NFL Playoff Schedule 2016: Wild Card Weekend Schedule Ready For NFL Playoffs [Breaking News]
The 2016 NFL playoff schedule has been officially released by the league. Within the NFL playoff schedule, there are four games scheduled for wild card weekend. The match-ups could provide some very interesting playoff games, including a battle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. The two AFC North teams will face off in a wild card game on Saturday, January 9.
The AFC playoff schedule has the No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) at No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals (12-4) on January 9, at 8:15 p.m. ET. CBS will provide coverage for only that game on wild card weekend. The other game on the AFC playoff schedule is the No. 5 Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) at No. 4 Houston Texans (9-7) on January 9 at 4:30 p.m. ET. ABC or ESPN will provide the television coverage for that game.
The NFC playoff schedule begins with the No. 6 Seattle Seahawks (10-6) at No. 3 Minnesota Vikings (11-5) on January 10 at 1 p.m. ET. NBC will provide the early coverage of this game, which will also be shown at 10 a.m. PT for Seahawks fans. The other game on the NFC playoff schedule has the No. 5 Green Bay Packers (10-6) at No. 4 Washington Redskins (9-7) on January 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET. FOX is broadcasting that game.
The NFL playoff schedule has laid out the divisional round on January 16 and 17, followed by the championship round on January 24. Super Bowl 50 will then take place on February 7 in Santa Clara. The stadium for the San Francisco 49ers will play host, with a possibility that one of its NFC West rivals (Seattle Seahawks or Arizona Cardinals) could represent the conference in that game.
The Denver Broncos are the top seed in the AFC and will play the team that advances with the worst seed. If the Steelers beat the Bengals, it would then be a Denver vs. Pittsburgh game. If the Bengals win that game, then Denver would play the winner of the Kansas City vs. Houston game. The New England Patriots have the other AFC bye and would play the team left over with the better seed. The exact NFL playoff schedule for those second-round games has not yet been revealed.
In the NFC playoff brackets, the Carolina Panthers clinched the top seed with a 15-1 record. The team would take on the Seattle Seahawks if the two-time defending NFC champions can upset the Minnesota Vikings in the wild card round. If Minnesota wins that game, then Carolina will play the winner of the Green Bay vs. Washington game. The Arizona Cardinals finished with a 13-3 record and the No. 2 seed in the NFC, setting them up with the better opponent that advances from the two wild card games.
Once the 2016 NFL playoff schedule was released, the football analysts in Las Vegas released an updated list of Super Bowl 50 odds. The Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots are being called the Super Bowl favorites with 9-to-2 odds to win the championship. Following those two teams are the Carolina Panthers (5-to-1), Denver Broncos (6-to-1), Seattle Seahawks (6-to-1), and Pittsburgh Steelers (7-to-1). The biggest payoff would be the Houston Texans at 75-to-1 odds. The second biggest payoff would come from the Washington Redskins at 38-to-1 odds.
Regarding the odds to win a third consecutive NFC championship, the Seattle Seahawks are listed at 5-to-2 odds. The favorites in the NFC are the Arizona Cardinals at 2-to-1 and the Carolina Panthers at 21-to-10. In the AFC championship odds, the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots are currently listed at 2-to-1 odds. With everything set within the 2016 NFL playoff schedule, the countdown now begins to wild card weekend and the first game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans on Saturday, January 9.
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