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The opening round of the NFL Playoffs offers some intriguing matchups. As a bitter Eagles fan that hasn’t quite gotten over their postseason absence, that’s all I have to say.

The saddest time of the year is upon us. Christmas is over, the work grind goes until Memorial Day, and the NFL season comes to a close. Let’s say goodbye to the 2011 season by recalling the fondest moment for each team. Weekly picks are included, too. Feliz ano nuevo.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and the most important week of the NFL’s season. Playoff lives can be sealed, divisions won, and seasons full of hope and expectations destroyed. The spiked eggnog will flow in Philly tonight. Whether it’s to celebrate or mourn remains to be seen.

A crazy NFL Sunday was headlined by the undefeated Packers losing and the totally defeated Colts winning. The Eagles remain alive, the Patriots end Tebow-mania, and the Ravens, Jets, and Giants collapse in embarrassing fashion.

Rob Gronkowski has been unstoppable for the New England Patriots. Tim Tebow has been nearly unbeatable for the Denver Broncos. This week they meet in the thin air of Invesco Field. Who blinks first?

Don’t look now, but the T.J. Yates-led Houston Texans may very well be your top seed in the AFC Playoffs. That is, of course, if Tim Tebow delivers.

After a tough win in Tennessee and a suprising loss by the 49ers in Arizona, the Saints move into the 2nd spot in the NFC Playoff Picture. Also, the Bears appear defeated, the Cowboys aren’t dead yet, and the Eagles still don’t have a chance.

Tim Tebow and the Broncos pulled out yet another come-from-behind victory in the closing minutes on Sunday, but the best comeback goes to the Giants and Eli Manning who “Tim Tebowed” the Dallas Cowboys to take over the NFC East.

The battle for the NFC East kicks off in Dallas on Sunday night, the Broncos look to pad their lead in the AFC West with a win and some help from the undefeated Packers, and the Texans, Saints, and Patriots aim to extend winning streaks. Oh yeah, Michael Vick is back. 

Four 9-3 teams and five 7-5 teams make the AFC Playoff race strangley simplistic and utterly complicated at the same time. Let’s try to make some sense of it all.