NFL Playoff Bracket 2019: TV Schedule, Predictions and More for Postseason

Wild Card Weekend of the 2019 NFL playoffs certainly lived up to its moniker.

Three of the four contests produced single-score outcomes, and the two NFC tilts were decided by three points combined.

Considering the caliber of clubs on deck for the divisional round, fans will be expecting another football thriller this weekend.

Let's get to the particulars and make some predictions for what lies ahead.

Divisional-Round Schedule

All times ET

Saturday, January 12

No. 6 Indianapolis Colts at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (4:35 p.m., NBC) 

No. 4 Dallas Cowboys at No. 2 Los Angeles Rams (8:15 p.m., Fox) 

Sunday, January 13

No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 2 New England Patriots (1:05 p.m., CBS) 

No. 6 Philadelphia Eagles at No. 1 New Orleans Saints (4:40 p.m., Fox) 

In addition to the broadcast networks, all playoff games can be viewed on FuboTV.

Predictions

Chiefs 34, Colts 30

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Throw the seeds out the window. When Indianapolis travels to Kansas City this weekend, Arrowhead Stadium could host the best game of the round.

The Colts are coming in fiery hot. After closing the campaign with nine wins in their final 10 outings, they throttled the third-seeded Houston Texans 21-7 to open the postseason. Indianapolis scored on its first two possessions and never looked back.

The team may also have stumbled on a recipe for keeping things close against an explosive offense. Rather than rely too heavily on Andrew Luck, they unleashed Marlon Mack, who paced a rushing attack that totaled 200 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries.

"We know we have an elite quarterback, and we can throw it for 400 and win when we have to," Colts coach Frank Reich told reporters. "But the margin for error in playoff football when you try to do it that way is very thin. When you can win like this—running the football and stopping it—that's just everything."

Mack could be looking at another big outing this weekend. Indy will obviously want to control clock and keep Patrick Mahomes off the field. Plus, Kansas City is not a good run defense—5.0 yards allowed per carry, the second-worst in the NFL.

But the run game alone won't help Indy keep pace with this offense. It's possible nothing will.

Mahomes is the master of shootouts, steering the Chiefs to NFL-bests in total offense (425.6 yards per game) and scoring (35.3 points per game). Kansas City cleared 30 points in all but three games this season; Indy hit that mark just six times and only twice since November.

Mahomes won't miss the throws Deshaun Watson let get away, and the Colts won't be able to lock in on a target the way they did with DeAndre Hopkins. Kansas City looks too potent for Indy to keep pace.

Saints 31, Eagles 24

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

One thing didn't change over Wild Card Weekend—the Eagles remain the field's biggest underdog (plus-eight, per OddsShark). And just like this time a week ago, the spread again makes sense.

On paper, Philly gets outclassed by New Orleans.

The Saints had this season's best point differential at plus-151; the Eagles finished 12th at plus-19. New Orleans averaged almost 10 more points per game than Philadelphia (31.5 to 22.9). The Saints have three explosive rushers, but the Eagles can't find one.

Oh, these teams went head-to-head in Week 11, too. The Saints steamrolled to a 48-7 rout behind 363 yards and four scores from Drew Brees and 103 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground by Mark Ingram.

But Philadelphia wants to ask one question: Does any of the above even matter?

"I think we're a different football team now than we were then," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said.

The Eagles might have momentum on their side, though. They seem to be hitting their stride at the right time and once again doing it with Nick Foles under center.

But superior talent still matters. A lot. Especially when that talent is being guided not by a quarterback making his playoff debut (as Mitchell Trubisky was) but a former Super Bowl MVP making his 14th career playoff start (as Brees will).

The Saints are practically unstoppable inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. They have enough in their arsenal to overcome whatever it is that happens to Foles this time of year.