The 2014 NFL playoffs are back for round 2! The NFL divisional round kicks off at 1:35 p.m. PT, and it marks one of the best weekends of football of the season. Saturday features the Seattle Seahawks hosting the New Orleans Saints, and the New England Patriots hosting the Indianapolis Colts. Sunday features the Carolina Panthers hosting the San Francisco 49ers, followed by the Denver Broncos hosting the San Diego Chargers.
I've posted the pertinent game info below. If for some reason you are in the United States but don't have a TV, or are just away from it, the weekend's games are available via online stream. The AFC games will stream at CBSSports.com, and the NFC games will stream on FOXSportsGo. For the FoxSportsGo stream, you have to have a subscription to a few specific cable providers. Xfinity and ATT Uverse are the most prominent of those providers.
I actually think all four games could be really interesting, even with a pair of six seeds springing upsets. The Broncos are the biggest favorites of the weekend, giving nine points to the Chargers. The Chargers are a quirky team that has won five straight, including a win at Denver in Week 15. The Chargers could spring an upset, or they could get run over in the first quarter. I'm leaning toward the latter, but would love to see the former.
The Colts head into New England getting seven points. They had to battle their way back from an historical deficit last week against the Chiefs. I have the Colts getting the upset, in part because the Patriots are simply running out of weapons. I would not be surprised by either team winning this game, but I think Andrew Luck is in line for a nice little run this postseason.
49ers vs. Panthers Rewind
49ers vs. Panthers Rewind
The Saints are getting eight points up in Seattle, in a rematch of the much talked about Week 13 Monday Night Football game in which the Seahawks destroyed New Orleans 34-7. I don't have a lot of faith in the Saints, but that defense is playing as well as it has in years. I don't know if the offense can do enough in the expected rains, but you never can tell. While 49ers-Seahawks for the NFC title would be cool, a final game at Candlestick would be cool as well.
And that brings us to the 49ers and Panthers on Sunday. It's a 10 a.m. PT start in Charlotte, a week after the 49ers battled the elements in Green Bay. The 49ers are giving a point, and it has the Panthers all sorts of pissed off. Given the 49ers playoff history under Jim Harbaugh, I imagine this will be a close one. In three seasons, five of the 49ers six playoff games have been decided by four points or less, and generally came down to either the final play of the game, or at least pretty darn close. Hopefully the 49ers can just put this one away early.
NFC Game 1 (Saturday)
(1) Seattle Seahawks vs. (6) New Orleans Saints
Date: Saturday, Jan. 11
Kickoff time: 1:35 p.m. PT
TV channel: FOX
Location: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA
Odds: Seahawks by 8
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch
You can follow along with Seahawks fans at Field Gulls (@fieldgulls) and with Saints fans at Canal Street Chronicles (@SaintsCSC).
AFC Game 1 (Saturday)
(2) New England Patriots vs. (4) Indianapolis Colts
Date: Saturday, Jan. 11
Kickoff time: 5:15 p.m. PT
TV channel: CBS
Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Odds: Patriots by 7
Announcers: Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
You can follow along with Patriots fans at Pats Pulpit (@PatsPulpit) and with Colts fans at Stampede Blue (@stampedeblue).
NFC Game 2 (Sunday)
(2) Carolina Panthers vs. (5) San Francisco 49ers
Date: Sunday, Jan. 12
Kickoff time: 10:05 a.m. PT
TV channel: FOX
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Odds: 49ers by 1
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman
You can follow along with with Panthers fans at Cat Scratch Reader (@CatScratchReadr) and 49ers fans at Niners Nation (@NinersNation).
AFC Game 2 (Sunday)
(1) Denver Broncos vs. (6) San Diego Chargers
Date: Sunday, Jan. 12
Kickoff time: 1:40 p.m. PT
TV channel: CBS
Location: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
Odds: Broncos by 9
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
You can follow along with Broncos fans at Mile High Report (@MileHighReport) and with Chargers fans at Bolts from the Blue (@BFTB_Chargers).