NFL Playoff Schedule 2015: Postseason Bracket and Wild Card Predictions

The second season is finally upon us as the calendar rolls over to January. Just one day stands between now and the start of the postseason, with four intriguing matchups in the Wild Card Round.

Saturday's slate includes the Carolina Panthers hosting the Arizona Cardinals, two teams heading in completely different directions. In the nightcap, a divisional battle between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers will take center stage.

The final games feature the Cincinnati Bengals against the Indianapolis Colts and the Detroit Lions travelling to Jerry World to take on the Dallas Cowboys. Both feature young and veteran superstars that can make a huge difference.

Below is a look at the full bracket and Wild Card Weekend predictions.

Date	Time	Matchup	Watch	Stream	Pick
Saturday, Jan. 3	4:35 p.m. ET	Arizona at Carolina	ESPN	WatchESPN	CAR
Saturday, Jan. 3	8:15 p.m. ET	Baltimore at Pittsburgh	NBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	PIT
Sunday, Jan. 4	1:05 p.m. ET	Cincinnati at Indianapolis	CBS	CBSSports.com	IND
Sunday, Jan. 4	4:40 p.m. ET	Detroit at Dallas	FOX	Fox Sports Go	DAL

Predictions Breakdown

All that's necessary for a deep run in the playoffs is a glimmer of confidence. The Panthers have that already after finishing the season on a four-game winning streak just to make the postseason.

As its reward, Carolina hosts a playoff game against 11-5 Arizona. The Cardinals are already on their third-string quarterback with Ryan Lindley, while the Panthers are riding high thanks to great play recently from Cam Newton and the surging defense.

Over his last three games, Newton has tallied a total of eight touchdowns and just one pick. He has at least one rushing score along with over 50 yards on the ground in every game.

Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians spoke about facing Newton and how he is different from the NFC West's dual-threat QBs, via Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona:

"

He doesn't look like a guy who was in a car accident, that's for sure. He's a freaky athlete. To survive that wreck and come back and play, he had to be in unbelievable condition to do that.

They don't run Russell or Kaep between the tackles like a fullback. Cam is a big tight end running in there. When they start running speed sweeps sideways, they're also running the power downhill with the quarterback. That's a very unusual offense to run in the NFL.

"

Playing at home against a severely weakened Arizona team, look for Newton and Jonathan Stewart to be the difference.

In Saturday's late game between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the deciding factor will likely be Le'Veon Bell. The star running back suffered a knee injury in Week 17, so his status heading into the game is still up in the air. Baltimore has shut down the explosive back in two games this year, but will need a nearly perfect game to begin another Super Bowl run.

Yet another AFC North team will be doing battle on Sunday as well when the Bengals travel to take on the Colts. Questions about Andy Dalton's postseason effectiveness will come up again, but Andrew Luck doesn't exactly have a great track record either, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Of course, most fans remember Luck's comeback last year over the Kansas City Chiefs. Going against an unpredictable Cincinnati defense, the Indy offense will need to get rolling early this time around before the Bengals surge their way to a win.

In the final matchup of the weekend, the Cowboys have their hands full with the Lions as they attempt to win their first playoff game since 2009. Calvin Johnson has been a physical freak for several years now, but Golden Tate has stepped up in his absence at times this year.

Pro Football Focus points out one category where Tate has excelled in his first year with Detroit:

"

Most yards after catch among WRs: Golden Tate 709 Demaryius Thomas 672 Antonio Brown 615 Randall Cobb 603 Jordy Nelson 558 Julio Jones 552

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) December 29, 2014"

If the Dallas defense is up to the task of shutting down Tate and Johnson, the offense can go to work. Having the likes of Tony Romo orchestrating an offense with Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray and Jason Witten, the Cowboys have a plethora of weapons to get the job done.

Looking for a chance to face the respective No. 1 and 2 seeds in each conference, the pressure will be on this weekend. Which teams actually show up will be the difference between a playoff run and an early ticket back home.

Follow @RCorySmith on Twitter.