Each team that came off the bye week seemed to have fresh legs and the ability to move the ball on offense in the second round of the NFL playoffs, except the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not have the confidence to throw accurate passes into double coverage against the New York Jets, and he will have to take more chances if the Steelers want beat the New England Patriots and advance to the Super Bowl.

Throwing for 181 yards and two interceptions won't get it done against Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his defense, so Steelers coach Bill Cowher must make sure his quarterback gets into a good rhythm early.

The Steelers' game plan is pretty clear: They will continue to give the ball to Jerome Bettis, early and often. Belichick’s defenders must make plays at the line of scrimmage and slow down the Bus. That will put pressure on Roethlisberger to deliver, and we'll see how he fares.

Slide show   NFL playoffs See top images from Colts-Patriots, Eagles-Vikings, Falcons-Rams and Steelers-Jets.

We certainly know how Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will perform. He only threw 28 touchdowns this season, compared to Peyton Manning's NFL-record 49, but Brady proved Sunday that he is more composed in the pocket and throws a better ball to his running backs than Manning. Brady never gets rattled in big games, while Manning forces too many passes in the red zone against the Patriots.

New England's fantastic defense caused problems for Manning all game. The Patriots have the best pass defense in the NFL in big games, because their linebackers understand what it takes to drop back into pass coverage.

Manning also had problems because of the weather and receivers' drops, but his legacy took a huge hit Sunday. The stage was set for him to have a big game, and he played his worst game of the season. Manning is a stand-up guy who won’t make excuses, but it’s clear he and the entire Indy coaching staff have no clue how to beat New England. Manning failed once again in his ultimate test as a star quarterback.

The Atlanta' Falcons star quarterback stepped up at the key time, as did their whole offense. They made quite a statement by shredding the St. Louis Rams.

Don't expect the Falcons to run for 327 yards against the Eagles, but they sent a message that they can run if Vick has problems in the passing game. Warrick Dunn will be the player that Vick turns to when the game is on the line. Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter must play another stellar game and blow up the line of scrimmage, and Lito Sheppard and Brian Dawkins will be called on to make big plays like they did in the win against the Vikings.

Lastly, the Rams and Vikings head into the offseason with numerous questions. St. Louis must rebuild its defense and forget about the drama that surrounds the offense and coach Mike Martz. The Rams' run defense was exposed. 

Minnesota, meanwhile, couldn't take advantage of several costly mistakes by Philadelphia. Randy Moss was a distraction for the Vikings leading up to their loss to the Eagles (27-14), and his situation must be addressed if Minnesota wants to make a real run at the Super Bowl. Moss only runs at full speed when his number is called, and the rest of the time he seems to be sleep walking and uninterested. He still has a lot of growing up to do if he wants to be considered a great player.

Mike Tice did a great job motivating his team down the stretch of the regular season, but has to make sure that they take a run at another playmaking cornerback if they want to advance deeper next season.