NFL Playoff Schedule 2015: Postseason Dates and Latest Wild-Card Scenarios

The 2014 NFL regular season comes to a close Sunday when the last Week 17 game is over. Football fans can now begin to look ahead to the 2015 playoff schedule and the latest Wild Card Round scenarios.

Round	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	Watch
Round	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	Watch
Round	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	Watch
Round	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	Watch
AFC Wild Card Round	Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers	Saturday, Jan. 3	8:15 pm	NBC
AFC Wild Card Round	Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts	Sunday, Jan. 4	1:05 pm	CBS
NFC Wild Card Round	Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers	Saturday, Jan. 3	4:35 pm	ESPN
NFC Wild Card Round	Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys	Sunday, Jan. 4	4:40 pm	FOX
AFC Divisional Round	TBD at New England Patriots	Saturday, Jan. 10	4:35 pm	NBC
AFC Divisional Round	TBD at Denver Broncos	Sunday, Jan. 11	4:40 pm	CBS
NFC Divisional Round	TBD at Seattle Seahawks	Saturday, Jan. 10	8:15 pm	FOX
NFC Divisional Round	TBD at Green Bay Packers	Sunday, Jan. 11	1:05 pm	FOX
AFC Championship Game	TBD	Sunday, Jan. 18	3 p.m.	Fox
NFC Championship Game	TBD	Sunday, Jan. 18	6:30 p.m.	CBS
Super Bowl XLIX	TBD	Sunday, Feb. 1	6:30 p.m.	NBC

With several teams fighting for their postseason lives and even more jostling for position in the playoffs, fans having trouble watching the regular season come to an end will be comforted by the elite action on the field.

Here is the full 2015 NFL playoff schedule and the latest Wild Card Round scenarios. For a full postseason picture, check out CBSSports.com.

Week 17 AFC Wild Card Scenarios

Bengals clinch AFC North with:

Cincinnati win vs. Pittsburgh

Steelers clinch AFC North with:

Pittsburgh win vs. Cincinnati

Chargers clinch playoff spot with:

San Diego win vs. Kansas City OR

San Diego tie and Baltimore loss or tie vs. Cleveland

Ravens clinch playoff spot with:

Baltimore win and San Diego loss or tie OR

Baltimore tie and San Diego loss

Chiefs clinch playoff spot with:

Kansas City win and loss by Baltimore and loss or tie by Houston

Texans clinch playoff spot with:

Houston win and losses by both Baltimore and San Diego

Week 17 NFC Scenarios

Lions clinch NFC North with:

Lions win or tie

Packers clinch NFC North and first-round bye with:

Green Bay win

Seahawks clinch NFC West with:

Seattle win OR

Seattle tie and loss or tie by Arizona OR

Arizona loss

Cardinals clinch NFC West with:

Arizona win and Seattle loss or tie OR

Arizona tie and Seattle loss

Wild-Card Contenders That Could Make a Deep Run

There are several teams that entered Sunday fighting for a wild-card berth, but only a few have the legitimate talent to make a deep run in the postseason.

In the NFC, the divisional battles Sunday will determine which teams will make the postseason as division winners and which will be forced to enter the playoffs as wild-card teams. The fight for the NFC West is the most notable, with both the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals fighting for the title.

When asked about needing help to win the division, Arizona head coach Bruce Arians told ESPN.com, “It's not the end of the world. Obviously, we would have liked to have it the easy way, but our goals haven't changed.”

The franchise that does not win the division will enter the postseason as one of the wild-card teams. For any of the other teams in playoff contention, seeing either Seattle or Arizona in the first round is a less-than-favorable matchup.

Regardless of how they are seeded, the NFC West representative in the Wild Card Round will be tough to beat. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks are stacked from top to bottom and have hit their stride heading into the playoffs. Arizona, despite instability at the quarterback position, still boasts at talent-laden roster with a strong defense.

The matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions on Sunday will decide the other wild-card representative. The battle for the NFC North will be fierce, and the team that loses will enter the playoffs as one of the most dangerous wild-card teams this year.

Aaron Rodgers is having an MVP-type season. With plenty of weapons at his disposal, he and the Packers are always a threat. Meanwhile, the Lions have done much of their damage this season through a strong defensive front. And anytime Calvin Johnson is on the field on offense, it's a clear advantage.

On the AFC side, both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals have made the postseason, but the hunt for the AFC North will be settled Sunday night. The team that loses in Week 17 will be relegated to a wild-card spot, but both franchises should be respected as serious threats to make a deep run.

Bengals rookie running back Jeremy Hill has been a revelation in Cincinnati. He's someone the offense can continue to lean on moving forward, as he adds a new power-running element to complement Giovani Bernard.

Regardless of which team takes the final AFC wild-card spot, football fans should expect every franchise that makes the postseason to be ready for a fight. The hope is that the resulting matchups in both the AFC and NFC live up to the lofty expectations set by the regular season.

*Stats via NFL.com.