Three "New" teams - New Orleans, New England and New York - are in playoff games this weekend, but only the Saints and Patriots will win and play Baltimore and Green Bay for the AFC and NFC conference titles respectively on January 22nd.
My evaluations of this weekend's games are based on the fantasy football talent on each playoff team, recent games and other factors like home field advantage and injury reports.
Here's a breakdown of each game.
New Orleans Saints at San Francisco, Saturday @ 4:30 p.m., Fox
Quarterback - Advantage - New Orleans
Drew Brees of New Orleans shredded the Lions secondary with 466 yards passing and three touchdown passes. He finished the fantasy football season as the No. 2 quarterback behind Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and a new record of 5,467 yards passing.
The 49ers' Alex Smith finished in the middle of the fantasy football quarterback pack. Smith has thrown only 17 touchdown passes. (Brees has 49 TD passes.)
Brees showed last week that he is capable of "turning it on" as the Saints' leader on offense, while Smith is required to not "turn it over."
Running Backs - Even
Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory give the Saints depth and diversity, but they must deal with the best defense against the run in the playoffs.
The 49ers rely on Frank Gore, who has been a major contributor at running back in fantasy football.
San Francisco's defense neutralizes the Saints' running attack, but the 49ers will pull even at best in the running game.
Wide Receivers - Advantage - San Francisco
It is the apparent weakness of the 49ers. Only Michael Crabtree has been a consistent receiver this season..
Saint wide receivers Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson had a field day with the Lions' secondary last Saturday. Look for Brees to distribute the ball evenly against the 49ers.
Tight Ends - Advantage - New Orleans
This game features two great tight ends.
Jimmy Graham of New Orleans led all NFC tight ends in fantasy football scoring with 187 points. He had 99 catches 1,310 receiving yards during the regular season.
The 49ers' Vernon Davis is always near the top of the fantasy football draft list for tight ends. He enters the playoffs with 67 catches for 792 yards and six touchdowns.
Defense & Special Teams - Advantage -San Francisco
Defense is what got the 49ers into the playoffs. It is ranked No. 1 in fantasy football.
The Saints' defense is in the bottom half of the league, but they managed to stifle the Lions just enough last weekend to secure a 45-28 victory at home.
Kickers - San Francisco
The No. 1 and 2 kickers in fantasy football are featured in this game.
San Francisco's David Akers finished first by kicking 16 field goals in the last five games of the season. The Saints' John Kasay kicked 28 field goals and 63 extra points to finish second.
Difference Maker - The Saints' Drew Brees calmly led his team from a 14-10 halftime deficit to a 45-28 win. Brees has playoff experience and enough offensive weapons to win this critical NFC playoff road game
Score - New Orleans 24, San Francisco 17.
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Denver Broncosat New England Patriots, Saturday @ 8 p.m., CBS
Quarterback - Advantage - New England
When these two teams met in Week #15 in Denver, Tim Tebow and Tom Brady finished the game with the same number of fantasy football points - 26. It is the only similarity shared by the two quarterbacks.
The Patriots won the game, because Brady took them from a 9-point deficit to an 11-point lead at halftime. New England built on that lead and finished with a 41-23 win.
Tim Tebow rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns against the Patriots in that loss. Now it's the playoffs and New England's defense is prepared to curb his running tendencies.
Running Backs - Even
Denver's Willis McGahee just edges out the Patriots' BenJarvus Green-Ellis in fantasy football points. McGahee has more yards (1,199), while Green-Ellis has rushed for 11 touchdowns.
Since Tebow is part of the Bronco's running attack, he matches up evenly with the Patroits' Danny Woodhead.
Wide Receivers - Advantage - New England
Wes Welker will play, though he is listed as "questionable." Quarterback Tom Brady can spread the ball around to Welker, Deion Branch and Chad Ochocinco.
The best receiver for Denver is Eric Decker and he will miss the game due to an injury. The Broncos do have a deep threat in Demaryius Thomas, who caught the game winner in overtime against Pittsburgh.
Tight Ends - Advantage - New England
As good as Jimmy Graham was for the New Orleans Saints, the best tight end in football is New England's Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski caught 17 touchdown passes and finished with 233 fantasy football points.
Denver tight end Daniel Fells scored 36 fantasy points, as he is used primarily a blocking tight end.
Defense & Special Teams - Advantage - New England
The two defenses are in the middle of the pack with the Patriots having a slight edge over the Broncos.
New England has gotten more out of their special teams this season.
Kickers - Advantage - New England
Stephen Gostkowski finished one point out of second place and finished tied at No. 3 with Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski in fantasy football scoring among kickers.
Denver's Matt Prater made some big kicks in critical games and fimished with 90 fantasy points.
Difference Maker - New England is a lot healthier than Pittsburgh was when the Steelers lost to Denver in overtime in last week's Wild Card game. Look for Tom Brady to have a great game at home..
Score - New England 31, Denver 17.
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Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens, Saturday @ 1 p.m., CBS
Quarterback - Advantage - Baltimore
Neither of the starting quarterbacks is going to break any passing records in this game. They are required to avoid turnovers and rely on their running games.
Baltimore's Joe Flacco has the edge over Houston's T.J. Yates, because the Ravens QB has playoff experience.
Running Backs - Even
The strength of both offenses is their running game with each team featuring a premier running back.
Houston running back Arian Foster, as predicted, was the difference maker in the 31-10 win over Cincinnati last weekend. He rushed 24 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
Ray Rice of Baltimore was the No. 1 running back in fantasy football this season with 283 points. He ran for 12 touchdowns and caught three TD passes. He had over 2,000 yards in total offense.
Wide Receivers - Advantage - Baltimore
Neither team hasawidereceiver who scored more than 125 fantasy football points, but the Raens wide receivers were slightly more productive.
Baltimore's Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin combined for 224 fantasy points during the regular season. Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter shared the Texans' workload, and combined for 122 points, but they also have a healthy Andre Johnson back in the mix.
Tight Ends - Advantage - Houston
Houston throws more frequently and more successfully to their tight ends. Starter Owen Daniels and reserves Joel Dressen, James Casey and Garrett Graham combined for 91 catches, 1,341 yards and 10 touchdowns. Daniels has become one of quarterback T. J. Yates' favorite targets.
Baltimore's Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta combined for 126 fantasy football points. Together they had eight touchdowns and 933 yards receiving.
Defense & Special Teams - Advantage - Baltimore
Baltimore's defense is ranked No. 3 and Houston's is No. 5 according to fantasy football rankings. NFL.com says thar Houston was the No. 2 team in total defense and have the No. 3 pass defense in the league. The Ravens were No. 3 in total defense and No. 2 in rushing defense.
The biggest differential is Baltimore's special teams are rated No. 4 and the Texans are No. 15.
Kickers - Advantage - Baltimore
When the two teams met earlier this year, the differential was the five field goals kicked by the Ravens' Billy Cundiff.
Difference Maker - Fantasy football's best running back is Ray Rice and he ran for over 100 yards against the Texans in their regular season showdown. Rice outduels Arian Foster to be the difference maker.
Score - Baltimore 23, Houston 17.
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New York Giants at Green Bay Packers, Sunday @ 4:30 p.m., Fox
Quarterback - Advantage - Green Bay
Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers edged out Drew Brees as the leading scorer in fantasy football this season. He threw 45 touchdown passes and only six interceptions and he sat out of the last game of the season.
Eli Manning of the Giants has outdueled Tony Romo and Matt Ryan in the last two games and was 67 passing yards short of 5,000 this season.
Rodgers gets this edge, because he is playing a home game and he excels in front of diehard Packers fans.
Running Backs - Even
Green Bay's trio of running backs finished just three points behind Atlanta running back Michael Turner by four points this season. Ryan Grant (86 points), James Starks (71) and John Kuhn combined for 1,215 yards and seven touchdowns.
Giant running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for 1,230 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.
Wide Receivers - Advantage - Green Bay
The Packers not only can match the Giamts' trio of great receivers, but trump them with two more pass catchers.
The Packers trio of Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings and James Jones combined for 173 catches, 2,847 yards receiving and 31 touchdowns in the regular season. Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham of the Giants combined for 197 pass catche, 3,251 yards receivingand 20 TD catches.
Green Bay's No. 4 and 5 receivers - Donald Driver and Randall Cobb - combined for 62 catches, 820 yards receivng and seven touchdowns.
Tight Ends - Advantage - Green Bay
Jermichael Finley is a vital part of the Green Bay aerial attack. He caught 55 passes for 767 yards and eight touchdowns. He has 133 fantasy points for the season.
Jake Ballard is the Giants' tight end. He had 38 catches for 604 yards. He scored 78fantasy points.
Defense & Special Teams - Even
You look at the fantasy football numbers and the Packers have a slight edge, but the Giants defense has played well in the last two weeks.
Kickers - Atlanta
Mason Crosby has more opportunities to kick the football for Green Bay and finished the season with 143 fantasy points. New York's Lawrence Tynes managed 100 points.
Difference Maker - If Green Bay's offensive line gives Aaron Rodgers enough time, the Giants won't be able to keep up with the Packers' scoring express.
Score - Green Bay 31, New York Giants 24.
So I expect the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers to play for the NFC title and the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots to square off for the AFC crown.
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