New York, NY (Sports Network) - The NFL playoff picture has been set after the
completion of Week 17's games, and the league has released its times for the
first round of the upcoming postseason.
The first wild card game on the slate will take place at 4:30 p.m. (et) on
Saturday and features a rematch of one of the AFC Wild Card games from last
season, as the AFC South champion Houston Texans (12-4) welcome the Cincinnati
Bengals (10-6) to Reliant Stadium.
Houston backup T.J. Yates, starting in place of an injured Matt Schaub, led
the Texans to a 31-10 victory last year to give Houston its first playoff win
since the team's founding in 2002, while extending Cincinnati's playoff losing
skid to four games.
This season, Houston seemed poised for a first-round bye and the top spot in
the AFC just two weeks ago, but the Texans dropped their final two games of
the regular season to fall to the third seed in the conference.
The Bengals, conversely, enter the postseason on an upswing, having won their
final three games of the season to claim the sixth and final playoff spot.
Cincinnati went 7-1 over the second half of the schedule as well.
Saturday night's game, which will take place at 8 p.m. (et) -- will be a
rematch of a Week 17 clash between NFC North rivals Green Bay (11-5) and
Minnesota (10-6). The Vikings won Sunday's matchup between the teams, 37-34,
at home to clinch the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC, while Green Bay
took a 23-14 decision early in December at Lambeau Field.
The Packers will host Saturday's matchup as they look to bounce back from
last season's 37-20 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants
in the Divisional Playoffs.
Minnesota, meanwhile, wrapped up the season with four straight wins to earn
its first playoff bid since 2009.
The two teams have squared off once before in the playoffs, with Minnesota
earning a 31-17 victory at Lambeau Field back on Jan. 9, 2005.
Sunday's slate begins with the feel-good story of the year, as Chuck Pagano
leads his Indianapolis Colts (11-5) into Baltimore to take on the Ravens
(10-6) at 1 p.m. (et) from M&T Stadium.
Pagano, who was diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia back in September,
returned to the sidelines for Indianapolis' season-ending triumph over the
Texans.
Under the guidance of Pagano and interim head coach Bruce Arians, rookie
quarterback Andrew Luck helped turn a 2-14 Colts team into a 11-win unit bound
for their first playoff game since the departure of long-time quarterback
Peyton Manning.
The Ravens were on the doorstep of the Super Bowl last season, but suffered a
heartbreaking 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots after Billy Cundiff's 32-
yard field goal sailed wide left in the closing seconds of the AFC
Championship.
In the final Wild Card game at 4:40 p.m. (et) on Sunday, a pair of surprising
squads led by rookie quarterbacks will square off when the NFC East champion
Washington Redskins (10-6) host the Seattle Seahawks (11-5).
Russell Wilson has the Seahawks back in the playoffs for the second time
in three years in his first season under center. The Redskins, under the
guidance of rookie Robert Griffin III, are hosting a postseason game for the
first time since 1999.
The NFL also announced the times of the Divisional Round games. On Saturday,
Jan. 12th, the top-seeded Denver Broncos will host the lowest remaining AFC
seed at 4:30 p.m. (et), while the San Francisco 49ers will start their playoff
adventure at 8 p.m. (et) on the same day.
The Atlanta Falcons, the NFC's No. 1 seed, will try to avoid going one and
done at 1 p.m. (et) on Sunday, Jan. 13th. The No. 2 seed in the AFC, the New
England Patriots, will finish off the weekend at 4:30 p.m. on the same day.
The Sports Network