NFL Playoff Schedule Is Set After Wild Day To End Season


The NFL playoff schedule is finally set after a wild day the end the season that didn’t see the complete playoff picture come into focus until the final gun sounded on the last game.

On Sunday Night Football, the Washington Redskins hung on to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 28-18, in the process winning the NFC East and taking the final playoff spot.

The win gave the Redskins their first division title since 1999, a surprising end to a season many thought would be fraught with growing pains for the team led by rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III.

“I was 9 years old in 1999,” Griffin told ESPN after the game. “So I stand before you at 22, and the Redskins are the NFC East champions. To me, talking to Alfred after the game, it’s the first time the Redskins have been champs since ’99 and we came in and we did it in one year. The sky’s the limit for this team.”

The Redskins weren’t the only team to ride a wild finish to the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings needed a win to get in and 209 yards from Adrian Peterson to get him the single-season rushing record. The Vikings put the load on Peterson, who fell nine yards short of the record but still helped his team defeat the Green Bay Packers to make the playoffs.

Here is the complete NFL playoff schedule (via Reuters):

Saturday, Jan. 5

AFC wildcard game

Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) at Houston Texans (12-4), 4:30 pm ET

NFC wildcard game

Minnesota Vikings (10-6) at Green Bay Packers (11-5), 8 pm ET

Sunday, Jan. 6

AFC wildcard game

Indianapolis Colts (11-5) at Baltimore Ravens (10-6), 1 pm ET

NFC wildcard game

Seattle Seahawks (11-5) at Washington Redskins (10-6), 4:30 pm ET

Saturday, Jan. 12

AFC divisional game

Wildcard game winner at Denver Broncos (13-3), 4:30 pm ET

NFC division game

Wildcard game winner at San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1), 8 pm ET

Sunday, Jan. 13

NFC divisional game

Wildcard game winner at Atlanta Falcons (13-3), 1 pm ET

AFC divisional game

Wildcard game winner at New England Patriots (12-4), 4:30 pm ET

Sunday, Jan. 20

AFC championship game

Teams and site to be determined

NFC championship game

Teams and site to be determined

Sunday, Feb. 3

Super Bowl, New Orleans

AFC champion vs. NFC champion

The NFL playoff schedule also points to some potentially interesting matchups. In the AFC the New England Patriots could be meeting with old nemesis Peyton Manning and his new squad, the Denver Broncos. In the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons will use home field advantage to try once and for all to get over the hump and make a long playoff run.

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