NFL Playoff Bracket 2015: Complete Guide to Wild Card Saturday
This is it.
With the 2014 NFL regular season in our collective rearview mirror, the NFL world can set its sights on Wild Card Weekend as the playoffs slowly heat up over the next couple of weeks. In the NFL, every weekend ends up mattering in the big picture in one way or another, but the playoffs set up a truly "win or go home" scenario that always delivers must-watch football action.
Wild Card Saturday brings us two matchups that feature teams which critics wouldn't have envisioned in the playoffs at various points of the season. However, whether it was with a strong finish or barely clinging on to playoff hopes for the final few weeks, the beauty of the NFL playoffs is that even the longest of shots can reach the Super Bowl with a few "any given Sundays" in a row.
To get you ready for all the action, Bleacher Report has put together absolutely everything you need to know before Wild Card Saturday.
The Starting Lineups
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Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers (4:20 p.m. EST on ESPN)
- Lefkoe and Simms on X-factors for Cardinals/Panthers
- Full Cardinals/Panthers Preview from Simms and Nelson
- Cardinals Preview from Featured Columnist Shaun Church
- Panthers Preview from Featured Columnist Charles Edwards
Where does the rubber meet the road for two teams that technically belong in the playoffs but don't fit the profile of playoff-caliber teams?
Arizona has overplayed its hand with a number of backup quarterbacks this season but will be asking a tall order of Ryan Lindley to beat the Panthers. Then again, the Panthers couldn't even get to to .500 this season, so who's to say the Cardinals couldn't "shock the world" (using that term pretty loosely)?
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (8:15 p.m. EST on NBC)
- Lefkoe and Simms on X-factors for Ravens/Steelers
- Full Ravens/Steelers Preview from Simms and Nelson
- Ravens Preview from Featured Columnist Jason Marcum
- Steelers Preview from Featured Columnist Mike Batista
The AFC North managed to send three teams to the playoffs this season, which says a lot more about the state of the rest of the AFC than it does about this division.
The Ravens and Steelers split their home-and-home this year, but while the Ravens finished 4-2 (nearly losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars along the way), the Steelers finished on a four-game winning streak with two wins against the playoff-bound Bengals.
Second-Screen Swag
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Must-Follow Tweeters:
- Bleacher Report National Lead Writer Matt Bowen
- CBS Sports Senior Blogger Will Brinson
- Pro Football Talk Columnist/Former Panthers Beat Reporter Darin Gantt
- Bleacher Report AFC North Lead Writer Andrea Hangst
- Bleacher Report Columnist/Steelers Super Fan Amber Lee
- Sports Illustrated Now Analyst Aaron Nagler
- Ravens Super Fan/Blogger/Senior Matt Ryan Hater Lindsey OK
- Bleacher Report NFC South Lead Writer Brent Sobleski
- The Arizona Republic Columnist Kent Somers
- Bleacher Report NFC West Lead Writer Sean Tomlinson
Biggest Questions
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Can the Cardinals Defense Make Up for Offensive Inconsistency?
Since starting quarterback Carson Palmer's last start in Week 10, the Cardinals' highest-scoring game has been 18 points at Atlanta in Week 13, and they've failed to score at least 20 points in every game. Whether it was Drew Stanton or (now) Ryan Lindley, the offense has failed to move the ball.
Yet the Cardinals have been 3-4 over that span.
The Cardinals can certainly win this game. Heck, they could probably come close with any of us playing quarterback, but they're not going do so with some Disney-movie fantasy in which Lindley has the game of his career.
If the Cardinals win, it will be because their defense is not only good or great but absolutely dominant.
Which Panthers Defense Shows Up?
Flip the switch, and much of the same can be said about the Panthers' chances of winning this game. Though their offense has not been as tepid as the Cardinals' in recent weeks, this is a team that has—for the past couple of years—done its damage on the defensive side of the ball.
This year, though, the defense was not that great.
Good...not great.
Ranked 10th overall in defense by yardage but only 21st by points, the Panthers failed to maintain the dominance they had defensively last season, and surprisingly, a lot of that has been because they haven't been as good up front with much of the same personnel.
Defensive end Charles Johnson and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei have stepped it up in recent weeks, though, and if they play as well as they played against Atlanta in Week 17, this could be an easy win for the Panthers.
Can the Ravens Regain Dominance in the Trenches?
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Ravens have been—consistently—one of the better pass-blocking and run-blocking teams in the NFL. In my own personal grading, players like guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele have been at the top of their position, and tackles Eugene Monroe and Ricky Wagner have been awfully good as well.
Yet when injuries have struck and that unit hasn't played as well as advertised, the Ravens are one of the worse (absolute worst) offensive teams in football.
Over on defense, some of the same sort of themes can be laid out for the Ravens defensive front. When Haloti Ngata and Co. are at their best, it's difficult to stop them.
When the Ravens aren't winning in the trenches, they are a boring, listless team to watch. They beat the Steelers once this season by dominating them on the lines and won't be able to do so again without a similar sort of effort.
Will the Steelers Be Alright Without Le'Veon Bell?
As I wrote following Week 17, running back Le'Veon Bell is the engine that keeps the Steelers churning down the track this season. Yes, wide receiver Antonio Brown is fantastic (the best in the NFL this season), and yes, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been great for stretches this season, but without Bell this team isn't in the playoffs.
Without Bell, it will be very difficult for them to win a playoff game.
They've signed Ben Tate to handle the rushing load and have some talent in guys like Dri Archer, but no combination of players is going to replace a full-strength Bell. Roethlisberger will need to play out of his mind, and the passing game will have to pick up the slack in a big way.
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Important Matchups
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Cam Newton (QB Panthers) vs. Larry Foote (LB Cardinals)
Newton has tried as hard as possible this season to be a more effective pocket passer. The Panthers offense has looked its best in 2014 when Newton has been able to drop back, find an open receiver and deliver strikes.
How often has that actually happened? Not very often. How likely is it that it will happen against the Cardinals' fantastic defense? Not very likely.
Newton will be tasked with extending plays here. He will be under duress. How Newton is able to get out of the pocket will be measured against how he deals with pressure and how well the aged (or seemingly ageless, at times) Foote will be able to track him down.
Patrick Peterson (CB Cardinals) vs. Kelvin Benjamin (WR Panthers)
There's not a lot to highlight on the Cardinals offense, so I'll pick another matchup when the Panthers have the ball here. Benjamin and Peterson are both physical freaks of nature.
Watching these two wunderkinds—usually dwarfing others at their position in both size and physicality—going against one another on the outside is going to be akin to a Japanese monster movie, just without Tokyo being wrecked underfoot.
Peterson has been prone to major (if increasingly infrequent) mental lapses, but nothing to the extent of Benjamin, so look for Benjamin to make one or two plays here but Peterson to win the day.
Antonio Brown (WR Steelers) vs. ???
Who on the Ravens covers Brown?
Do they even have players who can do that sort of thing?
Although the Ravens defense is stout up front, there's been lots of room for receivers to get free deep and on the outside against a secondary that isn't ever in the right place at the right time.
If the pressure doesn't get to Ben Roethlisberger or he extends plays as he is wont to do, you can be almost 100 percent positive that Brown will frequently be standing alone on a patch of green grass.
Jeremy Zuttah (C Ravens) vs. Steelers Interior DL
Zuttah is a better player than he is often given credit for. When he's at his best, he can be the kind of player rampaging through the Steelers interior and paving big ol' highways for the Ravens running game.
More importantly, perhaps, he'll need to manage the line through the Steelers' blitz package and line stunts, keeping Joe Flacco upright.
For an X's and O's look at even more matchups, take a seat in Matt Bowen's film study.
Injury Report
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DeAngelo Williams (RB Panthers)—Probable, Hand
The Panthers run game has been largely a disappointment this year, but having a number of bodies to throw headlong at the Cardinals defense will be a must. If the Panthers get one-dimensional on offense, the game is already over.
Le'Veon Bell (RB Steelers)—Out, Knee
Bell won't play, and that's going to put a ton of pressure on the Steelers' passing game to put up big numbers.
Larry Foote (LB Cardinals)—Questionable, Knee
I spotlit Foote on the last slide, as the Cardinals expect him to go. If he can't, or if things flare up on him, manning the middle will fall to Kevin Minter, who is physically the better player but doesn't bring the experience or veteran savvy that Foote does.
Timmy Jernigan (DL Ravens)—Questionable, Foot
The Ravens win in the trenches and have the bodies (maybe even without Jernigan) to win there against Pittsburgh. Still, when so little has consistently gone right for the Ravens in many games this season, having the strength of the team as strong as possible would be a boon.
Other Notable Injuries:
Drew Stanton (QB Cardinals)—Out, Knee
Troy Polamalu (S Steelers)—Probable, Knee
Eugene Monroe (OT Ravens)—Questionable, Foot
Bleacher Report Consensus Predictions and Links
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Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.
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