Bengals (9-7) at Texans (10-6)
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.
The skinny: Youth is the story because this is the first time in the Super Bowl era that two rookie quarterbacks will start a playoff game against each other. The Bengals’ Andy Dalton threw for 3,398 yards this season, and, with receiver A.J. Green, the two became the first rookie teammates to put up a 3,000-yard passing season and a 1,000-yard receiving season.
The Texans were forced to put rookie T.J. Yates into the lineup because of injuries to their top two QBs. Yates started five games down the stretch and is the first rookie quarterback to start a playoff game who was selected in the fifth round or later since the AFL and NFL combined the draft.
The difference will be: If the Bengals can keep a lid on the Texans’ run game. Cincinnati finished 10th in the league in run defense this season — 104.7 yards allowed per game — and will have to find a way to penetrate up the field against the Texans’ zone-run scheme.
The Texans finished as the NFL’s No. 2 rushing team behind the Broncos and were third in the league with 18 rushing touchdowns, so they know how to close the deal. The Texans also will keep pounding if the scoreboard allows, having tied with the Broncos — at 34.1 per game — for tops in the league in rushing attempts.
The call: Texans 23-16
Lions (10-6) at Saints (13-3)
Kickoff: 6 p.m.
The skinny: This game marks the first time two quarterbacks who finished with at least 5,000 yards passing in a season have met in a playoff game that same season.
The combined 10,514 yards passing by Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford also represent the most ever for QBs in the same playoff game. This game’s tempo will reflect that from the start, since both figure to throw early and often.
The difference will be:If, while trying to deal with the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 1999, the Lions’ front four manages to unsettle Brees. Brees shattered a pile of single-season passing records this season, including an astounding 71.2 completion percentage.
In a perfect world, the Lions prefer to rush four, but Brees is quick with the ball, so Detroit defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham will have to decide how many extra rushers he wants to bring.
Brees is one of the best, if not the best, play-action quarterbacks in the league. New Orleans loves to get a defense thinking run, then pass the ball down the field.
The call: Saints 30-20
Jeff Legwold, The Denver Post
