected.

Not to mention they're good at winning the field-position battle in averaging 26.1 yards per kickoff return (ranked sixth) and 10.8 yards per punt return (ranked 12th). You win the field position battle, and the odds of winning astronomically increase.

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