The NFC Wild Card playoffs start this weekend with the Seattle Seahawks taking on the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers playing against the Washington Redskins.
The NFC field was set after the Vikings won over the Packers in Week 17 of the season to win the North division title and now Minnesota will host a playoff game. The Seahawks will visit the Vikings and it will be the first outdoor playoff game in Minnesota in decades. The Packers are the fifth seed in the NFC standings and will visit the Washington Redskins in the second game on Sunday.
The Seahawks and Vikings will be playing at 1:05 pm ET on Sunday and the TV coverage for the game will be from NBC. The Packers and Redskins will be playing in Washington and the game is scheduled for 4:40 pm ET and will be on TV from Fox. The Seahawks come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league and that will be a tough test for Minnesota, as they lost to Seattle already this season.
Marshawn Lynch is expected to be back for the Seahawks in the wild card game, but if he is limited, the team will likely use a combination of Christine Michael, Bryce Brown and Fred Jackson. Lynch has been out since Week 10 and has been rehabbing after abdominal surgery, but he was able to return to the team this week and should play on Sunday. Lynch being out did not hurt the Seahawks much, as the team won six of their final seven games of the season and finished with a win over the Cardinals.
Lynch being out put more pressure on Russell Wilson and he responded with a career year by throwing for over 4000 yards and putting up 34 touchdowns. Wilson gives the Seahawks the advantage at QB over Teddy Bridgewater with the Vikings, but Adrian Peterson gives Minnesota a major boost at running back if Lynch is not 100 percent. The last time these two teams played the Seahawks won 38-7 in Minnesota and that should give Seattle confidence as they travel to play there again.
The Packers are coming into the playoffs after a disappointing loss to the Vikings, while the Redskins are coming in after a dominating win against the Cowboys. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said after the loss to the Vikings that the Packers will be ready to play once the postseason arrives and that the fans should not be worried about the tough performance against Minnesota. The Redskins had a solid season and won the NFC East, but the Packers actually won more games overall as they come in to visit for the playoff game.
The AFC matchups have the Chiefs taking on the Texans and the Bengals hosting the Steelers in the wild card round.