NFL Playoffs 2018: Schedule, Bracket and TV Info for Divisional Round

The 2018 NFL Divisional Round is set in stone after a Wild Card Weekend that featured four very different types of games, both for good and for bad.

The Tennessee Titans pulled off an incredible comeback to beat the Kansas City Chiefs to kick things off Saturday, giving quarterback Marcus Mariota a signature win in his young career. Later that night, the Atlanta Falcons handled business against the Los Angeles Rams, leading the whole way to win by a two-score margin.

Sunday started off poorly from a quality standpoint, with the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Buffalo Bills 10-3 in a clunker. However, the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers made up for it that night, with an action-packed thriller that came down to the final drive. The Saints were able to seal a 31-26 win with a fourth-down sack of Cam Newton.

The winners are now set to face the class of their respective conferences, with all remaining teams just two wins away from a trip to Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis. Here's a look at the updated playoff schedule and TV info for each game.

       

2018 Divisional-Round Schedule, TV Info

Saturday, Jan. 13

No. 6 Atlanta Falcons at No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles at 4:35 p.m. ET on NBC

No. 5 Tennessee Titans at No. 1 New England Patriots at 8:15 p.m. ET on CBS

Sunday, Jan. 14

No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 2 Pittsburgh Steelers at 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS

No. 4 New Orleans Saints at No. 2 Minnesota Vikings at 4:40 p.m. ET on FOX

For a look at the postseason bracket, go to CBSSports.com.

As it stands, the AFC appears all but destined for a clash between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers in the conference, while it feels like any team can come out on top in the NFC. 

The Jaguars were lackluster on offense but excellent defensively in their bumbling win against the Bills on Sunday, their first playoff victory in a decade.

Blake Bortles had just 87 yards passing but picked up another 88 yards on the ground to lead all rushers. Despite a shaky overall performance, Bortles did toss the only touchdown of the game, to little-used tight end Ben Koyack.

The Jaguars defense was suffocating, albeit against a lackluster Tyrod Taylor (134 passing yards, one interception) and a hobbled LeSean McCoy.

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Jacksonville's defense will give them a shot against the Steelers, but the offense will have to do much better. The Steelers have a playoff-tested quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, a stellar wide receiver corps led by Antonio Brown (if healthy) and the excellent Le'Veon Bell at running back.

If the Jaguars fall behind by more than a touchdown early, it's hard to imagine Bortles leading a comeback against a defense that led the league with 56 sacks in the regular season. They will need the likes of Jalen Ramsey, Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue on defense to stymie the Steelers and force turnovers to win this one.

The Titans appear to be in a similarly precarious position playing the New England Patriots. Though they will be riding high off the 22-21 comeback win over the Chiefs—completed in a famously hostile Arrowhead Stadium—the Patriots are designed to chew up mistake-prone teams with lesser experience.

Mariota was brilliant in directing the Titans to the win, throwing a touchdown pass to himself and a game-sealing block in the process. However, he was shaky in the first half, tossing an interception to Marcus Peters and finding it difficult to sustain drives.

New England has the incomparable Tom Brady at quarterback, tight end Rob Gronkowski in the red zone and a rejuvenated Dion Lewis at tailback. The defense isn't nearly as good as some of the other units that have been put together in the Bill Belichick era, but if it can force the Titans into a couple of turnovers, the offense will be ready to make them pay for their errors.

Over in the NFC, the battle of the birds looks like it could easily go either way. The Falcons looked strong in beating the Los Angeles Rams 26-13 on the road Saturday night. Matt Ryan has a ton of weapons on offense, and the team was oh-so-close to winning the Super Bowl just a season ago. They are a dangerous sixth seed.

The Philadelphia Eagles were the class of the NFC this year, but the vast majority of that work was accomplished with the excellent Carson Wentz under center. He is out for the season with an ACL injury, leaving Nick Foles to lead the team and make sure their 13-3 season doesn't end with a swift exit from the playoffs.

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Foles was brilliant in his first full game taking over for Wentz, tossing four touchdown passes against the New York Giants in Week 15, but he has struggled mightily since. The Eagles are going to have to establish the run with the workhorse Jay Ajayi and the rest of the running back stable, lest Foles be forced into a shootout with Ryan.

It couldn't have been easy for the Minnesota Vikings to watch that thrilling shootout between the Panthers and Saints. Both teams played very well, but the Saints came away victorious. Drew Brees threw for 376 yards and two touchdowns, carrying the offense in a game that saw both Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram bottled up on the ground (55 rushing yards, one touchdown combined).

The defense gave up 26 points to the Panthers, but they played well when it counted, forcing the Panthers to settle for field-goal attempts on five drives (Graham Gano kicked four of them through, including a 58-yarder).

The Vikings don't have any true superstars on offense, though Case Keenum (22 TDs, 7 INTs) had a career year at quarterback and wide receiver Adam Thielen (91 catches, 1,276 yards) was voted to the Pro Bowl.

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

The defense, however, is one of the most cohesive units in the league, with stud players at every level. Defensive end Everson Griffen was fourth in the NFL with 13 sacks, while linebacker Anthony Barr and cornerback Xavier Rhodes were voted Pro Bowlers alongside Griffen.

The Saints are as explosive as any team in the league, so it will be up to the Vikings defense to make sure they only bend and do not break.

This game has the potential to be the best of the divisional round, with strengths clashing with strengths and a strong possibility that both teams do well enough offensively to keep the points flowing.