NFL Playoff Schedule 2018: Known AFC, NFC Wild-Card and Postseason Info

The NFL playoff schedule will be set after the final 16 regular-season games take place on Sunday, December 31.

It should be an entertaining race to the finish, especially considering that nine of the 16 games kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET. In fact, eight of those nine have some sort of playoff implication, with the lone exception being the Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos matchup.

Here's a look at what we know of the NFL playoff schedule thus far, via Sports Media Watch, alongside a breakdown of one interesting storyline to look forward to this postseason.

Wild-Card Round

Dates: January 6/7

Time: Times will be announced. If the NFL follows its most recent postseason schedule format, which has been the case since the 2013 season, games will take place at 4:35 p.m. ET and 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 6, and 1:05 p.m. ET and 4:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 7.

TV: One game each on ESPN/ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS.

Divisional Round

Dates: January 13/14

Time: Times will be announced. Once again, if the 2013-2016 format applies for this year, we will see 4:35 p.m. ET and 8:15 p.m. ET games on Saturday, January 13, and 1:05 p.m. ET and 4:40 p.m. ET games on Sunday, January 14.

TV: One game each on ESPN/ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS.

Conference Championship

Dates: January 20/21

Time: 3 p.m. ET (AFC Championship) and 6:30 p.m. ET (NFC Championship)

TV: CBS (AFC Championship) and Fox (NFC Championship)

Super Bowl

Date: February 4

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Will the Minnesota Vikings Be the First Team in Super Bowl Era History To Stay Home Through the Playoffs?

Before the Super Bowl era, the NFL championship was always played at one of the participants' stadiums. For example, in 1965 (the year before the Super Bowl's inception), the Green Bay Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field.

Since the Super Bowl started after the 1966 regular season, however, the game moved to a neutral site every year. More often than not, the matchup was set to take place at an NFL team's stadium, but no team has made it far enough to play on their own home field yet.

The 1984 San Francisco 49ers got to play at Stanford Stadium, which is about a half-hour drive from their old home field (Candlestick Park), but that's as close as a team has gotten in 51 years.

Minnesota has a great shot to change that narrative, however, as the game is taking place at their home in U.S. Bank Stadium this year.

The Vikings will be the NFC's No. 2 seed if they beat the Chicago Bears, who are 11.5-point underdogs, per OddsShark, on Sunday (Minnesota can be the No. 2 even if they lose but would need some help).

A No. 2 seed would mean a wild-card bye and a home game in the divisional round, which would supplant Minnesota as one of the favorites to make the Super Bowl. In fact, the Vikings have the best odds to emerge from the NFC at 2-1, per OddsShark.

The Vikings have played every current NFC playoff team except for Philadelphia this year, and they emerged with wins over the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. A 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers on the road was their only defeat.

Furthermore, the current No. 1 seed (the Philadelphia Eagles) have not played well since quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams.

The now 2-13 New York Giants were six yards away from a game-winning touchdown with less than one minute left in Week 15, but the Eagles pulled off a stand and beat Big Blue 34-29.

The following week, Philadelphia engaged in a rock fight with the six-win Oakland Raiders before scoring nine points in the last minute to beat the Silver and Black 19-10.

Therefore, it's conceivable that the Eagles could be one-and-done. If that's the case and the Vikings get the No. 2 seed and win their divisional-round game, then they would be the NFC Championship host. A win there means that they would be the first team in Super Bowl era history to stay in its home stadium throughout the playoffs.

That would be a big boost to the Vikings, who would likely face the tough New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. The Pats are the current favorite at 2-1 to win the Super Bowl, per OddsShark, while the Steelers beat the Vikings 26-9 earlier this year at Heinz Field. They are arguably the two best teams in the league, so playing at home against them would be key.

In fairness, this wouldn't be a stadium 100-percent full of Vikings fans (AFC team fans will populate part of the stadium, in addition to people who don't support either side), but it helps that the Vikings wouldn't have to travel and can be in their comfort zone.

It will be interesting to see if Minnesota can pull this off and win its first Super Bowl in team history.