NFL Playoff Picture 2018: AFC, NFC Brackets, Scenarios and Championship Odds

This year's NFL postseason presents an intriguing set of potential scenarios.

For example, we could see the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams face off in a Super Bowl that would feature a 65-year-old head coach (the Pats' Bill Belichick) and a 32-year-old head coach (the Rams' Sean McVay, who is 31 but turns 32 on January 24).

Belichick had already completed one season as the Giants' defensive coordinator before McVay was born.

We could also see the Minnesota Vikings face off against the Buffalo Bills in a matchup between two teams that have gone a combined 0-of-8 in Super Bowl appearances. The Bills, who were the last team to make the AFC playoff field, have an uphill battle to get there, but you never know.

Here's a look at the playoff bracket, some championship odds (via OddsShark) and three interesting scenarios that could play out in the postseason.

NFL Playoff Bracket

Wild-Card Round

Saturday, 4:35 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC: No. 5 Tennessee Titans at No. 4 Kansas City Chiefs

Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC: No. 6 Atlanta Falcons at No. 3 Los Angeles Rams

Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS: No. 6 Buffalo Bills at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET on Fox: No. 5 Carolina Panthers at No. 4 New Orleans Saints

Divisional Round

Saturday, January 13, at 4:35 p.m. ET on NBC: Lowest-seeded NFC wild-card team remaining (New Orleans, Carolina or Atlanta) at Philadelphia Eagles

Saturday, January 13, at 8:15 p.m. ET on CBS: Lowest-seeded AFC wild-card team remaining (Kansas City, Tennessee or Buffalo) at New England Patriots

Sunday, January 14, at 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS: Highest-seeded AFC wild-card team remaining (Jacksonville, Kansas City or Tennessee) at Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday, January 14, at 4:40 p.m. ET on Fox: Highest-seeded NFC wild-card team remaining (Los Angeles, New Orleans or Carolina) at Minnesota Vikings

Conference Championships

Sunday, January 21, at 3:05 p.m. ET: AFC Championship on CBS (Lowest-seeded AFC team at highest-seeded AFC team)

Sunday, January 21, at 6:40 p.m. ET: NFC Championship on Fox (Lowest-seeded NFC team at highest-seeded NFC team)

Super Bowl LII

Sunday, February 4, at 6:30 p.m. ET: AFC champion vs. NFC champion

AFC Championship Odds (via OddsShark)

New England Patriots: 5-7

Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-2

Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-1

Kansas City Chiefs: 8-1

Tennessee Titans: 40-1

Buffalo Bills: 40-1

NFC Championship Odds (via OddsShark)

Minnesota Vikings: 7-4

Los Angeles Rams: 4-1

New Orleans Saints: 4-1

Philadelphia Eagles: 19-4

Atlanta Falcons: 8-1

Carolina Panthers: 9-1

Super Bowl LII Odds (via OddsShark)

New England Patriots: 9-4

Minnesota Vikings: 15-4

Pittsburgh Steelers: 23-4

New Orleans Saints: 15-2

Los Angeles Rams: 15-2

Philadelphia Eagles: 12-1

Atlanta Falcons: 16-1

Kansas City Chiefs: 20-1

Jacksonville Jaguars: 22-1

Carolina Panthers: 25-1

Buffalo Bills: 66-1

Tennessee Titans: 100-1

Scenarios

Divisional-Round Grudge Matches

Last season, all four divisional-round games were rematches of regular-season contests. That could very well happen this year under a number of different scenarios.

If the home teams hold serve in the AFC Wild Card Round, the Jacksonville Jaguars will face the Pittsburgh Steelers while the Kansas City Chiefs go to New England to play the Patriots.

The Steelers and Pats got crushed in their own buildings during the regular season against these teams, losing by a combined 36 points.

However, Pittsburgh and New England are much-improved after early-season struggles, so if the Jags and Chiefs advance, we should be in for two great games.

In the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles could see the Carolina Panthers again, while the Minnesota Vikings have already faced (and beaten) the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. Minnesota could also look for revenge against Carolina, who it lost to, 31-24, earlier this season.

AFC Championship Rematch

The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers were both shorthanded in last year's AFC Championship. Notably, the Pats were missing tight end Rob Gronkowski (back injury), and the Steelers lost Le'Veon Bell to a groin problem in the first quarter.

This season, the Pats and Steelers faced off in the regular season, but Pittsburgh lost star wideout Antonio Brown to a groin injury in the first half.

Per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that Brown would be questionable if his team had to play this week. That may bode well for Brown's chances to suit up for the divisional round, and it's an even better sign for the AFC championship one week later.

It'd be interesting to see how the AFC Championship Game would play out with Gronk, Bell, Brown and quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady all on the field together for the duration. Oddly enough, that has never happened despite these teams playing each other five times since 2013.

First-Time Super Bowl Winner?

The Patriots (five) and Steelers (six) have eight more Super Bowl wins than the rest of the playoff field combined. The Saints, Rams (when they were in St. Louis) and Chiefs have each won one, while the other seven teams have never won a championship.

If New Orleans or Los Angeles doesn't make it out of the NFC, the representative from that conference will be looking for its first title. As noted before, the Vikings have made it four times but lost all four. The Panthers, Eagles and Falcons have lost twice each.

In the AFC, Jacksonville is striving for its first-ever Super Bowl appearance. The Bills made (and lost) the Super Bowl four years in a row to start the 1990s, and the Titans lost to the Rams in the heartbreaking Super Bowl XXXIV.