Saturday
4:30PM ET (NBC) Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) at Houston Texans (10-6)
This could turn out to be a very interesting game between two teams with questions at quarterback. Not that Bengals starter Andy Dalton is bad, he is quite good and is going to get better but this is his rookie season while the Texans are down to their third string QB in T.J. Yates.
This is a game that could very well be won on the ground and with Arian Foster in the backfield for the Texans you’ve got to like their chances.
Texans win 23-17
8PM ET (NBC) Detroit Lions (10-6) at New Orleans Saints (13-3)
At first glance this is a game in which many people would write off the Lions and hand the Saints the two possession victory. However when you look back at the regular season matchup between these two teams the Lions had 466 total yards while the Saints had 438. Detroit’s downfall came in penalty yardage where they garnered 107 total yards to New Orleans’ 30.
In recent weeks the Lions have looked much more disciplined and Matthew Stafford is playing like a #1 overall pick.
However we are still talking about Drew Brees and a seasoned Saints team.
Saints win 40-31
Sunday
1PM ET (FOX) Atlanta Falcons (10-6) at New York Giants (9-7)
There may not have been a worse division in all of football than the NFC East this past season. The Eagles were more of a nightmare team than a dream team, the Dallas Cowboys had their annual end of the season choke and the Giants were maybe the most inconsistent team in the NFL.
Yes New York is at home however when you add certain factors together like the Falcons being able to attack you from the air (Julio Jones, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez) as well as get it done on the ground (Michael Turner) I just don’t see how Atlanta loses this game.
Falcons win 28-21
4:30PM ET (CBS) Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) at Denver Broncos (8-8)
Ben Roethlisberger playing hurt, Ryan Clark out because of sickle-cell disease, Rashard Mendenhall out due to injury and the Broncos playing at home may have many thinking that this game could be close.
But, I’ll take a Dick LeBeau run defense against Tim Tebow any day of the week, especially in the playoffs.
Steelers win 24-10
Ref: NFL.com, SI.com, Getty (image)
