This has never happened before. There are eight teams left in the NFL playoffs, and four of them are Wild Cards. The other four teams were idle last week; they were the top two seeds in their respective conferences, so they had the bye going into the Divisional Round. That week off is going to make it very hard for the Wild Cards to advance – especially the Pittsburgh Steelers.
 

Saturday

Kansas City at New England (4:35 PM ET, CBS)
Green Bay at Arizona (8:15 PM ET, NBC)

Nobody's hotter than the Chiefs (12-5 SU, 9-8 ATS) right now. They've won 11 straight games at 8-3 ATS, and they absolutely hammered the Houston Texans last week, blanking them 30-0 as 3.5-point road favourites. However, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin suffered a high-ankle sprain and doesn't look good for the Divisional Round. Kansas City is a 5.5-point puppy for Saturday's game against the Patriots (12-4 SU, 7-7-2 ATS), who needed the bye week to heal up. Quarterback Tom Brady (ankle) and wide receiver Julian Edelman (foot) will play, but they and several of their teammates will be less than 100% on what's expected to be a cold and rainy Saturday in Foxborough.

The Packers (11-6 SU, 10-7 ATS) could use a break to get healthier, but they'll be playing on a short week after beating Washington 35-18 and cashing in at –1. Wide receiver Davante Adams (knee) should be all right for Saturday, but cornerback Sam Shields (concussion) is still in league protocol. Arizona (13-3 SU, 9-7 ATS) is pegged as a 7-point chalk for this game. The Cards are relatively healthy, and they crushed Green Bay (+6 away) 38-8 in Week 16.
 

Sunday

Seattle at Carolina (1:05 PM ET, FOX)
Pittsburgh at Denver (4:40 PM ET, CBS)

Running back Marshawn Lynch was expected to make his return for the Seahawks (11-6 SU, 8-8-1 ATS) last week against the Minnesota Vikings (+6 at home), but it was Christine Michael carrying the load in a narrow 10-9 victory. Lynch could be a game-time decision again for Sunday; otherwise, Seattle is in pretty good shape. The Panthers (15-1 SU, 11-5 ATS) are 3-point favourites and pretty healthy after letting some key starters take Week 17 off, but they'll be short-handed at the corners with Charles Tillman and Bene Benwikere on injured reserve.

At press time, there are no odds available for the Steelers-Broncos matchup. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered torn ligaments in his right shoulder during last week's 18-16 comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals (+3 at home) and missed a series before returning. The word on the street is that Roethlisberger will be able to play Sunday, but wide receiver Antonio Brown (concussion) is less likely. The big news for the Broncos is that quarterback Peyton Manning will start against Pittsburgh, but he's coming off the worst regular season of his career, and he'll be playing outdoors with temperatures near the freezing point.

 

See all NFL Playoff Odds here.

 

*Odds as of January 12, 2016