HOUSTON – The NFL playoff picture is
complete and the Houston Texans will host the first playoff game in their ten
year history at home in Reliant Stadium on Saturday January 7 as part of
Wildcard Weekend.

The AFC South Champion Texans will
take on the wildcard Cincinnati Bengals.
The Texans host the Andy Dalton led Bengals on Saturday at 3:30 pm
(Central) on NBC television. The Texans
met the Bengals in regular season play during week 14 and won the game with a
last minute comeback drive 20 – 19.

T.J. Yates helmed the Texans victory
and will most likely start against the Bengals on Saturday. Yates threw for 300 yards in that game, which
was the last victory for the Texans in regular season play.

The Bengals will be led by Katy, Texas native and TCU standout, Andy
Dalton. The second-round pick by the
Bengals has had an amazing season for a rookie play caller amassing 3,398
passing yards with 20 touchdowns vs. 13 interceptions.

The Bengals defense is ranked 24^th overall, but is fifth against
the run.

“I’ve been so impressed with Dalton.
He hasn’t played like a rookie. He’s coming home to play in a big game,
and you know he wants to play his best,” Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said.

The other Saturday matchup will
feature the Detroit Lions at the New Orleans Saints at 7:00 pm on NBC.

The Saints and Lions squared off in
week 13 of the regular season, and the Saints walked away with a 31-17
victory. The Lions will face a New
Orleans team that is on fire that heads into the playoffs with an eight-game
winning streak.

The Saints now own several new
single-season records including offensive yards with 7,474, team yards passing
at 5,348 and first downs with 416. Saints
QB Drew Brees finished the regular season with 468 completions on the
year, shattering Peyton Manning’s 2010 record of 450. Brees also finished the year with an NFL
record 71.6 completion percentage as a passer.

On Sunday the Atlanta Falcons will
take on the New York Giants who made the playoffs with a lopsided victory over
the Dallas Cowboys last night at home in New York. That game will air at noon on Fox.

The Steelers will go to the Mile High
city to face Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos who won the AFC West on Sunday
despite a loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. That game will be aired on CBS at 3:30 pm
Central.

The AFC stacks up with the New
England Patriots holding the top spot and home field advantage throughout the
playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens are the
number two seed in the AFC, with the Texans and Broncos rounding out the AFC.

In the NFC, the Green Bay Packers
hold the top spot followed at number two by the San Francisco 49ers; the Saints
are the number 3 seed and the Giants the number 4 seed.

Wildcards in the AFC include the
Steelers and Bengals, while the NFC wildcard teams are the Falcons and the
Lions.

The winners from the January 7
schedule will move on to the Divisional Playoffs on January 14 and the victors
from those games will advance to the AFC and NFC Championship games
respectively.

The Super Bowl will be held in
Indianapolis, Indiana on February 5, 2012.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading …

About Ethan Edwards

Ethan Edwards is the Senior Writer for
TheCypressTimes.com.

Edwards’ work focuses on topics ranging from
Christian opinion, national news, world news,
Christian Persecution and politics.

• Mail

|

• Web

|

• More Posts (178)