New York, NY (My Sportsbook) - Sunday brought a wild finish to the NFL regular season, and the league released its times for next weekend's wild card round of the playoffs, as well as the divisional round in two weeks.
The NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals (9-7) will get the slate started with a 4:30 p.m. (et) game on Saturday against the Atlanta Falcons (11-5). The Cardinals will be hosting their first playoff game since 1947, when they were based in Chicago. The Cardinals secured their first winning season since 1998, their last playoff appearance. It's just the second time since 1984 they've ended above .500. Atlanta, the fifth seed, is in the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Indianapolis (12-4), the fifth-seeded team out of the AFC, will play at San Diego (8-8) on Saturday at 8 p.m. (et). The Chargers got into the playoffs by winning the final regular season game, pounding the Denver Broncos, 52-21, Sunday night to win the AFC West title, while the Colts are in the postseason for a seventh straight year. That extends the longest streak in the NFL.
The Baltimore Ravens (11-5), seeded sixth in the AFC, play at AFC East champion Miami (11-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. (et), and the final game on the slate will be at 4:30 p.m. (et) as the Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1), seeded sixth in the NFC, take on NFC North champion Minnesota (10-6).
The Dolphins beat the New York Jets on Sunday, 24-17, to win their division and completed a startling turnaround from last season, when they went 1-15. Miami hadn't won the division since 2000, and hadn't made the playoffs since 2001. Baltimore, which beat Jacksonville on Sunday to secure a playoff spot, defeated the Dolphins, 27-13, in Week 6 in Miami.
"It's a new season: (The Dolphins are) a different team, we're a totally different team," Ravens safety Ed Reed said. "I'm sure there's a bunch of new things that they present, so we just gotta go prepare for those guys this week, go down there and play our best."
The Eagles pulled off one of the most improbable playoff-clinching scenarios Sunday. First, they needed Tampa Bay to lose to Oakland early in the afternoon and either Chicago or Minnesota to also falter. The Bucs lost at home, 31-24, while the Bears lost by the same score at Houston, setting up a win-and- you're-in scenario for the Eagles in their home game against Dallas. Philadelphia then destroyed the Cowboys, 44-6.
The following weekend will see the AFC and NFC's top two teams host divisional round contests. The Tennessee Titans (13-3), AFC South winners and the conference's No.1 seed, will play against the lowest seed, either Baltimore or San Diego, at 4:30 p.m. (et) on Saturday, January 10.
The 8:15 p.m. (et) game on January 10 will be hosted by the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers (12-4), with their opponents either Arizona, Atlanta or Minnesota.
The NFC East winners and defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants (12-4) have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and will play the lowest seeded team on Sunday, January 11 at 1 p.m., (et); that being either Arizona, Atlanta or Philadelphia.
The final divisional contest is at 4:45 p.m. (et) on January 11 and it will be at Pittsburgh (12-4), with the AFC North champion Steelers battling either Miami, Denver or Indianapolis.
Because of the mad scramble in the AFC East on Sunday and Baltimore's win, New England was left as the odd-team out. Although the Patriots beat Buffalo, 13-0, New England missed out on the playoffs, becoming the first 11-win team to miss the postseason since Denver in 1985.