Last week, the Ravens played with all four of their defensive stars for the first time this season and they, more than possibly any team in the playoffs, are built to win on the road. Even so, Peyton Manning (pictured) and the Broncos are going to get their points, so the key will be for Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ offense to produce at least three touchdowns against the Broncos defense. To do that, they’ll need to find a way to get running backs Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce going and need another receiver to step up in the way Anquan Boldin did last week. If Manning can stay clean in the pocket, there is no way the Ravens’ corners match up with Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas on the outside, so look for a variety of blitz packages and pressure schemes to knock Manning off his spot. I’ve long ago learned never to rule out Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, but this is probably the end of the line for Lewis’ prestigious career. Pick: Broncos
 

When these two teams met early in the season, Green Bay’s offense was stifled by the San Francisco defense — but back then Justin Smith (pictured, No. 94) was healthy and completely disrupted the Packers running game. This time around, Smith will be walking wounded and Aaron Rodgers is playing his best football. I think Green Bay will get its points — the pressure in this game will be for Colin Kaepernick to keep the Niners offense moving and generate the kind of offensive production he did in his starting debut when he eviscerated a good Bears defense in a 32-7 drubbing. Whichever teams loses, they will have lots of explaining to do. If it’s the Packers, Mike McCarthy will have to answer why the team’s high-octane offense has had two consecutive early exits from the playoffs. If it’s the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh will start hearing questions about his team’s penchant for squandering home-field advantage, not to mention his decision to bench Alex Smith for Kaepernick late in the season. Pick: Packers

After trailing by two touchdowns last week, the Seahawks eventually won the game by 10 points — and it could (and should) have been even more if it weren’t for a Marshawn Lynch fumble near the Redskins’ goal line. The Seahawks go into Atlanta full of confidence in both their rookie quarterback, Russell Wilson, and the capability of their team to go toe-to-toe with anyone. The Falcons are a team with something to prove. Matt Ryan (pictured, right) is still looking for his first postseason win and the team as a whole needs to convert its consistent regular-season success under Mike Smith (pictured, left) into postseason victories. The Falcons will throw a lot of different looks at Wilson and the crowd noise in the Georgia Dome should minimize his ability to make the appropriate checks at the line of scrimmage. The big-play tandem of Julio Jones and Roddy White may be quiet against the stellar Seahawks secondary, but don’t forget about the future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzlaez. His ability to take advantage of a young linebacker corps may be the difference. Pick: Falcons

It will take a sharp, confident, experienced team hitting on all cylinders to knock the Patriots out of the playoffs, and I don’t think the Texans are there at this point. Tom Brady (pictured) is playing some of the best football of his career, the Patriots’ running game has gotten better and better and, barring some uncharacteristic turnovers (remember, the Patriots led the NFL in turnover differential this year), it seems much more likely that New England will take control early, build a decent lead, force Matt Schaub to try to beat them through the air and prevail. The Texans really struggle when trying to come from behind, so if the points stack up against them early, it may get ugly. Pick: Patriots