This is what the top two teams in each conference play for, the right to host a divisional round game while the others battle in the wild card round. The Denver Broncos and New England Patriots will host the AFC games while the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers will entertain their NFC opponents.
The off-week couldn’t have come at a better time for the AFC’s No. 2 seed Patriots, who open the weekend by hosting the highest remaining seed from the Wild Card Round on Saturday, January 16 at 4:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
New England backed into the spot after losing its final regular season game in Miami. The banged up Pats will have extra time to get their offensive line, receiving corps and quarterback somewhat healthy.
Tom Brady suffered an ankle injury in the finale and the Patriots looked lost as the injuries continued to mount for the defending champions. It’s hard to bet against New England, however, as coach Bill Belichick and Brady have that playoff magic. And with an additional week of rest, you know the Pats will be ready to defend their title.
Entering Week 16 of the regular season, there was a possibility Denver wouldn’t even make the playoffs. Two wins later and a New England loss in Week 17 made the Broncos the unlikeliest No. 1 seed. Denver hosts the AFC’s lowest remaining seed from wild card weekend on Sunday, January 17, at 4:40 p.m. ET on CBS.
The big question for the Broncos is who will be their starting quarterback? Peyton Manning entered in the second half against San Diego in Week 17 and led the team to a comeback win and the top seed, meaning the Broncos will play the AFC Championship in Mile High, if they get there.
There doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut favorite in the AFC, even with the defending champs and the No. 1 seed Broncos at the top of the mix.
The field is strong with Kansas City riding a 10-game winning streak into the postseason and the NFC North rivals Pittsburgh and Cincinnati battling once again. Houston had a strong second half of the season to claim the weak AFC South and the No. 4 seed, and seems the least likely team to advance.
Unlike the AFC, the NFC has a dominant team at the top of the heap. Carolina didn’t lose until Week 16 and claimed the No. 1 seed in the conference because of its 15-1 record. The Panthers will host their game on Sunday, January 17, at 1:05 p.m. ET on FOX.
Their opponent will be one of three teams the Panthers have already beaten during the regular year. Carolina won at Seattle in Week 6 and handily beat Green Bay and Washington at home.
Arizona was roughed up by Seattle in the regular season finale but has a week to regroup before hosting its divisional round game in primetime on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC.
The Cards limped into the playoffs last season without a quarterback, but that’s not the case this year after a 13-3 campaign behind MVP candidate Carson Palmer.
If your favorite team didn’t make the playoffs you can still enjoy the excitement of wagering on every NFL postseason game. That’s right, you can wager on spreads, totals, moneylines and props during commercials and timeouts.
And you can already gamble on every playoff game at BookMaker because they’ve had NFL lines for every matchup on the board since last Wednesday.
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