Wildcard Weekend in the NFL

Another NFL season has flew by. 2011 should be remembered as one of the most prolific passing seasons in the history of the league. Drew Brees shattered Dan Marino's passing yard record and set a new standard at 5,476. Not only that, the Saints broke the 'Greatest Show on Turf' Rams record for most yards on offense with 7,474. We could be here all night with the records the Saints broke, honestly. Rob Gronkowski broke the touchdown record for tight ends, while Jimmy Graham and he fought till the end on the new tight end yardage record in one season. The Eagles' Lesean McCoy broke the team record for rushing touchdowns and overall touchdowns in a season. Both number one seeds (Packers & Patriots) have high powered offenses, with lacking defenses. 2011 proved the best defense is a dominant offense.

Bengals @ Texans
The Texans enjoyed Peyton Manning's neck injury more than any other team. As cynical as that sounds, Houston was the number one seed in the AFC for a while, before suffering injuries to Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub. After Schaub went down, the Texans played totally different offensively and Matt Leinart along with TJ Yates got hurt. The defense is very talented but injuries will kill a team. That said, the Bengals are a young team. Kudos to Marvin Lewis getting them in the playoffs once again. First playoff game ever for the Houston Texans, I think there's just too many injuries to over come. Bengals 23-17

Lions @ Saints
Since the Eagles are (disappointingly) out of the tournament this year, I have adopted the Lions as the team I will root for. After initially doubting Matthew Stafford, I started loving him after the NFL Films WIRED piece I saw with him during the game he broke his collarbone his rookie year. The guy is tough as nails and if you hadn't seen it, check it out. That said, the Saints are an offensive machine. Getting in a shootout is something they do best and I don't see the Lions stopping Brees and company. Saints 41-31

Falcons @ Giants
I've read on Twitter that this Giants team is set to make a run like the 2008 Eagles (one of my followers, don't recall who) but I just don't see it. They are a flawed 9-7 team that won the weak NFC East division. Yes, that have rolled on some opponents this year, but they have also lost games they should have won, like Giants teams seem to do every season. Eli can lead them down the field only so many times. The Falcons have quietly had a very good season. I think they have at least met expectations, especially after being in the same division as the Saints. This game could come down to the last possession of the game, and it will depend on which Eli shows up. My guess is the bad one. Falcons 31-27

Steelers @ Broncos
I enjoyed seeing Tebow be so successful during the middle of the season this year. No, I am not one of those Tebow-heads that will root for him no matter what. I always thought he was overrated in Florida, but his success in the NFL made me smile. Something about the coach and GM not having faith in him even though he lead them into the possibility to make the playoffs. I think the magic has run out for the Broncos though. Earlier this month, I thought the Steelers were primed for another Super Bowl run, but getting the 5 seed along with some injuries (Big Ben, Mendenhall) hurt those chances. That said, their defense is experienced enough to solve the Tebow puzzle. This could be ugly to watch. Steelers win 20-10

So there are my predictions for Wildcard Weekend in the NFL. Three of the four road teams will win and all should be very good games.