NFL Divisional Playoffs: Everything You Need to Know for Sunday's Games

We're officially halfway through the second round of the 2015-16 NFL postseason. Saturday's action was certainly worth the price of admission, but we still have two exciting games before the weekend reaches its end.

On Saturday, we saw the New England Patriots win by a touchdown over the Kansas City Chiefs. We then got to see the Arizona Cardinals notch an overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers after one of the wildest postseason finishes ever.

Sunday features a pair of rematches from the regular season. We'll get the Seattle Seahawks at the Carolina Panthers in the early game, with the Denver Broncos hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers later in the afternoon.

All four of these teams will give it their all in an effort to reach their respective conference title games, and both contests have the potential to be epic. Here's everything you need to know about them.

The Teams

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Carolina Panthers (NFC's No. 1 seed)

The Carolina Panthers were the most dominant team in the entire NFL during the regular season. The Panthers allowed the sixth-fewest points of any team on defense (19.2 allowed per game), while putting a league-leading average of 31.2 points on the scoreboard per game.

Oh, and the Panthers only lost once.

Aside from perhaps a game-changing star receiver, the Panthers really have everything you look for in a true Super Bowl contender. Quarterback Cam Newton is playing at an MVP level, tight end Greg Olsen provides him with a reliable target and running back Jonathan Stewart is coming off another strong season (989 yards, six touchdowns).

Carolina's championship-caliber defense produced 44 sacks while boasting a pass-coverage rated first overall by Pro Football Focus. The Panthers should be fresh after spending the first week of the playoffs on bye, and they pose a difficult matchup for any opponent.

Seattle Seahawks (NFC's No. 6 seed)

The Seattle Seahawks have been one of the more inconsistent teams this season, dominating at times and then proving strangely inefficient at others. Still, Seattle has the tools to go deep into the postseason and should pose a dangerous threat to all comers.

Quarterback Russell Wilson has twice led his team to the Super Bowl. This experience alone makes the Seahawks a dangerous team. However, Seattle also boasts offensive playmakers like receiver Doug Baldwin and running back Marshawn Lynch. Seattle also has the league's best defense in terms of average points allowed (17.3 points per game). 

This is a balanced team that scores more than nine points per game (26.4 points per game) than it allows. It's also a team that can win in a variety of ways. The Seahawks can grind out a defensive struggle, but they can also win a pass-heavy shootout. Pro Football Focus rates Seattle fifth overall in passing offense and fourth overall in pass rush.

Yes, the Seahawks narrowly scraped by the Minnesota Vikings last week, but now that they are here, they must be respected.

Denver Broncos (AFC's No. 1 seed)

It's difficult to really consider the Denver Broncos one of the more consistently dominant teams in the league this year, even though they were the best team in the AFC.

The problem in Denver was at quarterback, where injuries and ineffectiveness caused head coach Gary Kubiak to flip between Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. However, Kubiak has settled on Manning for Sunday. If the veteran can play at a high level, the Broncos will be tough to beat.

This is because the Broncos are extremely solid at pretty much every other position. The team has a pair of talented running backs in C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman (1,583 combined rushing yards) and a number of capable pass-catchers.

Denver is even more formidable on defense, where Pro Football Focus rates the team tops in the league overall. In terms of points allowed, the Broncos rank fourth, with only 18.5 of them allowed per game on average.

On paper, the Broncos have the look of a team that can only be derailed by turnovers and silly mistakes. 

Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC's No. 6 seed)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are probably the least likely of the four teams to escape Sunday with a victory. The team faces a tough matchup in Denver and is far from healthy.

Many fans will probably argue that Pittsburgh doesn't even deserve to be here at this point. The Steelers had to rely on a loss by the New York Jets to slip into the postseason. They then had to rely on an epic on-field emotional meltdown by the Cincinnati Bengals to secure a win on Wild Card Weekend.

Unfortunately, Cincinnati cost Pittsburgh a lot in the injury department. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is now dealing with a shoulder injury and will be without top receiver Antonio Brown. He will also be without running back DeAngelo Brown, who missed the opening-round matchup as well.

When healthy, the  Steelers have one of the most explosive offenses in the game, as well as an opportunistic defense and strong pass rush. That defense produced 48 sacks and 17 interceptions in the regular season. Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus rates the Steelers fourth overall in offense.

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh isn't healthy, so big offensive plays may be hard to come by.  

The Games

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What: Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers

When: 1:05 p.m. ET

Where: Fox

Sunday's early matchup looks to be one of the best in recent postseason history. The game features two top-tier defenses, two young and elite quarterbacks playing at the height of their careers and plenty of physical playmakers.

There will be plenty of exciting individual matchups in this one as well. We'll get Doug Baldwin against Josh Norman; Marshawn Lynch against Luke Kuechly; and the Panthers run defense, Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess against the Legion of Boom.

However, the quarterback duel between Cam Newton and Russell Wilson is likely to steal the spotlight.

This one is going to be fun.

What: Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

When: 4:40 p.m. ET

Where: CBS

On paper, Sunday's late-afternoon game appears to be much more of a mismatch than the early one. The Steelers bested the Broncos 34-27 in the regular season, but things were much, much different in that game.

For one, Pittsburgh was relatively healthy in that game. They were also playing at home, and Brock Osweiler was in at quarterback for Denver instead of Peyton Manning.

This game has a banged-up Steelers team travelling to Denver to battle one of the most experienced postseason quarterbacks in league history. Pittsburgh cannot be entirely written off, of course, but a lot of this game is going to come down to the health of Ben Roethlisberger.

Big Ben has been here plenty of times before. If he's even close to 100 percent, the Steelers are going to have a chance—even if it appears at first blush to be a slim one. 

Biggest Questions

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Can Ben Roethlisberger be effective in Denver?

This might be the biggest question of the entire weekend, because if Roethlisberger isn't healthy enough to make all of his usual throws, the Steelers offense will be effectively hamstrung. 

Roethlisberger's shoulder injury was severe enough that it knocked him out of the Cincinnati game for several critical second-half drives. He is expected to start on Sunday, but he will be doing so in a tough environment on the road without top target Antonio Brown.

The Steelers need a high-level Roethlisberger to compensate. 

Of course, some believe that injury won't truly limit Roethlisberger and that the veteran quarterback will oversell things. NFL analyst and former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick recently said the following during an appearance on 104.3 The Fan in Denver:

"

There's no one tougher than Ben Roethlisberger by far in the NFL, but he's a drama queen. He's gonna come out on that field. That arm's gonna be limp. It's going to look like he can't even lift it. Then he's going to crank off a 60-yard bomb to Martavis Bryant. Then he'll carry it back into the huddle, holding it like it's in a sling, and then he'll crank off a 40-yarder to Antonio Brown.

"

Roethlisberger won't be launching anything to Brown in this game, but some deep shots to Bryant won't be out of the question if Big Ben is close to 100 percent.

Which Peyton Manning will appear on Sunday?

The Broncos turned to Manning in the regular-season finale to replace an ineffective Osweiler. Manning delivered on the field primarily by utilizing his veteran savvy to recognize and produce mismatches. He didn't do a lot of throwing to close out the victory, but he was an efficient 5-of-9 for 69 yards.

However, efficiency wasn't one of Manning's strengths earlier in the regular season. Mistakes and turnovers often hurt the Broncos just a much as Manning helped them, even before his foot injury. Despite missing six full games, Manning still found himself just one interception (he had 17) away from the league lead for the season.

If we see the return of the mistake-prone Manning on Sunday, then there's a good chance those mistakes keep Pittsburgh in the game. They might even lead Gary Kubiak to make a switch back to Osweiler.

Working against Manning is the fact that Sunday's game is likely to be a cold one. According to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com, Manning is 0-5 in playoff games when the temperature is lower than 40 degrees.

Which Seahawks team will appear on Sunday?

We've seen some good and some bad from Manning this season, and the same could be said about the Seahawks as a team. The team went on a five-game winning streak in late November and early December, winning all five of those games by more than a touchdown.

However, we've also seen the Seahawks stumble at times. Seattle followed that win streak up with a 23-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams. The Seahawks also started the season with two consecutive losses, and most recently, they struggled on the road in Minnesota.

We probably don't need to tell you that the Seahawks only escaped Minnesota with a win because of a missed 27-yard field goal by Vikings kicker Blair Walsh.

The Seattle offense was especially inefficient in the Vikings game, averaging just four yards per offensive play. Quarterback Russell Wilson finished just 13-of-26 for 142 yards with a touchdown and an interception. 

If this is the Seattle team that shows up in Carolina on Sunday, it probably isn't going to be good enough to come away with a win. However, if we see the same Seahawks who rattled off 171 total points during that winning streak, the Panthers could have their hands full.

Stats to Know

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Career playoff victories by Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. If he can get another win on Sunday, he will own as many postseason victories as all of the previous Seahawks quarterbacks combined.

Career postseason rushing yards by Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. If he can gain 83 yards against Carolina, he will become the seventh NFL running back to reach the 1,000-yard mark in the postseason. 

Yards rushing the Panthers average per game. This is the second-highest average in the NFL. Carolina will be facing the No. 1 run defense (just 81.5 rushing yards allowed per game) when the Seahawks come to Charlotte on Sunday.

Passing yards needed by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to surpass Terry Bradshaw as the franchise's all-time postseason leader. 

Passing yards allowed per game by the Broncos defense—the fewest in the NFL. 

Consecutive playoff games with at least 200 passing yards from Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Another 200-yard game on Sunday would give him the longest streak of 200-yard postseason games in the Super Bowl era.

Who's Favored?

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Here are the odds for Sunday's games, via Odds Shark:

Odds for Sunday

Game Time (ET)	Away Team	Home Team	Favorite
1:05 p.m.	Seattle	Carolina	Carolina -2.5
4:40 p.m.	Pittsburgh	Denver	Denver -7.5

Matchups to Watch

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Doug Baldwin vs. Josh Norman

This should be one of the best individual matchups of the entire day. On one side, we get Seattle's emerging star, Doug Baldwin. On the other, we have one of the better cornerbacks to take the field in the regular season.

Baldwin finished the regular season with 1,069 yards receiving and an impressive 14 touchdowns. He has emerged as a go-to target for Russell Wilson and one of the league's up-and-coming playmakers. Pro Football Focus rates him seventh overall among receivers for the year.

Norman is one of the focal points of Carolina's defense and one of few cornerbacks in the NFL who can be referred to as a shutdown corner. Pro Football Focus rates him sixth overall among cornerbacks for the year.

If these two engage in a one-on-one battle throughout the day, it should be epic.

Fitzgerald Toussaint vs. Denver Run Defense

Because the Steelers are without Antonio Brown and don't quite know what to expect from Ben Roethlisberger, Sunday's game plan should involve a healthy dose of the run.

Because DeAngelo Williams is still unable to go, the rushing duties will largely fall to Fitzgerald Toussaint.

Toussaint didn't get the start against Cincinnati last weekend, but he handled much of the workload and performed well. He carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards and he caught four passes for 60 yards. Pro Football Focus rated him first overall among running backs to take the field on Wild Card Weekend.

Toussaint was going against a very good Cincinnati run defense (ranked seventh with only 92.3 yards per game allowed), but he will face and even stronger one on Sunday.

Denver ranks third in the NFL, with a mere 83.6 rushing yards per game allowed. With no Brown to help stretch the field for Pittsburgh, the Broncos should be even more geared up to stop the run.

Peyton Manning vs. Pittsburgh Pass Rush

In terms of yardage, the Steelers possess one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. The defense allows an average of 271.9 passing yards per game, which ranks 30th in the league. However, the Steelers often compensate for questionable coverage with a strong and consistent pass rush.

That pass rush can lead to both turnovers and quarterback takedowns. As we mentioned earlier, the Steelers produced 48 sacks and 17 interceptions in the regular season.

Coincidentally, Peyton Manning threw 17 interceptions by himself in the regular season. If Pittsburgh's pass rush can rattle him, more mistakes could be on the horizon. 

This will be an interesting matchup to watch, because Manning hasn't exactly seen a lot of live action over the past two months. According to Pro Football Focus, he has taken just 32 snaps since Week 10. 

Injury Report

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Here are the most significant injuries for Sunday's games.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are coming into this game extremely healthy. The team has officially listed receiver Ted Ginn Jr. as questionable with a knee injury. Meanwhile, running back Fozzy Whittaker (ankle) has been ruled out, and defensive end Kony Ealy (illness) is listed as probable.

Seattle Seahawks

According to the Seattle injury report, fullback Will Tukuafu (hamstring) is doubtful. Tight end Luke Willson (concussion), defensive end Michael Bennett (toe) and running back Marshawn Lynch (abdomen) are all probable.

Denver Broncos

Backup quarterback Btock Osweiler is the only player listed as questionable on the Broncos injury report. A number of players, including cornerback Chris Harris (shoulder) and safety T.J. Ward (ankle) are listed as probable.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Wide receiver Antonio Brown (concussion) has been officially ruled out along with running back DeAngelo Williams (foot). Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (shoulder) and fullback Will Johnson (hamstring) are questionable. Six players, including linebacker Ryan Shazier (knee), are listed as probable.

Expert Picks and Predictions

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Here are this weekend's picks and predictions from Bleacher Report's panel of NFL experts:

NFL Playoff Predictions: Bleacher Report's Expert Consensus Divisional Picks

NFL Playoff Predictions: Bleacher Report's Expert Consensus Projections