NFC Wild Card Weekend Preview!
This season, the NFC wild card weekend looks like the who's who of past super bowl champions and former No.1 seeds making this the most competitive wild card weekend in the past 15 years. Kaboom! Magazine goes in-depth into a hectic wild card weekend where we will preview each team and why each team has a shot of making it out of this weekend and into the divisional round.

Detroit Lions (10-6) at New Orleans Saints (13-3)
Game Preview: The Lions enter the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1999, ending the longest playoff drought in the NFL. The Saints had the their 2nd 13 win season in three years, the 1st time they did that they won the super bowl. Detroit came out of nowhere to a 2nd place finish in a brutal NFC North division proving along the way that the 0-16 season a few years ago is far behind them. The Saints come into the wild card round as the hottest team in the NFL as they have not lost a game since Oct. 30th.

Why will Detroit WIN the game: The Lions started the season with a 5-0 record in the first 5 weeks of the season and that was because of two men....Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Calvin Johnson is arguably  the best wide-out in the NFL as he had a total of 16 catching touchdowns during the season, 10 of them came in the first four weeks of the season  (A NFL Record). Double-teamed, triple-teamed....doesn't matter you throw the ball Calvin Johnson way and he coming down with it. Matthew Stafford was finally healthy for the first time since being in the NFL and he used that health to have his best season ever throwing for 41 passing TDs. Stafford and Johnson have made Detroit one of the best passing teams in the NFL and in a game against A offense led by Drew Brees....your gonna have to put the ball in the air and points on the board.

Why will New Orleans WIN the game: There's no place like home, the Saints went 8-0 this season in the Superdome including a 31-17 victory over the Lions in week 13. Averaging over 41 points at home, the Saints can score better and faster than any team in the NFL. Drew Brees has been playing like a person from another planet all season long breaking Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a season. With players like Lance Moore, Marques Colston, Darren Sproles, Devery Henderson, and Jimmy Graham in his arsenal, Drew Brees has enough firepower to get the Saints back to the super bowl.

Why will Detroit LOSE the game: When there's a yin, there's a yang. The Lions have proven to everybody that they got the offense that can score with anybody in the NFL, but they haven't been able to prove that they can stop any NFL team from scoring. On offense, Detroit is ranked 4th in total passing yards and total points, but on defense, Detroit is ranked 23rd in points allowed and 22nd against the pass. The Lions don't mind being in a wild west shootout but being a shootout in the regular season and being in a shootout in the playoffs are two different things. Detroit doesn't have the playoff experience on their team to be able to go toe to toe blow for blow with a offense powerhouse the likes of the New Orleans Saints. The defensive backfield will have to step it up and not let Drew Brees hurt them too badly. YOU CAN BEND BUT DON'T BREAK!

Why will New Orleans LOSE the game: last season, the Saints lost in the playoffs to a 7-9 Seattle Seahawks team that controlled the entire game by running the ball down the Saints throat highlighted by a game-winning Marshawn Lynch touchdown run where he broke 11 tackles. New Orleans is almost impossible to beat at home, but if you want to have a shot you have to be able to run the football and keep Drew Brees off the field. The last time they lost a football game, the Saints allowed the Rams Steven Jackson two touchdowns and his first 100 yard game in three seasons. If the Lions offense can control the game with the run, that will help open up the play action for Matthew Stafford and another early exit for Drew Brees and the Saints.

Wild Card Fun Fact: The last time the Detroit Lions won a playoff game was in 1991. Calvin Johnson was 5 years old.

And the winner of this game is: This game will be an offensive shootout. Calvin Johnson will have an all-pro game and Stafford will be able to keep up with Brees to keep the game interesting.....But there are some things you don't do. You don't bet against Michael Jordan in Chicago, Derek Jeter in New York, or Drew Brees in New Orleans. New Orleans 42-28.

Atlanta Falcons (10-6) at New York Giants (9-7)
Game Preview: The Atlanta Falcons travel to New York City to take on Eli Manning and the New York Giants. The Falcons are entering the playoffs for the third time in three years and feel that they finally have the offense to make a run to the super bowl. The Giants won the NFC East championship in a do or die game against the Dallas Cowboys on week 17. The Giants feel that they are playing like the 2007 team that won the super bowl over New England.

Why will Atlanta WIN the game: The Atlanta Falcons offense is stacked and peaking at the right time. Matt Ryan is coming off a career year with a 92.2% passer rating, Tony Gonzalez  added another pro bowl season to his already HOF legacy, Michael Turner ran for over 1,300 yards, and Roddy White and Julio Jones combined for over 2,500 receiving yards and 16 TDs. Now with playoff experience and so many explosive players on offense in their corner, Atlanta  has the best chance ever to win their first playoff game during the Matt Ryan era.

Why will New York WIN the game: After finishing the season on a 3-1 hot streak, the New York Giants have become the most dangerous team in the playoffs. The reason for the Giants late season success have been because of the play of two people......Eli Manning and Jason Pierre-Paul. Eli Manning played like an MVP candidate all season long and led the league in fourth quarter TDs on his way to his 2nd pro bowl selection. Even with the personal he was given, Eli still managed to lead his team out tough situation as he managed five fourth quarter comeback victories.  Jason Pierre-Paul became the new Lawrence Taylor of the NFL with 16.5 sacks and a pro bowl selection. Pierre-Paul was a game changer on defense and proved that he could even win a football game with a blocked field goal in the final seconds in a victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Offenses have to make sure to know where he at all game long.

Why will Atlanta LOSE the game: Even with all the talent in the world, the Atlanta Falcons still have not proven that it can beat a playoff team. Atlanta only played a team that in the playoff five times this season and only won once in those games. Before the season started, many pick Atlanta as a super bowl favorite; but no team has ever made it to the super bowl with only one victory over a playoff team during the regular season.

Why will New York LOSE the game: Giants fans went crazy over their favorite teams play this season, because they did not know which Giants team was gonna show up that day. The Giants started the season 6-2 and looked like they were gonna runaway with the NFC East. But after the fast start, finished the last 8 games 3-5 highlighted by a  4 game losing skid in the middle of the season. Even in during the 3-5 finish, the three games the Giants won came in the last four games of the regular season....so even when they finish bad they're still doing good. So the million dollar question is...Will the 6-2 Giants show or the 3-5 Giants show up in the playoffs?

Wild Card Fun Fact: The last the Giants won a home playoff game was in 2000 in the NFC Championship game against the Vikings.

And the winner of this game is: Eli Manning has been playing out of his mind this year and can carry the Giants deep into the playoffs, but now it feels like Atlanta time to take that next step into becoming an elite team in the NFL starting with Matt Ryan 1st playoff win in a 24-21 victory over the Giants.