Saints face Bears in wildcard weekend
With the Green Bay Packers (13-3) and Kansas City Chiefs (14-2) earning the top seeds and firstround byes in the NFC and AFC playoffs respectively, the other 12 teams that made the play-offs have learned where they’ll be headed for wildcard weekend.
In an unprecedented move for the NFL, seven teams made the post-season from each conference, with only the top seed receiving a first-round bye. In previous years, each conference sent six teams to the post-season and the top two seeds received first-round byes.
There will be three games on Saturday and three more on Sunday.
In the NFC, the second-seeded and NFC South champions New Orleans Saints (12-4), led by veteran quarterback Drew Brees, will host the seventhseeded Chicago Bears (8-8), on Sunday.
Third-seeded and NFC West champions Seattle (12-4) will host the sixthseeded Los Angeles Rams (10-6), who punched their play-off ticket for the third time in four years with a win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Seattle and the Rams will meet on Saturday. The teams split a pair of regular-season games, with each winning on their home field, most recently the Seahawks’ 20-9 win in Week 16 that secured the division title.
Washington, the NFC East champions after beating Philadelphia on Sunday to finish 7-9, will host fifthseeded Tampa Bay (11-5) on Saturday, as Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is three wins away from his seventh Super Bowl title.
Washington are just the third team to make the play-offs with a losing record, aside from the 1982 strikeshortened season.
Washington join the 2010 Seahawks, who went 7-9 en route to winning the NFC West title and beating New Orleans in the first round before falling a week later in the divisional round at Chicago, and the 2014 Carolina Panthers, who went 7-8-1.
In the AFC, the second-seeded and AFC East champions Buffalo Bills (13-3) will host the seventh-seeded Indianapolis Colts (11-5) on Saturday.
Colts coach Frank Reich is a Buffalo legend, as he quarterbacked the Bills to the biggest comeback in play-off history, rallying Buffalo from a 32-point deficit against the Houston Oilers to win in overtime, 41-38, on Jan 3 1993.
The third-seeded and AFC North champions Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) will host sixth-seeded Cleveland (11-5), who are making their first post-season appearance since 2002, in the opening weekend finisher on Sunday.
The AFC North teams split a pair of meetings, with each team winning on their home field.
Cleveland defeated Pittsburgh, 24-22, in Week 17 in a game in which the Steelers rested several of their best players, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Fourth-seeded and AFC South champions Tennessee (12-4) will host the fifth-seeded Baltimore Ravens (11-5) on Sunday.
The Titans knocked the then-topseeded Ravens out of the play-offs last year before falling to the eventualSuper Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.
SCHEDULE Saturday
Bills v Colts, Seahawks v Rams, Washington v Buccaneers
Sunday
Titans v Ravens, Saints v Bears, Steelers v Browns