NFL Playoffs 2017: Schedule, Odds and Final Predictions for AFC, NFC Games

We've officially reached the final postseason round before Super Bowl LI. It's Championship Game Sunday, folks, and by the time the day ends, we'll know which two teams will be playing in the big game this year.

In the opening game, we have the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Green Bay Packers for NFC bragging rights. In the nightcap, we have the New England Patriots hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers for the right to represent the AFC.

We're here to take a final look at the games and the latest odds—courtesy of OddsShark. We'll also make our final predictions and examine some of the latest storylines heading into the day's action.

NFL Conference Championship Games

Time (ET)	Conf.	Game	Line	Prediction
3:05 p.m.	NFC	Green Bay at Atlanta	ATL -5.5	34-31 GB
6:40 p.m.	AFC	Pittsburgh at New England	NE -6	27-21 NE

Latest Buzz

Brady Looking to Slice Through Steelers

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has cut through a lot of defenses during his tenure in the NFL. This has allowed the Michigan product to appear in a ridiculous 11 AFC title games. A win Sunday would put Brady and head coach Bill Belichick in their seventh Super Bowl:

For as many defenses as Brady has battered, though, the one he has hurt the most might just be head coach Mike Tomlin's Steelers. Brady has gone up against Tomlin's Steelers six times, racking up 19 touchdowns and zero interceptions in those games.

According to NFL Research (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk), Brady's 127.5 passer rating against Tomlin is his highest against any head coach he's faced at least three times.

Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald doesn't believe this Pittsburgh defense is poised to buck the trend, either—at least as long as New England's offensive line can protect Brady.

"So long as he remains upright and the Patriots aren't charitable with the ball, Brady will toy with the Steelers, who have little shot of slowing down the four-time champ," Howe wrote Saturday.

Pass protection and ball security will, of course, be key for the Patriots on Sunday. The team largely failed in both departments during its win over the Houston Texans last week, which allowed Houston to stay in the game.

According to Pro Football Focus, 18 of Brady's 41 pass attempts against Houston came under pressure. Brady ended up tossing two interceptions in the game, while running back Dion Lewis fumbled twice (losing one).

New England cannot make those kinds of mistakes against the Steelers, who have the offensive personnel to take advantage. If the Steelers cannot force pressure or turnovers, though, they could be in trouble.

Nelson Still a Possibility for the Packers

Green Bay heads into Atlanta banged up and a bit lucky to have survived the Dallas Cowboys. The team has thrived on the play of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, even without some of the team's top weapons available.

The big absence has been that of star wideout Jordy Nelson, who was responsible for 14 touchdowns during the regular season. Nelson has been sidelined since suffering broken ribs on Wild Card Weekend.

Fortunately, Nelson could be making his return Sunday. He and fellow wideouts Geronimo Allison and Davante Adams come into the weekend banged up but are expected to be game-time decisions.

"[Nelson] practiced more yesterday than we anticipated," Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said Friday, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. "Making progress. Really, Davante the same way, and Geronimo. All three of the receivers will be given every chance to play in the game."

On Saturday, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported Nelson remains questionable:

Unfortunately, the Packers may have to play without running back Christine Michael, who has been downgraded to questionable.

Against most teams, these types of injuries might not sink the Packers because of Rodgers' stellar play. However, the Falcons are loaded on the offensive side of the ball, and the Packers will need all of the help they can get to keep pace on the scoreboard.

Rodgers Takes Shot at Georgia Dome

After roughly 25 years, the Falcons are set to play their final game at the Georgia Dome, and Rodgers saw an opportunity to take a subtle shot at Atlanta's beloved sports venue Friday.

"It's really loud in there. Whether that's all natural or not is yet to be seen," he said, per Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

The comment, of course, was in reference to the fact the Falcons were fined following the 2014 season for illegally piping artificial crowd noise into the Georgia Dome.

Crowd noise, as we all know, can give the home team a tangible advantage. Controlling the volume and timing of artificial noise—for example, turning up the volume while the opposition is on offense, turning it down while the home team is playing—can significantly increase that advantage.

Not a whole lot of noise (sorry) was made about the violation, largely because the league and the media were more focused on New England's ball pressure at the time.

As far as bulletin-board material goes, this is pretty tame. Still, it's interesting that Rodgers would take the shot on the eve of the Georgia Dome's last hurrah.

Atlanta's new downtown stadium is set to debut next season.