NFL Playoffs 2019: Schedule, Odds and Picks for Final Wild-Card Matchups

The NFL postseason picture became a little clearer after the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys won on Saturday. The Kansas City Chiefs already know that they will be hosting Indianapolis. The New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots, however, have to wait one more day to know their opponents.

The Patriots do know, at least, that they will face the winner of the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens game. Things in the NFC are just a tad trickier. If the Chicago Bears win on Sunday, Dallas is the last seed and will meet New Orleans. If the Philadelphia Eagles win, Dallas is the high seed and will visit the Rams.

All four teams on byes will be intently watching Sunday's action, along with the rest of the NFL world. We're here to examine the day's schedule and the latest over/unders and odds, according to OddsShark. We'll also make a score prediction for each game and dig into some of the individual matchups that could define the day.

Wild Card Weekend: Sunday, January 5

Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens

When: 1:05 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: CBS, CBS All Access and fuboTV

Line, Over/Under: BAL -3, 41.5

Prediction: Chargers 24, Ravens 22

Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears

When: 4:40 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: NBC, BBC Sports App and fuboTV

Line, Over/Under: CHI -6.5, 41.5

Prediction: Bears 27, Eagles 24

Where to Watch: NFL playoff games, studio shows and more are available through Fubo.TV/welcome.

Matchups to Watch

Philip Rivers vs. Ravens Secondary

One of the reasons the Ravens were able to knock off the Chargers in the teams' Week 16 meeting was the ability to create turnovers. Baltimore picked off Philip Rivers twice, and Tavon Young returned a recovered fumble 62 yards for a touchdown.

The fumble-six sealed the game for Baltimore, but it was Rivers' first interception that put the Ravens in position to win it. His first pick came on the game's opening drive and deep in Chargers territory. Baltimore got a field goal out of it and was able to play with a lead from there on out.

Playing with a lead is where a run-first, defense-oriented team like Baltimore wants to be. The fact that rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson is not yet the most polished of pocket passers only adds to this.

Jackson is dangerous because he is a tremendous runner with the arm talent needed to attack downfield when defenses creep in. He could find himself in trouble if forced into clear passing situations against Los Angeles.

The best way for Los Angeles to avoid playing from behind is to avoid turnovers. The best way to do this is for Rivers to play with caution against the Ravens secondary. This will be a challenge for Rivers with guys like Eric Weddle, Marlon Humphrey and Young staring back at him.

However, if Rivers can play an efficient game and protect the ball, the Chargers are going to have an excellent chance of pulling off the upset.

Chargers Run Defense vs. Ravens Backfield

Jackson is a dangerous first-year quarterback because of his ability to attack both on the ground and through the air. As long as the threat to run is real, he's going to find easy throws and keep the Los Angeles defense off balance.

However, Jackson is not a polished pocket passer. He lacks the touch and accuracy needed to fit the ball into tight windows in obvious passing situations. This should change as he adjusts to the NFL, but this isn't part of his game right now.

That means that the best way to put Jackson into unfavorable situations is to take away the run. The Chargers know it's is coming.

"They're going to run it right at us," Chargers safety Derwin James said, per Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. "We know that, and we have to be ready to play, ready to get off blocks."

Containing Jackson won't be the only challenge, as the Chargers will also have to contend with running backs Gus Edwards and Kenneth Dixon.

Again, this is a massive challenge, but the game could hinge on it. If the Ravens are able to run at will, they will likely see similar results to the first outing.

Eagles Linebackers vs. Tarik Cohen

Just as the Ravens offense thrives on the running game, the Chicago Bears offense revolves around running back Tarik Cohen.

Like Jackson, Chicago quarterback Mitchell Trubisky can struggle with touch and accuracy at times. While Baltimore combats the problem with a read-option offense, the Bears do so by giving Trubisky easy throws to Cohen out of the backfield.

Cohen is the centerpiece of Chicago's offense. In addition to his 444 yards rushing, he has a team-leading 71 receptions, 75 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

This is going to put a lot of pressure on Philadelphia's linebackers. A large portion of the routs in Matt Nagy's offense work toward the sidelines—again, presenting Trubisky with easy throws—so linebackers like Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham will have to be able to cover ground horizontally.

Slowing Cohen won't be a matter of shadowing him with a safety in the box.

This could be an especially big challenge for Hicks, who missed last year's Super Bowl run with an Achilles injury.

"To have not had that opportunity and to actually have it now—you never know when this opportunity’s going to come around again," Hicks said, per Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

If Hicks wants the chance to finally lift the Lombardi Trophy, he and the Eagles defense have to slow Cohen.