The NFL playoffs get underway this afternoon, with the Arizona Cardinals taking on the Carolina Panthers at 4:35 p.m. on ESPN and then the Baltimore Ravens taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8:15 p.m on NBC. Here's your open thread for the games.
You can read Stampede Blue's writers' predictions for this game here, and here's a look at the NFL playoff picture before the Wild Card games start:
AFC:
In the wild card round, the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5, 3 seed) will host the Baltimore Ravens (10-6, 6 seed) on Saturday night (January 3) at 8:15 on NBC. The next day, the Indianapolis Colts (11-5, 4 seed) will host the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1, 5 seed) at 1:05 on CBS. The New England Patriots (12-4, 1 seed) and Denver Broncos (12-4, 2 seed) earned the first round byes and will have the weekend off. The two winners from this weekend's games will then face the Patriots and Broncos the following week, with the lower seed heading to New England and the higher seed traveling to Denver. The winners of those two games will then play for the AFC Championship.
NFC:
In the wild card round, the Carolina Panthers (7-9, 4 seed) will host the Arizona Cardinals (11-5, 5 seed) on Saturday, January 3, 2015, on 4:35 on ESPN. On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys (12-4, 3 seed) will host the Detroit Lions (11-5, 6 seed) at 4:40 on FOX. The Seattle Seahawks (12-4, 1 seed) and Green Bay Packers (12-4, 2 seed) both earned the first round byes. The two winners from this weekend's games will face the Seahawks and Packers the following week, with the lower seed going to Seattle and the higher seed going to Green Bay. The winners of those two games will then play for the NFC Championship.