NFL Playoff Predictions: Aaron Rodgers and QBs Who Will Cement Their Legacies

When the NFL playoffs roll around, quarterbacks tend to be put under a microscope.

And for good reason. Though winning in the playoffs requires effort from everyone, it's become abundantly clear in recent years that teams need outstanding play from their quarterbacks in order to succeed. Quarterbacks who produce are widely praised, and quarterbacks who don't are widely scorned.

We're going to see the same thing happen this season. The only question is which quarterbacks are going to show up and do wonders for their teams.

I have a few ideas as to who will. There are four quarterbacks that I think are going to put their teams on their backs, and NFL fans and pundits alike will sing their praises as a result.

4. Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos

I know, I know. At first the Tim Tebow hype was too much because he wasn't doing anything. Now it's too much because he's doing too much.

That's just kind of how it is, and it's a shame that the Broncos, as a whole, haven't received equal credit for their remarkable turnaround. When the playoffs start, it will be all about Tebow, and the rest of the Broncos will be along for the ride.

It's going to be a fun ride. The Broncos will enter the playoffs as the AFC West champions, and I foresee them making it all the way to the AFC Championship Game. The formula during this run will be the same as it is now: the defense will set 'em up, and Tebow will knock 'em down.

Tebow has earned the adoration of the masses by doing this, and the masses will continue to praise him as he leads the Broncos through the playoffs. The Broncos are good enough to go to the Super Bowl, but nobody is going to fault them or Tebow if they bow out of the playoffs one game short.

Make no mistake, Tebow doesn't need to cap his magical season with a Super Bowl victory to make it all worth it. After starting the season as a much-maligned third-stringer, he will have taken the Broncos to within one game of the Super Bowl, and that will be good enough.

3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

At this very moment, the Saints look like they're on a collision course to meet the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

The first time the Saints and Packers hooked up was in the very first game of the season, and it was an instant classic. Aaron Rodgers was brilliant, but so was Drew Brees. Ultimately, Brees' brilliance nearly (and probably should have) won the Saints the game.

Thanks in large part to that game, many consider Brees to be Rodgers' only equal. That's because he is, and he will get a chance to prove as much once again in the NFC Championship Game. 

He won't win, though. It just so happens Rodgers has a better team around him, and they'll have the home-field advantage at Lambeau Field. Asking Brees and the Saints to win the game will be asking too much.

But just like nobody is going to fault Tebow for falling short of the Super Bowl, nobody is going to fault Brees for falling short against the Packers. It's going to be a noble failure, and Brees will have once again proved that he is the only man who deserves to be called Rodgers' equal.

In this day and age, that's a high compliment. 

2. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco and the Ravens are going to the Super Bowl this year.

It's not too soon to assume as much. The AFC is weak this year, and the Ravens have proven that they are the best team in it. Their defense is arguably the best in the NFL once again, and they've gotten just enough offense out of Flacco and Ray Rice to rise to the top of a stacked AFC North.

To be sure, Flacco doesn't deserve too much credit for the Ravens' success this season. He's been OK, but he hasn't been great. In fact, he's at his best when he's not screwing things up.

When the playoffs start, Flacco only needs to be himself. The team around him will take care of the rest, and the Ravens will claw their way to the Super Bowl.

Though Flacco will be little more than a bystander in the Ravens' path to the Super Bowl, merely being there will be enough to prove that this Ravens team can indeed go to the Super Bowl with him under center.

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Will Aaron Rodgers lead the Packers to an undefeated season?

Honestly, I have my doubts. What I do know is that it really doesn't matter whether or not the Packers go undefeated, as they're a virtual lock to clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. All that matters is that they take advantage of that and advance to the Super Bowl for the second time in as many years.

It's going to happen. The Saints will give the Packers a scare in the NFC title game, but they won't keep them from facing the Ravens in the Super Bowl.

If Rodgers and the Packers want to win the Lombardi Trophy again, they're going to have to overcome a top-shelf defense. But seeing as how they did just that in the Super Bowl last season, I don't see why they can't do so again.

Rodgers is already widely viewed as the best quarterback in the NFL. A second straight championship will remove all doubt.