NFL Playoff Scenarios: Who Has Most Favorable 1st-Round Matchup?

If the 2012 NFL playoffs started today, which team would have the most favorable first-round matchup?

Here's a look at who every team would hypothetically play.

No. 6 Cincinnati Bengals	No. 3 Houston Texans
No. 5 Pittsburgh Steelers	No. 4 Denver Broncos
No. 6 Atlanta Falcons	No. 3 New Orleans Saints
No. 5 Detroit Lions	No. 4 New York Giants

Things are not set in stone quite yet. If the Saints hang on to win tonight against the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers lose next week to the St. Louis Rams, they'll overtake the Niners for the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

But if the playoffs started today, here's a list ranking the teams with the most appealing matchup in the first round.

8. Denver Broncos (No. 4 Seed)

Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers

Everyone wants a shot at the Denver Broncos this upcoming playoffs. Not only does it seem like Tim Tebow's "luck" is running out, but they just aren't that intimidating of a team. Their most recent performance against the Buffalo Bills backs up that statement.

Everyone talks about their defense, but the statistics speak for them self. They rank 20th in pass defense (235 yards per game), 25th in rush defense (128 yards per game) and 25th in scoring defense (25 points per game).

They live and die by the play of Tim Tebow and Willis McGahee, who has had an excellent resurgent season, but the Steelers excel in stuffing the run. On top of that, the Steelers are the top-ranked pass defense in the NFL.

Tebow and the Broncos really don't stand a chance; at least when you look at it on paper. Who really knows what's going to happen when Tebow is playing.

7. Cincinnati Bengals (No. 6 Seed)

Opponent: Houston Texans

The Cincinnati Bengals had a surprisingly good season in 2011. They let rookie quarterback Andy Dalton manage the game and depended on a solid defense to keep them in it. The defense knows how to get after the quarterback due to their 44 sacks this season. 

Their run defense, which ranked sixth in the NFL this season (96.9 yards per game), wasn't too shabby either.

However, they'll be going up against one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL—the Houston Texans. Expect this game to be a defensive struggle, but the more experienced Texans to come out on top.

6. New York Giants ( No. 4 Seed)

Opponent: Detroit Lions

The New York Giants will be coming into the playoffs lacking in one major category: pass defense. They rank 27th in the NFL by allowing 255.4 yards per game. The Lions, on the other hand, are one of the better passing teams in the NFL.

This pass defense allowed quarterbacks like Rex Grossman and Alex Smith to have career games against them.

This game will be close, but the matchup does not look good on paper for the Giants.

5. Atlanta Falcons (No. 6 Seed)

Opponent: New Orleans Saints

The Atlanta Falcons versus the New Orleans Saints should be the game to watch in the first round of the NFL playoffs.

We'll get our second sneak peak of the game when the two teams go at it tonight on Monday Night Football.

The first time these teams played, the Saints barely got by with a victory in overtime. Mike Smith's controversial call to go for it on fourth-and-short on his side of the field in overtime cost them the game. Who knows what would've happened had the Falcons kicked it away and forced Drew Brees to march down the entire field.

The Falcons are just a middle-of-the-pack pass defense, and they'll be matching up against the most potent passing attack in the NFL. Brees threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns the first time these two teams met this year.

If these two teams meet in the playoffs, it'll be a close game like always. The Saints just match up better against the Falcons rather than it being the other way around.

4. New Orleans Saints (No. 3 Seed)

Opponent: Atlanta Falcons

It was hard to decide who had the more favorable matchup out of the two because these teams match up so evenly against each other.

Both are passing-oriented teams who try to sprinkle in the run every once in a while to set up the passing game.

One thing that should scare Saints' fans is their pass defense. It ranks 28th in the NFL (256.1 yards per game) along with the second-fewest interceptions (eight). Matt Ryan had a field day when these two teams met earlier in the season. He threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns in the overtime loss in Week 10.

Expect this one to be a shootout that goes down to the very end. It should be a very entertaining game.

3. Detroit Lions (No. 5 Seed)

Opponent: New York Giants

After the Detroit Lions beat the San Diego Chargers last week, they punched their first playoff ticket since 1999.

The only thing that could prevent Matthew Stafford from going off this game is the New York Giants pass rush. The Giants have accumulated 42 sacks this season, which is the fifth-most in the NFL. The Lions' offensive line, however, has vastly improved this season and allowed Stafford to be sacked only 34 times this season.

If the Lions protect Stafford, all indications are that the Lions will win this game. Aside from the Lions' passing attack and the Giants' pass defense, there are other areas where the Lions match up well.

Detroit has a respectable pass defense that will be able to prevent Eli Manning from completely taking over the game.

The Lions just look like the better team overall.

2. Houston Texans (No. 3 Seed)

Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

The Houston Texans are starting to falter at the wrong time of the year. Offensively, they just haven't been the same team since Matt Schaub was injured, and understandably so. They have lost back-to-back games to inferior opponents—Carolina and Indianapolis—and have scored 14.5 points per game in the process.

However, if they can manage to play the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs, it could be the break they need after losing Schaub and Andre Johnson for the majority of the season.

Cincinnati has a stout defense, so that might not bode well for the Texans offense. However, these two teams did meet during Week 14 and the Texans did come out on top, thanks to an impressive performance by T.J. Yates.

Houston's defense is one of the best in the NFL. They have the third-ranked pass defense and the fifth-ranked run defense in the NFL. On the other hand, the Bengals have nothing more than an average offense.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 5 Seed)

Opponent: Denver Broncos

If this playoff matchup comes to fruition, the Pittsburgh Steelers will get away with the best playoff matchup in the first round.

The Steelers are built for the postseason and should have no problem going into Denver to take on the Broncos.

With all the reasons I mentioned in the Broncos' slide, and a healthy Ben Roethlisberger, this will be the most uneven matchup throughout the entire playoffs.