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It’s playoff time in the NFL and the path to Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis is set for 12 teams.
The postseason kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 6. with the first AFC Wild Card game kicking off at 4:35 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN. That will be followed with the first NFC Wild Card game at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC. Here’s what the schedule looks like for Wild Card weekend.
AFC Wild Card Game: Titans at Chiefs, Saturday, January 6 at 4:35 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC)
NFC Wild Card Game: Falcons at Rams, Saturday, January 6 at 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)
AFC Wild Card Game: Bills at Jaguars, Sunday, January 7 at 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
NFC Wild Card Game: Panthers at Saints, Sunday, January 7 at 4:40 p.m. (FOX)
This year will be only the second time Minneapolis has hosted a Super Bowl — the last was in 1992 — but it will be the first in the brand new U.S. Bank Stadium that became the home of the Vikings in 2016.
The Vikings have a chance to become the first team to ever play a Super Bowl in a home stadium and occupy the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Both Minnesota and the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles will have Wild Card weekend off after earning first-round byes in the regular season.
Philadelphia got to the No. 1 seed largely thanks to the contributions of Carson Wentz, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 14. The Eagles’ chances at winning a Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history rests on the hope that Nick Foles can do enough to get the team there.
In the AFC, the byes belong to the No. 1 seeded New England Patriots and No. 2 Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots have been to the AFC Championship in each of the last six seasons and can make it seven in a row with one win against the lowest seeded team to get through the Wild Card round in the conference.
Pittsburgh has been a familiar face in the playoffs too with five trips to the AFC Championship with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm, including a 36-17 loss to the Patriots a year ago.
But the rest of the field in both conferences includes many fresh faces.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the postseason for the first time in 10 years and could have the greatest chance to topple the Patriots and Steelers thanks to a tremendous defense and a powerful ground attack led by Leonard Fournette.
The Los Angeles Rams are also back in the playoffs after a long drought, with a high-flying offense led by Jared Goff that carried the team to its first postseason berth in 13 years.
Even the New Orleans Saints missed the postseason in three consecutive seasons before a resurgence on defense got the team back to the top of the NFC South in 2017.
The final division winner was the Kansas City Chiefs who endured the ultimate roller coaster season by winning in the first five weeks of the season, losing in six of the next seven games, and finally ending the year on a hight note in the month of December.
The Divisional round takes place on Saturday, Jan. 13 and Sunday, Jan. 14. The winners from those four games will advance to the AFC and NFC Championship games set for Sunday, Jan. 21. From there, it’s on to the Super Bowl. The 52nd Big Game takes place in Minneapolis on Feb. 4. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, and this year’s game can be seen on NBC.
Stay tuned to SB Nation for all your NFL playoff coverage.
