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By (Featured Columnist) on January 2, 2011
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The NFL playoffs are just around the corner, which means it's time to start breaking down potential team and individual match-ups.

As it currently stands, the league's field of post-season competitors features plenty of teams with fantastic wide receivers, from DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia to Dwayne Bowe in Kansas City.

Of course, someone will have to at least try to cover those star wide-outs, and there will be no shortage of shut-down corners, like Darrell Revis and Charles Woodson, to make for intriguing assignments.

With that in mind, let's have a look at the 10 best potential wide receiver–defensive back match-ups in the 2011 NFL playoffs.

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The list kicks off with a match-up between two players who have sub-par seasons by their own standards.

A first round game between the Ravens and the Colts would likely pit Baltimore wide-out Anquan Boldin against Indianapolis corner Kelvin Hayden.

Despite sitting out the last for games for Indy due to injury, Hayden has still managed to rack up 61 tackles, nine passes defended and two interceptions, both of which he returned for touchdowns.

Boldin, on the other hand, has seen his production tail off somewhat in his first season outside of Arizona. With Joe Flacco rather than Kurt Warner targeting him, Boldin has caught 62 balls for 828 yards and seven touchdowns thus far.

Not bad overall, but certainly a significant drop by Boldin's lofty standards.

Hayden should be back and ready to play against the Ravens, though he may not be effective enough to shut down Boldin, regardless of whether the Baltimore wide-out is having his best season.

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Of course, the Ravens defense will have to deal with the pass-heavy offense of the Colts, with Reggie Wayne as Peyton Manning's top option.

Baltimore defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will most likely employ cornerback Chris Carr to keep Wayne, a five-time Pro Bowler, from piling up yardage as he has all season.

Wayne has already accumulated 1,287 yards and five touchdowns on 102 catches, bringing his streak of consecutive thousand-yard receiving seasons to seven.

Carr isn't exactly a shut-down corner, per se, but may be able to keep the aging Wayne, at 32-years-old, in check to some extent.

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Assuming the New Orleans Saints get past the St. Louis Rams or the Seattle Seahawks in the first round, they will likely have to deal with the Chicago Bears and their emerging offense at Soldier Field.

The Bears will rely, in part, on the connection between quarterback Jay Cutler and top wide receiver Johnny Knox to move the ball up and down the field against the Saints' defense.

Knox will likely find himself up against Tracy Porter, the Saints' third-year corner out of Indiana who has accounted for 53 tackles and an interception thus far this season.

Knox and Porter are very close in size, which should make this match-up one of the more interesting of the early part of the playoffs.

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Should the Ravens advance to the second round of the AFC playoffs, they would have to travel to Heinz Field to take on the divisional rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers would likely sic Ike Taylor on Anquan Boldin, leaving Bryant McFadden to cover the veteran Derrick Mason.

This one would seem to be a clear advantage for McFadden, who is both two inches taller and nearly eight years younger than the 5'10", 36-year-old Mason.

However, Mason has long been known for his ability to defy the odds, as he's become a reliable option for the young Joe Flacco, hauling in 58 passes for 768 yards and seven touchdowns through 15 games this season.

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Like Boldin in Baltimore, Santonio Holmes has had a rough first season with his new team.

Holmes missed the Jets' first four games due to injury after being shipped over from Pittsburgh in the offseason, but has done a good job making up for lost time since then.

In 11 games this season, Holmes has accounted for 51 catches for 729 yards and five scores.

New York will have to play better than it has the few weeks to get by Kansas City in the first round of the playoffs, but, if the Jets do advance, they'll find themselves up against the division rival New England Patriots with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line.

Expect Bill Belichick to sic rookie corner Devin McCourty on Holmes.

McCourty has had a fine season in his first year out of Rutgers, accounting for 81 tackles, six picks, two forced fumbles and 15 pass break-ups.

The rookie need to step his game up to another level if he is going to be successful against the veteran wide-out for the Jets.

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A first-round duel between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles is sure to be a doozy, to say the least.

There would be no shortage of intriguing match-ups in this game, though the scrum in the secondary between Green Bay's Greg Jennings and Philly's Asante Samuel will be one in particular to keep an eye on.

Jennings is having an outstanding season for the Packers, with his stellar play–72 catches for 1,168 yards and 12 touchdowns–earning him an invite to the dreaded Pro Bowl.

The Eagles will likely turn to Asante Samuel, a four-time Pro Bowler in his own right, to put the stops on Jennings in the playoffs.

Don't expect Aaron Rodgers to shy away from targeting Jennings, even if Samuel does end up covering him.

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The top half of this list features only match-ups between Pro Bowlers, with Dwayne Bowe against Darrelle Revis not the least among them.

Bowe has had a spectacular season as Matt Cassel's go-to guy in Kansas City, piling up 1,094 yards and an NFL-best 15 touchdowns on 67 catches through 15 games.

The physical wide-out from LSU will face his toughest challenge yet going up against New York Jets All-Pro corner Darrelle Revis, whose numbers this year might suggest to some a malaise following a protracted hold-out during the preseason.

Most would likely see Revis' drop in tackles, interceptions and pass break-ups as indicative of the fact that quarterbacks just don't throw to his side of the field because he is so dominant.

Whether he can shut down a big target like Bowe will be decided during Wild Card weekend.

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As exciting as a face-off between Greg Jennings and Asante Samuel would be, most fans will likely be fixated on what happens when DeSean Jackson meets Charles Woodson in the opening round of the 2011 NFL playoffs.

The 34-year-old Woodson still has plenty of game left in him, having revived his once-floundering career since joining the Packers in 2006.

Woodson's big move came before the 24-year-old Jackson ever made the leap to the NFL from Cal.

Jackson is undoubtedly one of the most electrifying players in the league, as demonstrated by his game-winning punt return for a touchdown against the Giants in Week 15.

The speedy Jackson will certainly be a tough cover for Woodson, but nothing that the wily veteran can't handle.

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Should Charles Woodson and the Packers prevail over the Eagles in the Wild Card round, they would then be faced with the challenge of stopping Roddy White and the Atlanta Falcons.

White has once again been among the best receivers in the game this season, accounting for 1,327 yards and nine touchdowns on 109 catches from fellow Pro Bowler Matt Ryan.

While White may not possess the blazing speed and quickness that someone like DeSean Jackson does, he has a distinct advantage in strength and physicality, thereby posing Woodson with a different challenge altogether.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

On the other hand, if Jackson and the Eagles best Woodson's Packers and streak their way to the Super Bowl, they just may find themselves up against the New York Jets.

Which would mean, of course, something of an epic match-up between Jackson and Darrelle Revis on the outside.

The two All-Pros, both known for their pension for trash-talking, would likely have at it on the field, making for the most intriguing wide receiver–defensive back to be found in the playoffs this year.

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