NFL Playoff Predictions: Sizzling Storylines to Watch Along Road to Super Bowl

We're getting close to that magical time of the season.

No, not the holidays.

The NFL playoffs, of course.

It's shaping up to be yet another thrilling run to the Super Bowl this season, with several up-and-coming teams making things interesting and the Green Bay Packers threatening to go undefeated and capture their second consecutive Super Bowl.

Before I give you the eight most intriguing storylines headed into the postseason, here are my playoff predictions through Week 14:

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AFC East: New England Patriots

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens

AFC South: Houston Texans (clinched)

AFC West: Denver Broncos

AFC Wild Card: Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets

NFC East: New York Giants

NFC North: Green Bay Packers (clinched)

NFC South: New Orleans Saints

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers (clinched)

NFC Wild Card: Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions

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Now, here are the eight most sizzling storylines as we get set for the NFL playoffs.

8. Will Rookie QB Step Up?

The Houston Texans raised a lot of eyebrows in the 2011 NFL draft when they selected T.J. Yates over former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.

Now, after injuries to starter Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart, the Texans rest their season on their young rookie.

No pressure.

Yates did show promise in Week 14 against a good defense in the Cincinnati Bengals, however.

In that game, Yates passed for 300 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while completing 59 percent of his passes.

He also rushed five times for 36 yards in the Texans' harrowing 20-19 victory.

Of course, the playoffs are a different story and Yates is going to have to cut down on his turnovers for the Texans to go far.

The Texans do have something working in their favor, however: They have allowed just 16.0 points per game through Week 14, fourth best in the NFL.

7. Will Saints Suffer Another Meltdown?

We all know what happened to the then-defending-champion New Orleans Saints last postseason.

Seen as one of the favorites to make it to the Super Bowl, the Saints were shocked by the Seattle Seahawks, who slipped into the playoffs with a 7-9 record.

In the wild-card matchup, the Saints lost, 41-36, torn apart by running back Marshawn Lynch.

This season, the Saints are actually allowing more yards per carry (4.9) than last season (4.3). That could spell trouble against the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons or New York Giants.

Of course, despite not having powerful running games, the Packers and Lions have the ability of being explosive in the passing game.

I don't see it ultimately working out well for the Saints.

6. Which Game-Managing QB Will Step Up?

There are two game-managers in particular that can single-handedly change their teams' postseason chances: Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers and Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets.

Both have dominant defenses, and Smith has the added bonus of having a superstar running back in Frank Gore.

Sanchez has been back and forth throughout his career. Smith has had a resurrection under rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh.

But in Week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals, Smith and the offensive line simply looked bad. Fans by the Bay better hope that's just a glitch.

I think, in the end, Sanchez will have a better playoff run than Smith.

5. Which Rising Teams Will Panic?

Very rarely do we see up-and-coming teams win the Super Bowl in their first year on the rise.

In this season's playoffs, we have four rising teams: the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.

The 49ers, Texans and Lions finished 6-10 last season, while the Broncos finished 4-12.

When looking at who will panic, you have to take a look at who's been the most inconsistent this season.

Believe it or not, the Lions fit this description the most. At 8-5, they've won the games they were supposed to, but weren't able to rise to the occasion against better teams. That concerns me.

You also have to throw the Texans in the mix. Their defense is solid, but rookie quarterback T.J. Yates has just started playing in the NFL, and now he is being thrown to the wolves in the playoffs. I think he will struggle.

4. Will Steelers Score Enough?

The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a dominant defense since making it to the Super Bowl last season, but their offense hasn't been as good.

They are averaging 21.7 points per game this season, in the bottom half of the league, and their losses against the Texans and Ravens showed tough defenses can slow them down.

The Steelers still have a chance of reaching the Super Bowl, but I worry about their offense in the long run.

3. Will Patriots Make It to the Super Bowl?

The New England Patriots always are dangerous with Tom Brady under center, but, despite a 10-3 record, they simply haven't looked as dominant this season.

In the last two weeks, they've beaten the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins by just a touchdown in each game.

It's not how you start, it's how you finish, and I don't see the Patriots as the strongest team in the AFC overall headed into the playoffs.

The Ravens, at 10-3, hold that distinction for me. Not only do they have arguably the best defense in the NFL, their offense also has some big-time playmakers, including up-and-coming rookie receiver Torrey Smith.

2. Will Tebow Mania Continue Through Playoffs?

Let's be honest, Tebow Mania has become a central story in the NFL, and if the Broncos make the playoffs, that mania will skyrocket into chaos.

Tim Tebow, in his second year in the NFL, has gone 7-1 as a starter for the Broncos this season, and he now has them ahead of the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West.

He's not very accurate and he has a slow throwing motion, but his will and leadership have overcome all of that this season.

It's a remarkable story, and one you had to see to believe.

On ESPN's Around the Horn on Monday, Woody Paige of The Denver Post said he expected the Broncos to win their next three games of the regular season (including against the New England Patriots) and win the Super Bowl.

I'm not going to go that far, but I do believe this team's defense and chemistry could cause problems for some of the most talented teams in the NFL.

However, Tebow Mania has to end sometime, and it will end before the Super Bowl.

1. Will the Packers Go Undefeated?

In 2007, the New England Patriots became the first team in NFL history to go undefeated in a 16-game regular season, and they missed a perfect season by one game, when they lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

The Green Bay Packers are the latest team to have a chance at a perfect season, currently sitting at 13-0 after destroying the Oakland Raiders, 46-16.

They have the best offense in the NFL (averaging 35.8 points per game) and their defense is the most opportunistic in the league, notching 27 interceptions and five defensive touchdowns this season.

There is the concern about injured star receiver Greg Jennings, but he's only expected to miss three weeks at the most, per Yahoo! Sports.

That means he should be available for the playoffs, and that means the Packers will go undefeated and win their second consecutive Super Bowl.

That's right, I said it.