The Houston Texans are set to make their NFL Playoffs debut when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Wild Card weekend.
The Texans had their inaugural season in the NFL in 2002 and have been building a franchise capable of challenging with the big names ever since. Houston were one of the first teams to book their place in the post season, as the clinched the AFC South title for the first time with a 10-6 record this term.
Despite injuries to Matt Schaub and Matt Leinhart, with foot and collarbone problems respectively, third choice quarterback T.J. Yates has filled the void superbly in his rookie year.
The Bengals will be no pushovers as they have enjoyed a 9-7 campaign with their offence averaging 320 yards a game.
Houston came out on top in this match-up in the regular season, and with the Bengals looking for their first win in 21 years in the playoffs, they may have to wait a bit longer as the Texans are looking strong (Bengals 13/8, Texans 1/2).
Saturday will also see the Detroit Lions face a massive test as they travel to New Orleans to take on a Saints side who have been blessed with Drew Brees this season (Lions 9/2, Saints 1/7).
The veteran quarterback has been in imperious form this season as he has guided the franchise to a 13-3 season in a record breaking campaign for the Saints star, beating Dan Marino’s record with 5,476 passing yards for a regular season.
Brees will once again be set for a huge encounter and even though the Lions have come a long way this time around, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome the Saints should go marching on.
On Sunday the New York Giants will host the Atlanta Falcons at the MetLife Stadium in what will arguably the closest contest of the weekend (Falcons 13/10, Giants 8/13). This is the first time these two sides have met in the playoffs so it’s hard to tell how this one will play out.
The Giants reached the Super Bowl in 2007 and the current crop of players are producing a similar season, as they are starting to play their best football at this crucial part of the campaign as they did five years ago.
Atlanta have come a long way this term after they were the No.1 seed last year and this side are just a few strong performances away from a long awaited Super Bowl Sunday.
If an upset is going to happen this weekend it may come at the Metlife Stadium, with the Falcons certainly having the potential to take down the Giants.
Sunday will also see the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Denver to take on the Broncos in what would have been a one-sided affair, however star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is struggling with a nasty injury and wide receiver Rashard Mendenhall has been ruled out of action with knee ligament damage (Steelers 1/4, Broncos 3/1).
Denver have struggled in recent weeks and go into this one on the back of a sorry 7-3 defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s hard to see the Broncos causing any problems for the Steelers, even with Roethlisberger struggling and Pittsburgh will once again be in the mix for the title this year.
