Breaking Down the NFL Postseason

NFL Playoff Matchups

By Jordan Raanan, XFINITY Sports

The playoff field is set. And it doesn't look anything like what anyone predicted at the beginning of the season. The Colts, Vikings and Redskins all reached the postseason... and that's just the beginning. (AP Photos)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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Breaking Down th... By Jordan Raanan, XFINITY Sports

The playoff field is set. And it doesn't look anything like what anyone predicted at the beginning of the season. The Colts, Vikings and Redskins all reached the postseason... and that's just the beginning. (AP Photos)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
AFC Wild Card: B... The Skinny: Houston is headed in the wrong direction. The Texans had the top seed in the AFC in their grasp but dropped two straight (vs. Minnesota, at Indianapolis) to end the regular season. The Bengals are winners of three straight and playing their best football of the season.

Little Nugget: Houston has never won a playoff game and Cincinnati's last playoff win came in 1990. Something's gotta give. (AP Photo)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
AFC Wild Card: C... The Skinny: The AFC North champion Ravens limp into the postseason having dropped four of five. They are not the same team they were earlier in the season before a bevy of injuries slowed them. Indianapolis is one of the biggest surprises of the 2012 season, with No. 1 pick Andrew Luck running the show. They also have the inspiration of Chuck Pagano—a former Ravens assistant—back as coach after a battle with cancer.

Little Nugget: There's some bad blood between the two cities since the Colts left Baltimore in the middle of the night in 1984. (AP Photos)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
AFC No. 1 Seed: ... The Skinny: Denver is on fire heading into the postseason, having won an NFL-best 11 straight games. It will face the Bengals, Colts or Ravens in the divisional playoff round at Mile High.

Little Nugget: The Broncos have won all 11 games during the streak by at least seven points. (AP Photo)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
AFC No. 2 Seed: ... The Skinny: The Patriots easily won the AFC East and earned a first-round bye, even with one of the league's worst defenses.

Little Nugget: The Patriots were by far the best offensive team in the NFL this year. They finished first in total yards by a wide margin and averaged 35.3 points per game—almost six points more than their nearest competitor. (AP Photo)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
NFC Wild Card: V... The Skinny: The Vikings won their final two games (at Houston, vs. Green Bay) to reach the postseason. Wow! Now they meet the Packers for the second straight week, only this time in Green Bay. The Pack missed an opportunity for a first-round bye with the Week 17 loss in Minnesota.

Little Nugget: Adrian Peterson had 409 yards rushing in two games against the Packers this season. (AP Photos)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
NFC Wild Card: S... The Skinny: Washington and rookie phenom RG3 completed a sensational turnaround, won its final seven games and captured the NFC East. Seattle is awfully similar. It also has a rookie phenom at quarterback, Russel Wilson, and won its final five games to finish 11-5 and claim a wild-card spot.

Little Nugget: The Redskins host their first playoff game since the 1999 season. (AP Photos)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
NFC No. 1 Seed: ... The Skinny: The Falcons (13-3) were the best team in the NFC from start to finish. It doesn't matter. Atlanta and quarterback Matt Ryan's success this season is based solely on their ability to win a playoff game.

Little Nugget: Atlanta had two of the NFL's top 11 wide receivers (Julio Jones and Roddy White) in terms of receiving yards. The duo combined for 2,549 yards in 2012. (AP Photos)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
NFC's No. 2 Seed... The Skinny: With Super Bowl aspirations, San Francisco switched to young quarterback Colin Kaepernick and earned a bye. Now the question is can they win a Super Bowl with a first-year starter?

Little Nugget: The 49ers had the NFL's third-ranked defense in 2012 after finishing fourth in 2011. (AP Photos)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.