NFL Playoffs 2015: Schedule, Predictions and More for Wild Card Weekend

Good luck getting anything productive done outside of sitting on the couch and watching football this weekend.

It’s Wild Card Weekend of the NFL playoffs after all, and early AFC and NFC showdowns will set the tone for the rest of the postseason. Who will have the opportunity to challenge Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in the next round? What about Aaron Rodgers or the dominant Seattle Seahawks defense? 

Here is a look at the schedule and predictions for the entire Wild Card Weekend.

Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	Predicted Winner
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers	Saturday, Jan. 3	4:20 p.m.	Panthers
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers	Saturday, Jan. 3	8:15 p.m.	Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts	Sunday, Jan. 4	1:05 p.m.	Colts
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys	Sunday, Jan. 4	4:40 p.m.	Cowboys

Predictions

Carolina Panthers over Arizona Cardinals

Sometimes, commentators and fans put too much emphasis on late-season results, but the ones ahead of the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals matchup are just too hard to ignore.

The Panthers won their last four games after starting 3-8-1, while the Cardinals lost four of their final six games after starting 9-1. Injuries and a more difficult schedule finally caught up to Arizona down the stretch, which is worrisome entering the playoffs.

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton is finally starting to get healthy, and he will have his way against a Cardinals defense that was gashed by Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson in the last two weeks of the regular season.

What’s more, Arizona will have to counter with third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley. Good luck winning on the road in a playoff game with that situation under center.

Pittsburgh Steelers over Baltimore Ravens

As if the playoffs isn’t a big enough stage already, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely hate each other. An old-fashioned rivalry showdown is the perfect way to finish the first day of this season's playoffs.

The Steelers will be without running back Le’Veon Bell, which means the Pittsburgh passing game has to elevate its production. That won’t be a problem with Ben Roethlisberger, who led the NFL with 4,952 passing yards and torched the Ravens secondary for six touchdowns in Week 9.

Throw in wide receiver Antonio Brown and his 129 caches for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdown catches, and the Ravens secondary—which was 23rd in the league against the pass—is going to have a long day. The home team won both regular-season matchups, and that pattern will continue in the postseason.

Indianapolis Colts over Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals caught an unfortunate break when A.J. Green suffered a concussion in Week 17, and there is a very good chance he won’t play.

That will be a problem for the Cincinnati rushing attack that finished sixth in the league behind Jeremy Hill’s 1,124 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. If Green is out, the Indianapolis Colts will force the Bengals to be one-dimensional by devoting an extra defender to the box, which will make life much easier on the defense.

The Bengals will struggle to keep up with a Colts offense that finished first in the league in passing yards per game behind Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Coby Fleener. Luck totaled 40 touchdowns and 4,761 yards and will challenge a Bengals secondary that was 20th in the league against the pass. 

Cincinnati was also 20th against the run, which is interesting considering the following stat, via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star:

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Colts establish the run against a vulnerable Cincinnati front seven.

Dallas Cowboys over Detroit Lions

The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions matchup is a strength-on-strength showdown that pits DeMarco Murray and the Dallas offensive line against the Detroit rush defense.

Murray finished with a league-best 1,845 rushing yards, but the Lions were top in the NFL against the run and finished with 133 tackles for loss. The only way Detroit can pull off the upset on the road is with an impressive performance from the front seven against Murray.

The real problem for Detroit may be offense, considering it was 22nd in the league in points per game. The rushing attack was virtually nonexistent, with both Reggie Bush and Joique Bell failing to reach four yards per carry on the season, which means the Cowboys can devote two guys to wide receiver Calvin Johnson on most plays because the Detroit run just isn’t dangerous.

Defensive coordinator Rob Marinelli discussed the showdown with Johnson, via Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com: "I think we're going to be able to maybe give [Brandon Carr] more help than we did. And I feel like Brandon is a terrific corner and he's up for this challenge, but as a staff we've got to find ways to help him." 

Dallas has too many weapons in Murray, Tony Romo and Dez Bryant to be completely held in check, even against a defense as strong as Detroit. The Lions don’t have enough firepower to keep up and will fall short on the scoreboard because of it.

Follow me on Twitter:

Follow @ScottPolacek