NFL Playoff Picture: Instant Wild Card Round Preview and Analysis

The 2014 NFL regular season is now officially in the books. In less than a week, the postseason march to Super Bowl XLIX will begin.

With the playoff field now set, it is time to look ahead to the opening round of elimination games. 

The New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers all earned first-round byes and will have to wait a week to take the football field.

This leaves the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers playing next weekend for a chance to advance.

Let's take a look at what Wild Card Weekend has to offer. 

How They Got Here: AFC

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The Colts (11-5) locked up the AFC South with a win over the Houston Texans back in Week 15. They will host the Bengals.

The Steelers (11-5) clinched a playoff berth with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16. They defeated Cincinnati 27-17 in the regular-season finale to claim the AFC North title. They will host the Ravens next weekend.

The Bengals (10-5-1) clinched a postseason spot with a win over the Broncos in Week 16. A loss on Sunday puts Cincinnati on the road in the playoffs.

The Baltimore Ravens (10-6) defeated the Cleveland Browns 20-10 on Sunday. A loss by the San Diego Chargers handed Baltimore the AFC's final wild-card spot. The Ravens will travel to face Steelers. 

How They Got Here: NFC

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The Cowboys (12-4) clinched the NFC East with an impressive 42-7 win over the Colts in Week 16.Seattle and Green Bay both won on Sunday, leaving the Cowboys as the No. 3 seed. Dallas will host Detroit.

The Panthers (7-8-1) won the woeful NFC South with a Week 17 win over the Atlanta Falcons. As the division winner, they will host the fifth-seeded Cardinals.

Arizona (11-5) secured a postseason spot back in Week 15 and entered Week 17 with a chance at earning a first-round bye. A Week 17 loss and wins by Seattle and Green Bay leaves the Cardinals as the NFC's fifth seed.

The Lions (11-5) locked up a playoff berth in Week 16. A win on Sunday could have given Detroit a first-round bye, but the Lions fell 30-20 to Green Bay. As a result, they have the No. 6 seed. 

Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts

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The Colts were embarrassed in Week 16 but managed to earn a convincing 27-10 victory over the Titans to finish the regular season. This gives Andrew Luck an Co. some much-needed momentum heading into next weekend.

We lead with Luck because without him, there is no chance that the Colts are a playoff team. Sure, the third-year signal-caller still has some bad habits, but he also has moments where he looks like a future Hall of Famer. 

Luck and pass-catchers like T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Coby Fleener are more than capable of producing enough to win a shootout. This is tremendously good news, given the state of the Indianapolis defense and rushing attack.

Indianapolis ranks 22nd overall in total defense, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

The good news for Indy is that when the Colts faced Cincinnati earlier this season, they shut out the Bengals 27-0.

The Bengals have weapons on offense, however. Guys like A.J. Green, Jeremy Hill and Jermaine Gresham are capable of making game-changing plays, provided Cincinnati can get a clean contest from quarterback Andy Dalton.

Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys

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After three 8-8 seasons, the Cowboys are back in the playoffs. They've gotten here with a winning formula that includes a strong running game, efficient play from quarterback Tony Romo and an opportunistic defense.

Though the Dallas D hasn't exactly been dominant, outstanding production from star running back DeMarco Murray (1,845 yards, 13 touchdowns) has kept it off the field and masked many of its deficiencies. 

The Cowboys are likely hoping that they can ride their running game all the way to the Super Bowl.

Detroit, however, isn't going to be an easy matchup. Dallas is ranked second in run blocking by Pro Football Focus, but the Lions are ranked second overall in run defense. 

In fact, the defense has largely carried the Lions this season, which is a bit of departure from years past. According to Pro Football Focus, the unit ranks second overall. With quarterback Matthew Stafford and wideout Calvin Johnson leading the way offensively, Detroit is also a legitimate threat to put points on the board.

If Detroit can manage to contain the Cowboys running game and put pressure on the Dallas defense, it will have a very real chance of winning this road playoff game.

Home-field advantage gives Dallas a little bit of an edge, but this should be a closely contested game. It is certainly shaping up to be a better matchup than most would have guessed during the preseason.

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

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The most brutal rivalry in the AFC North is alive and well, as the Ravens will travel to face the division-champion Steelers.

Pittsburgh has won five of its last six games and is rolling into the postseason with momentum. The Steelers offense, ranked third overall by Pro Football Focus, has led the way. However, the fact that star running back Le'Veon Bell left Week 17's game against Cincinnati with a right knee injury has to be cause for concern.

The last meeting with the Ravens resulted in a 43-23 Pittsburgh victory.

The Ravens haven't exactly looked like a dominant team in recent weeks, but they did enough to win when it mattered in the regular-season finale against Cleveland, especially in the second half. As Torrey Smith said afterward, via Childs Walker of The Baltimore Sun, "The good thing is, we've been there a thousand times. So we don't panic."

The running game has found life behind journeyman Justin Forsett, and the Baltimore pass rush (ranked No. 1 overall by Pro Football Focus) has been lights out. A lot of this game will depend on which version of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco shows up.

Flacco has looked like an all-star at times (312 yards, two touchdowns against the Browns in Week 17), while underwhelming at others (195 yards, two touchdowns and three picks against the Texans a week earlier).

The good news for Baltimore is that this is a team with a ton of postseason experience. Expect this to be a slugfest.

Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers

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At one point this season, the Panthers held a 3-8-1 record. Now they are hosting a playoff game.

This might sound like the punchline to some sort of sports gag, but the reality is that Carolina is capable of pulling off a playoff win.

The Panthers have won four straight to get here and are playing their best football of the season at exactly the right time.

Quarterback Cam Newton appears fully healthy, running back Jonathan Stewart is leading a resurgent rushing attack and all of a sudden the Panthers defense resembles the unit that dominated a season ago.

Carolina's first postseason test will be a defensively led Cardinals team that had managed to find success against the odds this season.

Arizona is only ranked 18th overall by Pro Football Focus in overall defense, but it has done enough to overcome the loss of the team's top two quarterbacks (Carson Palmer is on injured reserve and Drew Stanton has missed the past two games due to a knee injury).

It wouldn't be surprising to see the Cardinals again beat the odds on Wild Card Weekend. It would be equally so to see Carolina ride its wave of momentum to a postseason victory.