Ranking the NFC playoff teams:

1. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (11-5) -- Losing two of its last three shouldn’t concern Saints fans all that much. Last season they limped into the playoffs with three straight losses (after 13 wins) and we all know how that turned out.

How they win it all -- Wild card teams have a tougher road to the Super Bowl, but it can be done (1980 Raiders, 1997 Broncos, 2000 Ravens, 2005 Steelers and 2007 Giants). The Saints have the weapons to do it. They should not be overtaxed too much in taking care of Seattle in the first round.

How they could lose -- Exhibit A is the loss to Tampa Bay in Week 17. The Saints turned over the ball three times (one INT, two fumbles lost) and just looked out of sync against the Buccaneers. **it happens.

2. ATLANTA FALCONS (13-3) -- These guys are the Rodney Dangerfield on the NFL -- without the bug eyes, of course. As the top seed they will not have to play another road game, and they were 7-1 at home this season. But for some reason they are considered bogus. The Falcons will be trying to erase memories of their last playoff game -- that upset loss at home to Arizona two years ago.

How they win it all -- Everyone has flaws in the NFC, but the Falcons appear to have fewer than most. Matt Ryan is able to control the ball, and Atlanta’s underrated defense (which ranked 16th in yards allowed but 5th in points allowed) steps it up at home.

How they could lose -- Nightmare scenario for the owner Arthur Blanc. Philadelphia defeats Green Bay this coming weekend, then takes care of Atlanta the following week, setting up a Michael Vick-returns-to-Atlanta NFC winner-take-all for the NFC Championship. Atlanta struggles against Vick on turf.

3. CHICAGO BEARS (11-5) -- What to make of the Bears? Are they as good as they look when things are going good or as bad as they look when they aren’t? The answer is somewhere in the middle, and if they can get some decent yardage out of Matt Forte and protect Jay Cutler for the rest of the month, maybe they can slide past a few teams and be an unlikely Super Bowl participant.

How they win it all -- Soldier Field in January is no country for old men, and the Bears have a huge advantage after spending next weekend getting healthy. If Philadelphia survives against Green Bay, Vick returns to Chicago, where his spotty performance on a slick field in Week 12 was a costly loss for the Eagles.

How they could lose -- Start with their occasional but maddening inability to protect Cutler, who was sacked 6 times and slammed to the ground 3 or 4 more times last weekend in Green Bay. Cutler himself is somewhat of an enigma, and could implode if things go bad.

4. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (10-6) -- Give credit to Andy Reid for keeping things together. No one else believed Vick could become what he has become, namely the expected No. 2 in the MVP voting this season. Vick has a ways to go (the Eagles are concerned about his inability to recognize blitz packages), but they got a starting QB/major impact player for nada.

How they win it all -- Vick’s running ability gives the Packers trouble this coming weekend, then the Eagles take advantage of a dry field and beat the Bears in Chicago. Vick then goes nuts against Falcons indoors.

How they could lose -- Any team capable of losing to the likes of Washington, Houston and Minnesota (throw out the Week 17 Green Bay defeat) is no lock. The Eagles give up 24 points a game, which puts pressure on the big-play offense.

5. GREEN BAY (10-6) -- It’s been an up-and-down season for the Packers, who figured to take control of the NFC North with the Vikings taking a huge step back. But the Bears surprised everyone and now the Pack face the prospect of winning three consecutive road games in order to get to the Super Bowl.

How they win it all -- They have the weapons on offense, but defensively the Packers have earned plenty of cred. They gave up the fewest points in the NFC (15 a game), and the 3-4 D installed by coordinator Dom Capers is perfectly designed to contain Vick this coming weekend. And if they catch the Bears the following week, they’ve already shown they can put Cutler on the ground.

How they could lose -- The road has a way of wearing down teams in the playoffs, and it just seems implausible that they could win at Philadelphia, at Chicago and (probably) at Atlanta in consecutive weeks.

6. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (7-9) -- Oh yeah, the Seahawks are in this too, aren’t they? Really? For a week, anyway. Fans in Seattle are so pessimistic about their team’s chances that a poll showed they wanted the Seahawks to miss the playoffs so they would get a higher draft pick.

How they win it all -- Phew. Pete Carroll no doubt is digging around for video of the 2008-09 Arizona Cardinals, who defied expectations and then bumbled and stumbled their way to the Super Bowl.

How they could lose -- As Dennis Green famously said, “They are who we thought they were.”