NFL Playoffs 2012: Atlanta Falcons and Dangerous Wild Card Teams

Wild card teams have gone on the road despite not winning their division and have ended higher-seeded teams seasons. It’s why a team like the Atlanta Falcons this year will continue the trend of dangerous wild-card teams that you do not want see come into your city. 

Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta brings into the postseason one of the best passing offenses in the NFL. The Falcons' passing game, led by quarterback Matt Ryan, is ranked ninth in the NFL, averaging 256 yards per game. 

On the road this year, Ryan has had games where he’s thrown for three or more touchdowns while throwing for over 300 yards. This year in road games, Ryan has an impressive 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions. 

If the Falcons defense struggles in their opening game against either Dallas or New York, Ryan will be able to keep this offense scoring points and will be the reason they move on in the playoffs. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh will enter these playoffs with a great chance to make a deep run. They will open up against the Denver Broncos, who will be limping into the playoffs having lost two of their last three games. 

The reason why this Steelers team will be able to crush the Broncos is because of their punishing defense, which ranks No. 1 against the pass and No. 9 against the run. Overall, the defense ranks No. 1 in total yards against them and No. 1 in the AFC in points allowed total and per game. 

This defense will suffocate teams, allowing the Steelers’ passing game the opportunity to pick apart secondaries. 

Oakland Raiders

For Oakland to enter the playoffs, they have to win against San Diego and get a loss from Cincinnati, who plays Baltimore this week. 

When this happens, the Raiders will enter as the No. 6 seed and be a nightmare opponent for the No. 3 seed Houston Texans. 

When these two teams played earlier this year, it was when the Texans had a healthy quarterback in Matt Schaub. Houston was able to throw for 403 passing yards with Schaub. 

However, now that their passing game is a shell of what it used to be with rookie T.J. Yates, they have to rely on their rushing game to win. This is where the Texans will fail against Oakland again. When the Raiders beat Houston this year, they held Arian Foster and the Texans’ rushing game to only 70 yards on 25 carries. 

These three teams will upset these teams in the Wild Card round and move onto their next conquest in the Divisional Round. 

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