Here’s the slate of games and early looks at the matchups for the divisional round of the playoffs. And then there were eight…
NFC
New Orleans at San Francisco, Saturday at 4:30 ET, FOX
The New Orleans Saints, fresh off their dominant 45-28 victory over the Detroit Lions, head west to take on the San Francisco 49ers and the top defense in the NFC. The Saints eschewed the punting game and went on fourth down 3 times during the game, even in their own territory, as they committed to outscore their opponent at any cost.
The Saints offense against the 49ers defense will be one of the most interesting match ups to watch this weekend. The 49ers have the best defense against the run, and the second best defense in the league in points allowed, led by Patrick Willis, Justin Smith and rookie Aldon Smith. The Saints offense has scored the second most points in the league, and have the league’s best passing attack. Of course, shutting down the run and forcing Drew Brees to throw the ball isn’t going to get it done, as Brees threw for a record 5,476 yards this season.
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers, Sunday at 4:30 ET, FOX
The Giants take their dominant defensive victory over the Atlanta Falcons and head to Green Bay to take on Aaron Rodgers and the 15-1 Packers. The Giants closed the season with impressive victories over the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys, and today’s playoff victory brings back memories of the dangerous Giants Super Bowl team of 2007.
The Packers have the top scoring offense in the league, and with the Packers reminding people of the 2007 New England Patriots, this game looks like the matchup of the weekend.
AFC
Houston Texans at the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday at 1:00 ET, CBS
The Ravens were 12-4 in the regular season, and won all the tough games they faced this season, including every playoff team they faced – they beat the Texans in Week 6 29-14, and they beat the Steelers twice, the Bengals twice and the 49ers. However, they had mental lapses, as they lost four games to non-playoff teams. When the Ravens bring their A-game, they can beat anyone in the league.
The Texans are coming off the first playoff victory in franchise history, and they bring the second ranked rushing attack and one of the best defenses in the league to Baltimore. With both teams defenses ranked in the top four in both yards and points allowed, this figures to be the lowest scoring game of the weekend, and a real old school defensive effort.
Denver Broncos at the New England Patriots, Saturday at 8:00 ET, CBS
Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, fresh off the 2011 version of the Miracle at Mile High overtime win over the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers, travel to Foxboro to take on the number one seed New England Patriots. These teams met three short weeks ago, in a game which was dominated by the Patriots in a 41-23 victory.
But it is the playoffs, and anything can happen as was obvious this week. The Patriots number 2 passing offense led by Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski face a tough Broncos defense led by rookie Von Miller. The Patriots figure to get their points, as Brady is as good as anyone in the league. The more interesting part of the matchup will be Tebow against the at-times-porous Patriots defense. The Patriots were 31st in the league against the pass, and Tebow is going to have to figure out how to score points consistently to hang with the Patriots. But this week was perhaps his best performance of the year, so anything can happen. Brady-Tebow, round two – must see TV.
