Bengals at Texans- Back in August, if you had said a first round playoff game would feature Andy Dalton and T.J. Yates as the starting QBs, most would have called you certifiably insane. People were openly wondering if the Bengals had the worst offense in the league and if they were bad enough to go 0-16. The Texans also battled their fair share of adversity with injuries to Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson and Mario Williams. Nonetheless, the team won the AFC South and it will be a special scene on Saturday when the franchise plays their first ever playoff game in front of the game. The strength of these 2 teams lies with the defenses so look for a physical, low-scoring affair. Both teams allow under an average of 21 points per game, but I'll take the Texans in this case who simply have more talent. However, can Yates, a rookie 5th-round pick lead the offense on drives down the field? That is the biggest question, but I'll go with the better defense in this case. Arian Foster breaks off a big run late in the game to set up a game-winning field goal by Neil Rackers. Prediction: Texans 23, Bengals 20.
Steelers at Broncos-The Tebow Train has reached its final stop, the Steelers will end the hype once and for all, well at least until training camp. A defense that features James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, LaMarr Woodley and James Farrior is too much for a guy who put up a stat line of 6/22, 60 yards and 1 interception last week. The Steelers have the top pass defense in football and will force Tebow into a number of mistakes setting up a short field, which the Pittsburgh offense could certainly use. With Ben Roethlisberger hobbling around and Rashard Mendenhall out with a torn ACL, the team may struggle to move the ball. We saw how they performed against the 49ers and Browns. Once again, an above-average Broncos defense is what will keep them in the game, until Big Ben, bum ankle and all delivers in the clutch one more time. Steelers win this one, but it will be closer than people think. Prediction: Steelers 17, Broncos 9.
Falcons at Giants- Can Matt Ryan finally prove himself in a playoff game? The guy has gotten the Falcons to the playoffs twice, but has yet to get past the divisional round. This may be his toughest test yet, a finally healthy Giants defensive line, featuring soon-to-be superstar, Jason Pierre-Paul should be able to get tons of pressure on the Falcons QB. Atlanta is a team built for playing in domes, which isn't good news for Falcons fans considering the forecast for Sunday is calling for rain and snow showers. The Giants, a team that is eerily similar to the 2007 version that won the Super Bowl comes in with a record of 3-1 in their past 4 games and a quarterback enjoying a career year. Ryan has the ability to match Manning, but he will come up short as the Giants defense that has 11 sacks in the past 2 games forces a couple untimely turnovers. Manning won't play his best game, but he'll do just enough to get the win and advance to the divisional round. Prediction: Giants 27, Falcons 17.
Lions at Saints- This game is the saving grace of wildcard weekend for those fans out there who love a good, old-fashioned shootout. With Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford running the offenses, the game will feature plenty of points. Brees is playing some of the best football of his career right now so the Lions must avoid key mistakes, such as turnovers and stupid penalties(See: Suh, Ndamukong) in order to have a chance to win this game. In the Week 13 meeting of these 2 teams, the Lions committed 11 penalties for 107 yards. Let's just say that cannot happen again if the Lions plan to extend their season past Saturday night. However, the Saints offense will prove to be too much for a Lions defense that just got finished getting torn apart by Matt Flynn who threw for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns last week. This one will stay close for a while before Stafford throws a game-changing interception and the Saints start to pull away. Prediction: Saints 38, Lions 21.
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