Adrian Peterson and the Vikings won the NFC North defeating the Packers on Sunday. With that the playoff schedule has been set and will begin this weekend! Photo Courtesy: AP
An incomplete pass by Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers in the final seconds of the 4th quarter gave the Minnesota Vikings their first NFC North title since 2009, and ended another exciting NFL regular season.
The immense amount of parity in the NFL gives every team a chance to prove they belong among the league’s elite, but teams have to do it in just 16 games on one day of the week: Thursday, Sunday, or Monday.
With so few games every snap, every play call, and every decision matters; with so few chances in a season, teams can’t get away with very many mistakes. Unlike the other major sports, every W and L helps seal your fate.
Every game is entertaining and for that reason a must watch. The season kicked off on Thursday September 10th with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots defeating Big Ben Roethlisberger and the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21 thanks in large part to four touchdown passes from Tom Brady.
Seventeen weeks and 255 games later, the NFL is down to just 12 total teams, 6 from each conference vying for a berth in Super Bowl 50, while the other 20 teams are sitting at home wondering what could have been.
On the AFC side, the Broncos stole the no.1 seed away from Tom Brady and the Patriots after Peyton Manning came off the bench and rallied the Broncos to a win over the Chargers. Earlier in the day, the Patriots lost their second game in a row to the Dolphins stumbling into the postseason with the no.2 seed.
Both Denver and New England earned byes while the Broncos as the top seed earned home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Here is how the bracket looks like on the AFC side with dates, start times, and TV schedules:
Wild Card Weekend: Saturday January 9th
AFC: No. 5 Kansas City at No. 4 Houston, 4:35 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN)
AFC: No. 6 Pittsburgh at No. 3 Cincinnati, 8:15 p.m. ET (CBS)
Divisional Weekend:
Saturday January 16th:
AFC: Kansas City/Houston/Cincinnati at No. 2 New England, 4:35 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sunday January 17th:
AFC: Pittsburgh/Kansas City/Houston at No. 1 Denver, 4:40 p.m. ET (CBS)
Championship Sunday: Sunday January 24th
AFC: AFC Championship, 3:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
In the NFC, the Panthers wrapped up the no.1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs with their 38-10 win over the Bucs. The Arizona Cardinals despite stumbling into the playoffs after an embarrassing 36-6 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday at home will have the no.2 seed, a bye, and at least one home playoff game.
Here is what the bracket looks like on the NFC side with dates, start times, and TV schedules:
Wild Card Weekend: Sunday January 17th
NFC: Seahawks at Vikings, 1:05 ET (FOX)
NFC: Packers at Redskins, 4:05 ET (FOX)
Divisional Weekend:
Saturday January 16th:
NFC: Minnesota/Green Bay/Washington at No. 2 Arizona, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday January 17th:
NFC: Green Bay/Seattle/Washington at No. 1 Carolina, 1:05 p.m. ET (Fox)
Championship Sunday: Sunday January 24th
NFC: NFC Championship, 6:40 p.m. ET (Fox)
Everything leads up to the biggest sports spectacle in the world. The Lombardi Trophy will be up for grabs in Northern California.
Super Bowl 50: Sunday February 7th
AFC Champion vs. NFC Champion at Levi’s Stadium, 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Joe Jacquez 