The NFL playoffs picks up this weekend for the divisional round and games will be split on Saturday and Sunday with one AFC and NFC game each.
The playoffs schedule opens up with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the New England Patriots, while the Green Bay Packers will face off against the Arizona Cardinals. The Sunday schedule has the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos will be the late game. Three of the four games are rematches from the regular season, with the Chiefs and Patriots the lone game that does not feature teams that played already this season.
The Chiefs and Patriots are playing at Gillette Stadium and the game will start up at 4:35 pm ET with TV coverage from CBS. The Packers and Cardinals will play next and that game is from University of Phoenix Stadium and starts at 8:15 pm ET on NBC. Sunday has the Seahawks visiting the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium and that will start at 1:05 pm ET with TV coverage on FOX. The final matchup of the weekend has the Steelers playing the Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High and the game starts at 4:40 pm ET and will be on TV from CBS.
The Chiefs come into the game against the Patriots with an 11-game winning streak on the line and the team has not lost since starting the season 1-5. The Chiefs likely will be without Jeremy Maclin in the game after the receiver was injured against the Texans last week, while the Patriots reportedly will have Julian Edelman back for the first time since the WR had foot surgery. Tom Brady is dealing with a sore ankle, but his status is not in question for Saturday.
The Packers and Cardinals are facing off for the second time this season and it comes after Arizona dominated in the last matchup between the two teams. The Packers looked like they regained some of their past form against the Redskins after struggling on offense at times this season and they will need that on Saturday against Arizona. These two teams previously played in the playoffs back in 2010 and that was a wild game with Arizona winning in overtime after a Karlos Dansby fumble return for a TD.
The Panthers won in Seattle earlier in the season and now the Seahawks will try to return the favor in Charlotte. The Seahawks are hoping that Marshawn Lynch will be able to play after missing last week against the Vikings, while Luke Willson is expected to return. The Panthers are expecting to have Jonathan Stewart back after the RB missed the final three games of the season with a foot injury. The Broncos and Steelers are matching up again, but this time Peyton Manning will start for Denver after missing the last matchup between the teams.
