The first round of the 2015 NFL Playoffs is finally here: it's Wild Card weekend. Unlike last year, the Philadelphia Eagles won't be involved this time around. The Birds were in prime position to make the postseason before losing three straight games and seeing the Dallas Cowboys clinch the NFC East instead.
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But even though it was a disappointing end to the season for Eagles fans, life goes on. As upset as a fan can be that their team didn't make it, most of them will end up watching the playoffs anyway.
Saturday's action kicks off with an NFC matchup between the 11-5 Arizona Cardinals and the 7-8-1 Carolina Panthers. It's pretty incredible (also: pathetic?) that the Panthers came back to win the lackluster NFC South with a losing record. Carolina is favored by four points and might actually have a decent chance to win considering that the Cardinals will be forced to start their third string quarterback, Ryan Lindley.
Saturday's night game features an AFC North rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are home favorites. These two teams split their regular season series so the third time will be a charm for the winner in this game.
Sunday's games kick off with the Cincinnati Bengals in Indianapolis. The Colts will be hard to beat at home with Andrew Luck, just ask the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs. If Marvin Lewis doesn't get a win in this game, his playoff record will be 0-6.
Wild Card weekend wraps up with the Detroit Lions traveling to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. Ndamukong Suh's suspension has been lifted so this should be a good battle in the trenches. Eagles fans will obviously be rooting for the Lions to stomp out the Cowboys (see what I did there?).
The first and second seeds in each conference have a bye on Wild Card weekend. The lowest seeded winners from Wild Card weekend will play the No. 1 seed while the No. 2 seed will play whoever else is left. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have home games in the Divisional round.
Find more odds on the games here.
Watch via Online Stream: NBC and CBS will be streaming their games online for free. FOX will also be streaming their games, but will require users to have a subscription.
All times EST.
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Wild Card weekend
Saturday, January 3
NFC: Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers (ESPN, 4:35 p.m.)
AFC: Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (NBC, 8:15 p.m.)
Sunday, January 4
AFC: Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts (CBS, 1:05 p.m.)
NFC: Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys (FOX, 4:40 p.m.)
NFL Divisional round
Saturday, January 10
AFC: Baltimore/Cincinnati/Pittsburgh/Indianapolis at New England Patriots (NBC, 4:35 p.m.)
NFC: Detroit/Arizona/Carolina at Seattle Seahawks (FOX, 8:15 p.m.)
Sunday, January 11
NFC: Dallas/Carolina/Arizona at Green Bay Packers (FOX, 1:05 p.m.)
AFC: Cincinnati/Pittsburgh/Indianapolis at Denver Broncos (CBS, 4:40 p.m.)
Championship round
Sunday, January 18
NFC: FOX, 3:05 p.m.
AFC: CBS, 6:40 p.m.
Super Bowl XLIX
Sunday, February 1
NFC champion versus AFC champion (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)
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