NFL Playoff Schedule 2015: TV Info, Bracket Predictions and More for Postseason

The test of the divisional round has come and passed, and now four of the NFL's best stand 60 minutes away from a trip to Super Bowl XLIX.

Chalk has been the way for most of this postseason so far, with only one upset coming in each of the opening two weekends of playoff football. Sunday's proved to be the most shocking, as Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos were bounced by his former team—the Indianapolis Colts.

The road only gets tougher for Andrew Luck and Co., who travel to face a New England Patriots team fresh off an inspiring 35-31 comeback over the Baltimore Ravens. 

As for the NFC, the top two seeds stepped up to the task. The Seattle Seahawks took care of the Carolina Panthers at home and will turn around to host the Green Bay Packers, who snuck past the Dallas Cowboys by the skin of their teeth.

Here's a complete look at the playoff divisional-round matchup, fit with predictions.

Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots

The Colts got over the hump in the post-Manning era in the most fitting way possible, taking down their former quarterback en route to a dominant 24-13 win in Denver. Now, we'll find out if Luck can take them to where Manning did multiple times.

To do just that, they'll have to go through the New England Patriots in Foxborough.

It seemed as if the Ravens had the Pats' number yet again Saturday in the divisional round with Joe Flacco dealing once again, but New England dug deep and found the grit it didn't have two years ago in the same situation. The Patriots completely abandoned the run, and Tom Brady slung his way to victory with timely defense coming in handy.

It's not that the Patriots wanted to win that way, it's that they had to—they rushed it all of 13 times on the ground, going for 14 total yards. The rushing game just wasn't there against a stout Ravens front seven.

New England prides itself on being a team that can win in a variety of ways, but that will be tested against an increasingly balanced Indianapolis team, as Reggie Hayes of Fort Wayne News-Sentinel demonstrated:

The Patriots might have the answer to stymie the Colts' attack, but it will come down to the play of cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. 

New England boasts a top-10 run defense that should stuff the Colts, but it's no secret that Luck loves to air it out to his talented wideouts. Browner and Revis both had shaky performances against Baltimore, and will go up against a similarly (if not more) dangerous quarterback in Luck.

Amid Flacco's hot start in the divisional round, The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre wondered if Pats fans had second thoughts of the duo:

But whether you use recent history or this season's history, the edge seems to go the way of New England. The Patriots outlasted Indianapolis 43-22 in the divisional round last year, and if last season's results don't do it for you, the Pats hung a 42-20 win on the Colts in Indianapolis back in November of this season.

The Colts secondary will give Brady problems in the early goings, but he'll make the adjustments Manning could not and lean on a more complete offensive attack. Thanks to the presence of Rob Gronkowski in the middle and a more effective run game against Indianapolis' 18th-ranked run defense, the Patriots will advance on to the Super Bowl.

Prediction: Patriots 31, Colts 27

Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

The catch that wasn't has helped to propel the Green Bay Packers to a return trip to the NFC Championship Game.

In the Packers' 26-21 victory over the Cowboys in the divisional round, Dez Bryant seemed to make a leaping grab on fourth down near the goal line that would have set up a go-ahead Dallas touchdown. The play was reviewed, and the officials reversed the call on the basis of the ball hitting the ground and coming loose.

While that play will live on for quite some time, there's no time to look back for Green Bay as it heads into arguably the toughest place to play in professional sports.

The Packers will head west to visit the Seahawks, winners of seven straight and on a furious run to do something that hasn't been done in a decade—repeat as Super Bowl champions. They already became the first champion to win a playoff game since 2005, drubbing the Carolina Panthers at home.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Along with recent history, the Packers also have a Week 1 result going against them. Green Bay visited Seattle to open the regular season, and was dominated 36-16 by the defending champs.

There'd be no better way to advance to the Super Bowl than in Seattle, Jordy Nelson told USA Today's Tom Pelissero: "There wouldn't be a better way to go," Nelson said. "Obviously, it would've been great to have home field (advantage). But to go and play the defending Super Bowl champions at their place and have that opportunity to knock them off is a great opportunity."

In order to do so, the Packers are going to have to slow down Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who has been money ever since becoming the starter, as the team's Twitter noted:

For a Packers defense that struggled to keep a hobbled Tony Romo contained, they should have their hands full with Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks boast the NFL's top-ranked rushing offense, and Seattle will be intent on pounding the rock after DeMarco Murray took it to the Packers last weekend.

Where this game promises to get out of hand, however, is defensively for the Seahawks. 

Aaron Rodgers does feel better physically than last week according to head coach Mike McCarthy, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra, but that may not be saying much. Rodgers could hardly walk down the field during stretches of the Cowboys game and barely made a few winning throws to keep his team alive against a porous Dallas secondary.

Now, he has to go up against Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas III and the vaunted Seahawks secondary. His wideouts figure to be blanketed deep down the field, where Rodgers makes his bread. 

Add that to a ferocious pass rush that should keep Rodgers uncomfortable from the start, and you have yourself another resounding Seahawks win.

Prediction: Seahawks 30, Packers 18