NFL Playoff Positional Matchups

Bengals vs. Texans

The Bengals-Texans tilt will be a battle of rookie quarterbacks, with Houston-area native Dalton going up against late-season injury stand-in Yates. Yates had the best game of his young career in a Week 14 win at Cincinnati, throwing for 300 yards and two scores in Houston's dramatic, come-from-behind 20-19 victory. Dalton has struggled a bit in recent weeks and the TCU grad will need to improve upon his late-season form for the Bengals to get a win in his hometown.

Bengals vs. Texans

Foster (23) and Tate (44) spearhead the Texans dominant running game, which ranked second in the league with an average of 153 yards per game. Both Foster (fifth) and Tate (19th) placed in the top 20 in rushing yards, with Foster second in the league in yards per carry among regular backs. Cincinnati's linebacker crew, anchored by leading tackler Thomas Howard (53) and middle man Rey Maualuga (58) -- who missed Cincinnati's 2009 playoff loss with an injury and said this week that he "can't wait" to play the Texans -- helped the Bengals finish 10th in the league against the run. Houston rushed for 144 yards on Cincinnati in Week 14.

Bengals vs. Texans

If Dalton is to have any success on Saturday, his offensive line -- which allowed the fourth fewest sacks in the league this year -- will have to continue blocking well against the Texans' sixth-ranked pass rush. One key matchup will be Houston outside linebacker Connor Barwin (98), who leads the Texans with 11.5 sacks, against Bengals right tackle Andre Smith (71). Barwin had the Texans' lone sack in that Week 14 win at Cincinnati, a game Smith missed due to injury.

Lions vs. Saints

With Mark Ingram going on Injured Reserve earlier this week, Ivory should get the majority of the carries against the Lions on Saturday night. The second-year back has only played in six games this year but did well down the stretch, averaging nearly five yards per carry on 58 attempts in the Saints' final four games. Five yards per carry is what the Lions' front seven allowed this year, 23rd in the league.

Lions vs. Saints

Detroit wideout Calvin Johnson will receive the majority of the Saints secondary's attention this weekend, but if New Orleans isn't careful they could get burned by big tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Pettigrew only had two catches for 13 yards in the Lions' 31-17 Week 13 loss at New Orleans, but he could get open often against strong safety Roman Harper, who traditionally struggles in coverage against tight ends.

Lions vs. Saints

As always, the battle in the trenches will be absolutely critical in this matchup. Detroit's big-name defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh (who was suspended for the teams' previous matchup), Cliff Avril, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Nick Fairley must get through New Orleans' offensive front and put pressure on Saints quarterback Drew Brees for the Lions to have a shot. How Suh and Fairley do against Saints guards Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans will be particularly important, with the New Orleans duo facing a tough task in containing Detroit's explosive tackles.

Falcons vs. Giants

Cruz has emerged as Eli Manning's favorite target this year, leading the Giants with 82 receptions for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns. He's also a huge big-play threat, having scored touchdowns of over 50 yards five times in 2011. Atlanta corner Dunta Robinson, who had two interceptions and nine passes defended in the regular season, will likely be tasked with stopping Cruz on Sunday and will need to limit the second-year wideout from making big plays.

Falcons vs. Giants

The Giants finished the regular season with the league's worst yards per carry average and likely won't run for many yards against the sixth-ranked Falcons rush defense. But running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are always threats in the red zone and Atlanta linebackers Sean Witherspoon, Curtis Lofton and rookie Spencer Adkins -- regular outside linebacker Stephen Nicholas was listed as doubtful on Tuesday night, meaning Adkins will likely make his second career start on Sunday -- will need to keep a close eye on New York's backfield duo.

Falcons vs. Giants

The Giants' sack leader is on a tear, registering six quarterback takedowns, a forced fumble and a safety in New York's last four games. The nimble Pierre-Paul (90) will terrorize Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan all game if Clabo and the rest of the Falcons line -- a group that Giants end Justin Tuck called "dirtbags" this week -- struggles against athletic pass rushers like they did early in the year.

Steelers vs. Broncos

Redman will receive the bulk of the carries on Sunday in Denver with starter Rashard Mendhenhall sidelined for the rest of the year due to a torn ACL. Redman saw extended duty last week in Cleveland, rushing for 92 yards and one touchdown but fumbling twice on 19 carries after Mendenhall went out injured. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's banged-up ankle makes Redman's job that much more important against Denver's front seven, which is ranked 22nd against the run and only forced five fumbles all year.

Steelers vs. Broncos

Much like Redman vs. Broncos' front 7, this matchup is made even bigger by Roethlisberger's bum ankle. Roethlisberger, normally an effective scrambler, likely won't be able to get away from Miller (11.5 regular-season sacks) should the outside linebacker sneak by Max Starks on the quarterback's blindside.

Steelers vs. Broncos

The Broncos' 31st-ranked air attack won't be favored to do much against the Steelers' league-best pass defense, but they did catch a slight break earlier this week when Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin announced that starting free safety Ryan Clark is out for Sunday. Clark, the Steelers' leading tackler, will be held out due to a sickle-cell trait that becomes aggravated when playing at higher elevations. Tebow (15), Decker and Thomas will look to exploit Clark's replacement, Ryan Mundy (29), a fourth-year player who will be making just his third career start.