NFL Playoff Picture 2015: Full Look at Bracket, Scenarios and Championship Odds

The NFL postseason is here. 

A scintillating bowl season has kept the attention of most football fans for the last several days, and the NFL is likely to keep that momentum going with an extremely compelling Wild Card Weekend. 

Before things get started, let's take a look at the playoff picture. 

Bracket, Scenarios

For the uninitiated, the NFL restructures the matchups after each round according to seed.

So, in terms of scenarios, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will play the lowest seed to advance on Wild Card Weekend. That means they can't play the third-seeded Dallas Cowboys or Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively, in the divisional round.  

That may prove especially beneficial for the 'Hawks, whose only home loss during the regular season came to Dallas. 

Championship Odds

Team	Odds
New England Patriots	5-2
Seattle Seahawks	5-2
Green Bay Packers	11-2
Denver Broncos	6-1
Dallas Cowboys	8-1
Pittsburgh Steelers	12-1
Indianapolis Colts	30-1
Baltimore Ravens	40-1
Carolina Panthers	40-1
Cincinnati Bengals	40-1
Detroit Lions	50-1
Arizona Cardinals	75-1

Note: Odds courtesy of VegasInsider.com

Wild Card Weekend Preview

The Carolina Panthers may be entering the playoffs with a losing record, but they aren't exactly playing like it. Ron Rivera's squad has won its last four games, out-scoring opponents 111-43 over that span. 

A large reason for the late-season surge has been a revival of the running game. Jonathan Stewart is suddenly looking like one of the most spry backs in the league, and as NFL.com's Chris Wesseling pointed out, he has the production to match:

With Stewart looking fantastic in the running game, and the defense playing extremely well, the Panthers should roll at home against an injury-riddled Arizona Cardinals squad.

In Saturday's second game, the health—or lack thereof—of Le'Veon Bell may prove crucial. The second-year star, who compiled 2,215 yards from scrimmage with zero (!) fumbles, was ruled out of action on Friday by the franchise. 

Despite this, he has confidence in backup Josh Harris, an undrafted rookie out of Wake Forest, via the Beaver County Times' Chris Bradford (subscription required):

"

Josh is a very good player. I've been watching him all year. I know what he's capable of. You got a little glimpse of it in the Bengals game. I was happy to see he broke a long run. You saw the speed a little bit. He's definitely ready.

"

Still, it's more likely the Steelers turn to Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, who have proven unstoppable for much of the season. During the team's last meeting against Baltimore, Bell ran for just 20 yards, while Roethlisberger threw for 340 and six touchdowns and Brown caught 11 balls for 144 yards. 

So, it's not out of the question to see a pass-heavy attack from the Steelers. 

The AFC's other matchup is also a rematch of a regular-season battle, as the Indianapolis Colts crushed the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-0, back in October. 

Jeremy Hill will be key. The rookie had 15 yards on four carries in that game, but he has since taken over as Cincy's early-down back and has looked extremely explosive when he gets a heavy dose of carries. 

Pro Football Focus' Pat Thorman gave an eye-opening look at his importance:

The Bengals should feed Hill, and if they do, it's going to result in a much closer game. But, ultimately, you have to side with Andrew Luck at home, where he is 6-2 with 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. 

Finally, we have the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. 

It will be compelling to see if Ndamukong Suh—and a potentially healthy Nick Fairley—and the Lions' stout defensive line can slow down what has been the best running game in the NFL this season. 

Per Football Outsiders' rankings, Dallas boasts the league's best run-blocking offensive line (and one of the most dynamic running backs in DeMarco Murray), while the Lions have the best run defense in the league, according to pretty much every stat. 

Tony Romo is playing extremely well and the Cowboys offense has enough weapons to get past the Lions defense, but this should be an entertaining battle nonetheless.