NFL Wild-Card Playoffs: Everything You Need to Know for Sunday

On Saturday, the NFL playoff field was reduced from 12 to 10 teams. On Sunday, two more squads will bite the dust. And that's a shame because it's a day that will feature three recent high-profile Super Bowl winners along with one of the NFL's most surprising teams.

In Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, we'll get a look at three quarterbacks—Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers—who have won a combined five Super Bowls in the last 12 years. Every time the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants or Green Bay Packers are in the tournament, they've got a shot. And they'll be taking another one Sunday, along with a Miami Dolphins team that has little to lose at Heinz Field. 

Let's get you primed for Wild Card Sunday.

The Games

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What: Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers

When: 1:05 p.m. ET

Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

Network: CBS

Expected Weather: 18 degrees, windy with snow showers

Line (per OddsShark): Steelers -12

Fun fact: When the Dolphins went undefeated in 1972, weird old NFL rules forced them to go on the road to play the three-loss Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. That silly format nearly cost Miami a perfect season. The Dolphins fell behind early before coming back to edge Terry Bradshaw's Steelers 21-17 at Three Rivers Stadium. Two weeks later, they were Super Bowl champions with a 17-0 record.

This time, the Steelers deserve to be at home as the two meet for the first time in the playoffs at Heinz Field, and Pittsburgh could have a big advantage with the weather. Miami hasn't played a game in below-freezing temperature since 2013, and the Steelers have won four of their last five home playoff tilts. 

But the Dolphins beat the Steelers handily when the two met in Week 6, with running back Jay Ajayi rushing for 204 yards in a 30-15 victory. That was in Miami, and a lot has changed since. But it's something a heavy underdog can cling to.

What: New York Giants at Green Bay Packers

When: 4:40 p.m. ET

Where: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Network: Fox

Expected Weather: 15 degrees, partly sunny

Line (per OddsShark): Packers -5.5

Here we go again. When the Giants went on improbable Super Bowl runs in 2007 and 2011, Eli Manning and Co. won at Lambeau Field both times.

They won an overtime thriller in the 2007 NFC Championship Game, defeating the Packers in Brett Favre's final game for Green Bay. And four years later, in a divisional-round game, Manning passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns as the G-Men won 37-20.

If the Giants can pull off another Lambeau upset, a lot of folks will begin to wonder whether they've rediscovered that magic. Giants-Patriots 3.0? 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves—the red-hot Packers have won six straight games. And even before they got hot, the Pack beat the Giants 23-16 at Lambeau in October. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was slumping then, but he's thrown 31 touchdown passes to just four interceptions and has a 109.1 passer rating since that game.

That explains why the Packers are favored. Green Bay is streaking with a two-time MVP at quarterback. But the Giants have a two-time Super Bowl MVP under center, so anything is possible.

Injury Report

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Miami Dolphins

• Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (knee): Out
• Cornerback Byron Maxwell (ankle): Doubtful
• Linebacker Jelani Jenkins (knee): Questionable
• Cornerback Tony Lippett (thigh): Questionable
• Safety Bacarri Rambo (chest): Questionable
• Center/guard Kraig Urbik (knee): Questionable

Veteran backup Matt Moore will make his fourth consecutive start in place of the injured Tannehill at quarterback. The Texan was playing well before going down, but Moore has posted a 106.5 passer rating in his stead and taken just one sack.

With safety Reshad Jones on injured reserve, Maxwell is the team's top defensive back. The Dolphins could use him, Lippett and Rambo back there, but Jenkins will help if the others aren't available. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Linebacker Anthony Chickillo (ankle): Out
• Defensive end Ricardo Mathews (ankle): Out
• Safety Robert Golden (ankle): Questionable
• Tight end Ladarius Green (concussion): Questionable
• Linebacker Vince Williams (shoulder): Questionable

One of the team's strongest defensive players, Stephon Tuitt (knee) has been missed the last couple of weeks. His return should help a run defense that struggled against the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. The Steelers haven't been able to rely much on Green on the offensive side of the ball, but if he's finally healthy, he could make that unit a little more dynamic. 

New York Giants

• Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (core muscle): Out
• Defensive end Owa Odighizuwa (hamstring): Doubtful

The Giants defense has been exceptional, but it's just a little bit better with Jason Pierre-Paul. He's not expected to play and will be missed in a big spot. 

Green Bay Packers

• Cornerback Quinten Rollins (neck, concussion): Out
• Running back James Starks (concussion): Out
• Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga (abdomen): Questionable
• Wide receiver Randall Cobb (ankle): Questionable
• Linebacker Jayrone Elliott (hand): Questionable
• Linebacker Nick Perry (hand): Questionable
• Cornerback Damarious Randall (knee): Questionable
• Fullback Aaron Ripkowski (shoulder): Questionable
• Linebacker Joe Thomas (back): Questionable
• Center/guard JC Tretter (knee): Questionable

A secondary already without veteran corner Sam Shields will miss Rollins, especially with Randall far from 100 percent. There's a big chance for elite Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to have a huge game. Perry and Thomas are also less than 100 percent in the front seven, along with veteran star Clay Matthews (shoulder).

Biggest Questions

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Can the Dolphins Hold Pittsburgh's Killer B's in Check?

For the first time, the Steelers will have a healthy Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown in a playoff game. There's not a better three-headed monster in the NFL. Big Ben might be the league's most dangerous home run hitter, Bell is the league's hottest back and Brown led the AFC with 106 receptions. 

Without safety Reshad Jones and with several other key defensive players hurting, does Miami's 29th-rated defense stand a chance on the road against such a lethal and experienced offense? 

With talented defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake, there's always a chance. But Miami surrendered a league-worst 4.8 yards per carry this season while recording just 25 takeaways and 33 sacks. The Fins forced zero turnovers in their last two games of the regular season. 

Roethlisberger makes the odd boneheaded throw, but a Dolphins team already relying on a backup quarterback on the road might need several of those to stand a chance.

Either that or something epic from Suh and Wake.

Can the Steelers Stop Jay Ajayi This Time? 

The second-year back had his coming-out party against Pittsburgh in Week 6, single-handedly beating the Steelers with 204 rushing yards in Miami's 30-15 victory. Ajayi had seven runs of 10-plus yards that day, including three 20-yarders to help his team pull away in the second half. 

It was no fluke, as Ajayi went on to become just the fourth player in NFL history to rush for 200 yards three times in a single season. He is, however, an all-or-nothing back. Despite finishing fourth in the NFL in rushing, he was held below the 60-yard mark eight times in 2016. 

The Steelers defense is better than it was then. Ryan Shazier didn't play that day, the 38-year-old James Harrison has somehow gotten better over the course of the year and Tuitt has become a force. A second look at Ajayi on tape should help too. 

But Isaiah Crowell and Kenneth Dixon still gashed that run defense in Weeks 16 and 17, so it will have to get it together in order to ensure Ajayi doesn't take over this game as well. 

Can Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. Pick on Green Bay's Depleted Defense?

The Packers were at their worst defensively this year when they didn't have top corners Rollins and Randall, which doesn't bode well for them Sunday. 

Rollins suffered a scary injury to the head/neck area last time out and isn't likely to play, while Randall has been limited by a knee injury and won't be 100 percent. With veteran corner Sam Shields on injured reserve, that leaves a less than 100 percent Randall and second-year undrafted free agent LaDarius Gunter playing large roles, with safety Micah Hyde probably forced to chip in at corner as well. 

On paper, you'd think the Giants would be capable of exploiting the living heck out of that secondary. Beckham, Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz against those guys? Come on. When throwing at Hyde in the slot this season, opposing quarterbacks had a 113.5 passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus.

Per the same source, only three receivers had more receptions in the slot than Shepard, who led all slot receivers with eight touchdowns in 2016. Beckham can roast inexperienced corners all day, and even if he draws bracket coverage, you have the experienced Cruz. 

But the Giants often lacked firepower this year. Partly as a result of a lack of balance on offense, most of Manning's base numbers plummeted. And according to PFF, he completed just 34.6 percent of his passes that traveled 20-plus yards, ranking 21st among the 27 qualified quarterbacks. 

The Giants consequently became just the second team in the last 38 years to make the playoffs despite scoring fewer than 30 points in all 16 of their games. 

For them to win, that streak might have to come to an end. 

Can Aaron Rodgers Be Stopped?

Often plagued by injuries on both sides of the ball, as well as a lack of balance and/or chemistry on offense, the Packers had a weird year. That said, they appear to be peaking at the perfect time. 

That starts with Rodgers, who posted an 18:0 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 120.0 passer rating during the final seven weeks of the regular season. Unsurprisingly, Green Bay won six of those games in order to capture another NFC North crown. 

If anyone can slow Rodgers down, might it be the Giants? 

In terms of DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), Football Outsiders ranked the New York defense tops in the NFC in 2016. It was the only defense in the league to allow touchdowns less than 40 percent of the time in the red zone, and the Giants had a league-high 22 takeaways during the final 10 games of the season. They also ranked tied for third with 29 sacks during that run. 

Only six defenses surrendered more 20-yard plays than the Giants in 2016. They made their money with takeaways and red-zone stops. That's why it's possible this game will be decided deep inside New York territory, where the pressure will be on Rodgers and Co. to find the end zone.

Dolphins at Steelers Breakdown

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For the Dolphins to win this game—on the road in freezing temperatures against an experienced opponent that has won seven straight—everything has to go right. 

Moore has to play the game of his life in place of Tannehill at quarterback. Ajayi has to prove he has the Steelers' number and hit several home runs. Nobody can turn it over, and that talented yet often toothless defense will need to take the ball away. 

They need to prevent Roethlisberger from throwing bombs to Brown while also bottling up Bell in the backfield, and they'll have to win the special teams battle in order to control the ball and shorten the game.

All of these things can happen. Moore put up stronger rate-based numbers than Tannehill while winning two of his three starts to close out the season. In the second half of one-score games, Ajayi averaged a league-best 6.7 yards per carry. The Dolphins had five turnover-free games this season, and that defense registered 17 takeaways in a six-week span between Nov. 13 and Dec. 17. 

Roethlisberger is prone to bad throws, Bell has had off days and Brown can only do so much if those two aren't rolling. 

But while the Steelers are flawed—that seven-game winning streak came mainly against soft opponents, and they've lost three in a row against teams that finished the season with winning records—it's unlikely the stars align for a Dolphins team that may have used up its fuel just to get here. 

Steelers 27, Dolphins 17

For B/R's expert consensus Wild Card Weekend picks, click here.

Giants at Packers Breakdown

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The beautiful thing about this game is that it pits strength against strength and weakness against weakness. You have the definition of an unstoppable force versus an immovable object when Rodgers and the Green Bay offense go up against that stingy Giants defense. Both teams become vulnerable when the Giants' unbalanced, inconsistent offense meets the Packers' depleted D.

The major difference is that Green Bay's strength appears to have at least a small edge over New York's, while the Packers' weakness might also be slightly less weak than the Giants'. 

Without Pierre-Paul and with a habit of giving up big plays, the Giants can still be beat on D. And right now, Rodgers and Jordy Nelson are in a groove. To boot, the Packers have even made some headway on the ground of late with non-traditional backs Ty Montgomery and Aaron Ripkowski. 

Meanwhile, it's been six games since the Giants last reached the 20-point plateau on offense. During the final five weeks of the regular season, Manning had as many interceptions as touchdowns (six apiece) and a 77.0 passer rating.

Even with the running game getting a boost from rookie fifth-round pick Paul Perkins, the offense hasn't been right.

While the Packers are beatable on the back end, they're adept at rushing the passer and stopping the run thanks to guys such as Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, Julius Peppers, Mike Daniels, Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. 

They're the better, hotter team. 

Packers 30, Giants 27

For B/R's expert consensus Wild Card Weekend picks, click here.

What Happens Next Weekend?

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If the Dolphins win...

Miami would have a chance to play spoiler against a hated and familiar rival with a divisional-round game against the New England Patriots. They might even have Tannehill back, but they would still be the underdogs against a team that has beaten them eight straight times at Gillette Stadium. 

If the Steelers win...

It'd be a matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. If you include the three times he had a first-round bye when coaching the Philadelphia Eagles, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has an 18-2 record coming off bye weeks in his coaching career. But on the bright side, the Steelers crushed the Chiefs 43-14 at Heinz Field in Week 4. 

If the Giants win...

New York would draw the "mighty" Dallas Cowboys, with those quotes applying because the Giants beat Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Co. twice during the regular season. Excluding a meaningless Week 17 game in which they rested their top players, the Cowboys were 0-2 against the Giants and 13-0 against the rest of the NFL in 2016. Another rematch would give this longtime rivalry plenty of fuel. 

If the Packers win...

Green Bay vs. Dallas has a nice ring to it as well. With the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Seattle Seahawks, the winner of Sunday's New York-Green Bay tilt automatically draws the top-seeded Cowboys, who beat the Packers handily back in Week 6. But as we've established, that was a different Green Bay team.