The NFL playoffs schedule picks up this weekend for the Wild Card Round in the AFC and NFC and there are some great matchups on Saturday and Sunday. The Chiefs, Texans, Steelers, Bengals, Seahawks, Vikings, Packers and Redskins are all in action, while the Panthers, Cardinals, Patriots and Broncos will wait to see who they will play in the divisional round.
The first game of the weekend has the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Houston Texans and that game will be from NRG Stadium in Texas. The matchup will start at 4:20 pm ET and will be on ESPN/ABC for the TV coverage and streaming live on the WatchESPN website. The second game on Saturday has the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Cincinnati Bengals in a rematch of AFC North teams.
The game is from Paul Brown Stadium and starts at 8:15 ET with coverage on CBS for TV. The Bengals may be without Andy Dalton in the game, while DeAngelo Williams is banged up for the Steelers. The Sunday schedule has the Seattle Seahawks taking on the Minnesota Vikings and that will be at TCF Bank Stadium and starts at 1:05 pm ET. The final matchup of wild card weekend has the Green Bay Packers visiting the Washington Redskins and that game starts at 4:40 pm ET and will have TV coverage from FOX.
The Chiefs come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league and they will be looking to keep it going against Houston. The Texans won the AFC South and they will try and stop the Chiefs winning streak to advance into the next round. The Steelers made the playoffs over the Jets after winning in Week 17, while the Bengals won the AFC North title. If Dalton can't return from a thumb injury, the team will start AJ McCarron for the wild card game. Dalton potentially could return for the next round if the Bengals win.
The Seahawks have been the hottest team in the NFC coming into the playoffs and coming into the Vikings game the team has won six of seven games. The team is getting Marshawn Lynch back for the playoff game and the Seahawks are coming in after winning over the Vikings in Minnesota last month. The Packers lost to the Vikings to end up in a wild card spot and they travel to face the Redskins, who won the NFC East title this season.
The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos have the top seeds in the NFC and AFC, while the Cardinals and Patriots also have first round byes. The teams have to wait to see who wins in the wild card round to find out who they will play in the divisional round the following week.
Predictions:
Texans win over Chiefs
Steelers win over Bengals
Seahawks win over Vikings
Packers win over Redskins
