NFL Playoff Schedule 2018: AFC, NFC Championships TV Info, Bracket Predictions

The 2018 AFC, NFC Championship Games have much to live up to after the unforgettable round before it. 

There, Stefon Diggs lifted the Minnesota Vikings to one of the most memorable wins of all time, downing the New Orleans Saints. Over in the AFC, it almost felt like a passing-of-the-torch moment as the Jacksonville Jaguars hit the road and ruined Lombardi Trophy aspirations for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Both teams have more impressive hurdles to get over if they want to advance to the playoff bracket's finale, of course. The Philadelphia Eagles have embraced being one of the bigger underdogs in recent playoff history now and the New England Patriots are once again the final hurdle. 

With the action fast approaching, let's take a look at the information surrounding both games and work our way to predictions for both. 

Championship Weekend 

Game: Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots

Date and Time: Sunday, January 21, at 3:05 p.m. ET

TV/Live Stream: CBS, CBS All Access

Odds: New England (-9), O/U 46.5

Prediction: Patriots 27, Jaguars 24

Game: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles

Date and Time: Sunday, January 21, 6:40 p.m. ET

TV/Live Stream: Fox, Fox Sports Go

Odds: Minnesota (-3) O/U 38

Prediction: Vikings 30, Eagles 20

Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots

The AFC offers at least a bit of a breath of fresh air thanks to the emergence of the Jaguars. 

Some likely waited all season to see when the Jaguars would falter and fade from the picture. 

Except Jaguars football has a different tone to it now. Smart free-agent acquisitions and strong drafting have the team boasting a defense that tallied 55 sacks and allowed 16.8 points per game, even withstanding five touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger in a wild road win over the Steelers. 

As it turns out, the Jaguars somewhat have Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to thank, as noted by MMQB's Albert Breer: 

The Jaguars defense is so good and running back Leonard Fournette is so potent (109 yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers) that quarterback Blake Bortles looks like a fully-rebounded player who has yet to throw an interception this postseason. 

It's only fitting the Jaguars get a final test in the form of the Patriots, though. The Patriots, meaning the team with Tom Brady still gunning strong from under center after a campaign in which he tossed 32 touchdowns against eight interceptions, not to mention three scores with no picks in a 35-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans in their first playoff game. 

If there is a quarterback who can effectively neutralize the Jaguars defense, it's likely Brady. We've seen a little reinforcement in this area with the sheer attention he's paying to Jacksonville's elite defensive back Jalen Ramsey. 

"He's a really good player. I have watched a ton of film on him," Brady said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). "He has a lot of strengths. He's obviously very confident. That is reflected in how he plays. I am more concerned about how he plays (as) opposed to what he says."

Whereas Ben Roethlisberger kept hitting on quick-scoring plays and letting the Jaguars control the pace after jumping out to an early lead, the methodical Brady can better control the pace by chipping away up and down the field each drive. He's thrown three or more scores to six different players and knows a thing or two about facing elite defenses, so finding and exploiting the mismatch on a given play via spreading the ball around should produce plenty of success.  

There's a good chance this one is over as soon as Brady steals a lead—at this level of the postseason, quarterback play comes under the microscope, and Bortles will become a weakness as he tries to orchestrate a comeback on the road. Oddsmakers expect a blowout, but the Jacksonville defense will at least keep this one close. 

Prediction: Patriots 27, Jaguars 24 

Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles

By most accounts, both of the NFC title game participants shouldn't be here. 

The Vikings had a loss on their hands against the Saints before Diggs' miracle play after a whiffed tackle by rookie Marcus Williams and the Eagles don't have Carson Wentz, who would have taken home MVP if he'd stayed healthy. 

Even Vikings quarterback Case Keenum joked about how unlikely the matchup is. 

"I know this is what all you guys predicted back in the day was a [Nick] Foles versus Keenum NFC Championship, so good job to all you guys that predicted that," Keenum said, according to ESPN.com's Courtney Cronin. 

All kidding aside, Keenum has himself to thank for the Vikings' success this year after an injury to Sam Bradford. Paired with superb coaching, he produced a 67.6 completion percentage with 22 touchdowns against seven interceptions even after losing talented rookie running back Dalvin Cook.  

Granted, Minnesota's win over New Orleans in 29-24 fashion didn't exactly go as planned, yet Keenum threw for 318 yards in the process while controlling the clock for north of 33 minutes. 

The Eagles know the struggle of having a backup quarterback take over, of course, winning two of three to close the season and slipping past the Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs with Nick Foles under center. The former third-round pick threw five touchdowns against two interceptions in the regular season (four of those came against the miserable New York Giants) and posted a 23-of-30 line with 246 yards against the Falcons. 

Foles, who has an intriguing LeGarrette Blount-Jay Ajayi tandem behind him in the backfield, will lean on Alshon Jeffery in the passing game. The team's top wideout is the owner of an interesting statistic heading into the weekend, per Matt Lombardo of NJ.com: 

But trendy stat aside, the Vikings have the athletes to match up with Jeffery, especially given the circumstances.

Those include a few different things but mainly focuses on Foles under center. He isn't Brees by any means, leaving the Vikings free to focus on the Eagles running game. After slamming the Alvin Kamara-Mark Ingram duo to a halt on 80 yards over a 3.3 average, the Vikings shouldn't have any problems with the Philadelphia rushing attack. 

This doesn't mean Keenum's offense will have it easy by any means, but sitting on the ball again and forcing the opponent's quarterback to win the game worked against Brees—it'll work against Foles, too. 

Prediction: Vikings 30, Eagles 20

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds according to OddsShark.