A Wild, Wild Card Weekend (continued)

     Today is the kickoff to the NFL Playoff's Wildcard Weekend. Yesterday I broke down too of the more interesting match ups, but today I have the other two for you. So here we go! 

     Saturday afternoon will feature the battle between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans. This is Houston's first ever playoff berth and they hope to win with QB T.J. Yates who is the key player. Yates was thrust into the starting job after a series of injuries to Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart. Overall, he has been effective for a third string going 2-3 over his tenure at the helm and has thrown for 949 yards with 3 TDs. The X factor is Yates' wide out Andre Johnson. Johnson suffered an injury that sidelined him for plenty of time in the second half of the season. If he is back and healthy, the Bengals better watch out because he will shred them for plenty of yards. Speaking of the Bengals, their key player is running back Cedric Benson. He will need to be effective on the ground and take the pressure off of rookie QB Andy Dalton. The X factor will be the Bengal offensive line. This Texans defense is one of the better defenses in the league and will be able to pressure Dalton with ease. If the Bengals can stop them in their tracks and give Dalton some time, they will allow him shine as he finds A.J. Green for big gains. I see the Texans defense being too good though as they win 24-10. 

     Sunday afternoon features the Atlanta Falcons traveling to East Rutherford to take on the New York Giants.The Giants key player is QB Eli Manning. He has been known to be hot and cold over the length of his career. If he plays like he did at the beginning of the seasson, the Giants will be in business. The Giant's X Factor is WR Victor Cruz. As of late he has been on fire and making big plays. He could really do some damage against the Falcon's weak pass defense. The Falcons key player has to be TE Tony Gonzales. His ability to get open and be a defensive mismatch will be an asset to the Falcons and a menace to the Giants. The X Factor for the Falcons has to be their defensive secondary. At times they have looked weak and Eli Manning has been heating up. If they can shut down Victor Cruz and the other Giant wide receivers, the Giants become one dimensional and that is never a good thing. I think Eli Manning stays hot and leads the Giants to a 31-25 win. 

Thanks for reading!