10. Dallas Cowboys- Although the Eagles and the Giants have not been mathematically eliminated from the postseason, the ‘Boys appear to be in firm control of the NFC East. They are in the driver’s seat, but they have been less than impressive – particularly on the defensive end. Rob Ryan’s unit has remained in the spotlight for blown coverages and mental lapses..not a good sign for Dallas’ 2011 playoff outlook.

9. Detroit Lions- Once again, Detroit proved its worth in late-game situations. The Lions have shown resilience all season, but perhaps a bit too much for their own good. Hidden in the fact that they’ve outscored their opponents by 105 in the second half is the reality that they’ve scored 45 fewer first-half points than their foes. Their comebacks have been epic, but a quick playoff stay may be looming should they allow themselves to assume a healthy deficit in the Wild Card round.

8. Atlanta Falcons- The Falcons are playing as good as they have all season, going into a monumental matchup with division foe New Orleans. Atlanta has exhibited good balance – with Michael Turner and Roddy White rushing and receiving for over 1100 yards, respectively. The key to Atlanta’s success will be protecting Matt Ryan. When he is able to execute the Falcons’ play action passing game plan with confidence, Atlanta’s offense hits another level of effectiveness. Look for the Falcons to pound the New Orleans defense early with a heavy dose of Turner.

Will Yates be able to lead the Texans to a playoff win?

7. Houston Texans- After losing to Baltimore in Week 6, it appeared that the Texans had a realistic shot at ending the season on a 10-game winning streak. That is, until they got unexpectedly handled by the Panthers this past week. Houston should be able to recover to post a 12-win season, which translates to about 2-3 games better than analysts projected. And although it seems that they finally put it all together, it remains unfortunate that Matt Schaub is still out of the mix. But getting to the postseason means that the franchise can shift its focus to the next step – getting mentally tough players who can foster some level of playoff success.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers- Amid the Niners dominating performance in Monday Night Football, a chink in the Pittsburgh armor was revealed. If a defense is fast and strong enough to stuff Rashad Mendenhall and the Steelers running game, it can force Roethlisberger into believing that he is a better playmaker than he is. There’s no doubt that Big Ben has the enviable knack for stretching out plays to hit home runs. However, the problem lies with his perception that his skill level exceeds that of what it really is, culminating in turnovers that become the decisive factors in important games against opportunistic teams.

5. Baltimore Ravens- I’ve reamed the Ravens for most of the season for their inexplicable lapses in concentration, so…their last beatdown by San Diego was far from unusual. But barring another of those lapses over the closing two weeks, Baltimore should finish with 12 victories for the second straight campaign. This will mark the Ravens’ fifth playoff appearance in the past six seasons, and their looking to finally make some real noise in the postseason since 2000. However, their inconsistency is the most compelling piece of evidence that suggests the more things change, the more they’ll stay the same with this bunch.

4. San Francisco Niners- Jim Harbuagh’s team couldn’t have come up with a more signature win in an impressive season. Sure, the Niners beat up on their own conference, as well as going 3-1 against the NFC East, but their chance to upend a top-caliber team slipped by them in Week 12 as Ravens posted a 16-6 victory over them in Baltimore. Dominating the Steelers provides San Fran with the justification that they can’t receive from embarrassing the drab teams in the NFC West.

Brees has the Saints in familiar territory - headed into the postseason playing some impressive football.

3. New England Patriots- Well, the Tebow showcase came to a grinding halt at Sports Authority Field on Sunday, but it wasn’t because of what Tebow did. It was because of what he couldn’t do. He couldn’t stop the Patriots offense from going ballistic in the second quarter, disposing of Denver’s hard-earned 16-7 advantage. New England has scored 30 plus points in their last six contest, which, by the way, all happen to be wins. They are playing like a well-oiled machine, and even Ochocinco showed up and caught a meaningful pass against the Broncos.

2. New Orleans Saints- Speaking of well-oiled machines, the Saints are clearly feeling good about themselves right now. And if they’re not, well, they should be. They’re second in the league in scoring (32.6 ppg; I’m sure you can guess who’s first) and they’re first in offensive yards per game (457 ypg). New Orleans has won six in a row, and square off against the Falcons in a game that means more to their opponents than it does to them. Unfortunately for Atlanta, this game will be played in the Superdome, where the Saints are 6-0 this season…and just happen to be outscoring their foes by an average of 22 points. Let’s hope the Falcon defenders are well-rested coming into this game.

1. Green Bay Packers- Finally, Green Bay was a regular team for one week. It was bound to happen. But against a team as offensively challenged as the Chiefs? Granted, Kansas City had just picked up Kyle Orton (a significant upgrade over Tyler Palko), but most would have predicted that the Packers would score 14, and maybe even 21, in the opening quarter of Sunday’s game. Regardless, the Pack’s body of work over the first 14 weeks of the season were more than enough to hold them through one loss. But what if Green Bay falters against Chicago and/or in Detroit, while the Saints smash the Falcons or the Pats win out? Who knows. It would clearly be a travesty for Green Bay to lose its incredible momentum in the home stretch of the year. After all, it was momentum that carried a 10-6 Wild Card team to an unanticipated NFL Championship last year.

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