NFL playoffs schedule 2015: Panthers vs. Cardinals, Steelers vs. Ravens on tap for Saturday
The Wild Card round of the 2015 NFL playoffs will get underway Saturday, as the Arizona Cardinals take on the Carolina Panthers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The regular season is a thing of the past, and the postseason is set to begin Saturday, with Wild Card matchups from both conferences. The NFC South-winning Carolina Panthers will play host to the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC, and the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC.
The latter matchup is intriguing, given that the two teams have already played twice this year. They're AFC North rivals, and comprise two of the three teams from the division that actually made it into the postseason. The third, the Cincinnati Bengals, will play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. Pittsburgh won the division by beating Cincinnati in the final game of the regular season.
Carolina hosting Arizona is a product of the playoff seeding system, despite Arizona looking like the much better team this season. That's because the Panthers won the NFC South, while the Cardinals came up short in the NFC West, losing out to the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaking of the Seahawks, they won't be in action Saturday or Sunday, as they, along with the Green Bay Packers, grabbed first-round byes in the NFC. The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos did the same in the AFC. They'll await the winners of Saturday and Sunday's games in the divisional round next week.
Here’s a closer look at both of Saturday’s game and when you can catch them:
NFC Wild Card Game 1: (4) Carolina Panthers vs. (5) Arizona Cardinals
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
Time: 4:20 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Online: WatchESPN
The NFC will get things going as the Cardinals travel to face the Panthers. As noted above, the Panthers were definitely the worse of the two teams this season, finishing at 7-8-1 to Arizona's 11-5. The Panthers trailed in the NFC South for much of the year, but a string of wins near the end put them over the top after the New Orleans Saints were eliminated in Week 16. What they needed was a win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17 to get in and they accomplished that, winning 34-3.
Arizona, on the other hand, led the NFC West for much of the year, but dropped two crucial matchups near the end. They lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12, then faltered against the Falcons in Week 13. After a pair of wins to put them back up, they lost to the Seahawks again in Week 16 and closed out the year with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17. Still, they've got four more wins than the Panthers so this one should be interesting.
AFC Wild Card Game 1: (3) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. (6) Baltimore Ravens
Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra
The AFC North was the most competitive division in football this year. All four teams were in the running until the final weeks of the season, and the division title came down to a Week 17 game between the Steelers and Bengals. Cincinnati led the division for much of the season thanks to a half-game lead from an earlier tie against the Panthers. But Pittsburgh took down the Bengals in Week 14, and then again in Week 17, to win the division.
Cincinnati had already locked up a postseason spot by that point, maintaining the narrow lead over the Ravens. Baltimore wound up making it in as the final Wild Card though, beating the Browns in Week 17 and getting help with a San Diego Chargers loss that week. Baltimore and Pittsburgh split this season's games 1-1, with each team winning at home. As Pittsburgh is the higher seed, they'll be hosting this one.
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