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Our NFL expert Geoff Lowe weighs in with his predictions on the NFL’s first weekend of playoff games:

From shattered passing records to the infamous “Suck for Luck” campaign, the 2011 NFL season had plenty of story lines.

Formerly great teams such as the Colts and the Eagles plummeted to the bottom of the standings, while the league’s basement dwellers, the 49ers and the Lions, catapulted into the playoffs for the first time in years.

But none of that matters anymore. The real season kicks off this Saturday.

Here are my predictions for this weekend’s wild-card playoff matchups.

Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans

The Texans play the franchise’s first-ever playoff game this Saturday and it’s going to be tough. They’re coming in on a three-game losing streak during which their passing game has struggled tremendously.

The result will hinge on how well the Texans throw the ball. In their last three games, Houston has averaged only 200 yards through the air and have scored only one passing touchdown.

During this streak they’ve scored an average of 17 points a game.

Cincinnati’s 7th ranked defense won’t make it any easier.

The return of receiver Andre Johnson might make a slight difference, it won’t change the outcome.

Cincinnati – 20
Houston – 13

Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints

This is the Lions’ first playoff game since 1999 and there’s no doubt it’s going to be a high-scoring affair. The Saints and Lions are both in the top 4 in passing yards and each has a 5,000 yard passing quarterback.

Both defenses rank in the bottom 10 against the pass, giving up more than 360 yards a game.

The difference will be the running game. The Lions have been decimated at running back this season and it shows in the stats. They rank 29th in rushing, averaging just over 95 yards a game.

The Saints, on the other hand, have 3 quality backs at their disposal. They average nearly 133 yards per game on the ground – 6th in the league.

The Lions won’t have a chance at keeping up with the league’s top offense because they simply cannot contain the Saints’ run game.

Detroit – 31
New Orleans – 45

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants

Eli Manning has carried the Giants on his back all season and he deserves to be in the MVP discussion because the Giants are in the playoffs at all (I’m not saying he has ANY chance of winning).

But it will be the Giants’ defense–more specifically their pass rush–that will decide this game. The Giants rank 3rd in the league with 48 sacks, 11 of those coming in their last two wins over the Jets and Cowboys.

The Falcons’ offensive line may be their weakness. When they play poorly, the team loses: 42 per cent of the sacks against have come in 4 of their 6 losses.

Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora will overwhelm Ryan. Manning will win it for the Giants with his sixteenth 4th quarter touchdown pass of the season.

It’s starting to feel a bit like 2007. Watch out for the Giants.

Atlanta – 21
New York – 24

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Tim will have to do a lot more “Tebowing” if he has any chance of getting past the Steelers.

Pittsburgh ranks 1st in total defense, 1st against the pass, and 8th against the run. If they’re able to slow Denver’s vaunted run game in the slightest way, the Broncos will be yesterday’s news.

Like Houston, Denver backed into the playoffs, losing their last 3 games. Over this span they averaged just 10 points a game.

Denver’s defense, which kept the Broncos in the game through most of their 7 wins, has given up an average of 30 points a game during the losing streak.

The fact that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is playing injured and Pittsburgh is slim at running back may effect the outcome of this game, but the Steelers have shown that they can win in these situations.

Pittsburgh – 24
Denver – 10

-Post written by Geoff Lowe, journalism student at the University of King’s College, Halifax (@lowry1721)