Rodgers, Eli top wild-card playoff round
Aaron Rodgers vs. Eli Manning will headline the NFL’s wild-card weekend.
Rodgers tossed four touchdown passes to help the Green Bay Packers capture the NFC North title with a 31-24 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night. The Packers (10-6) will host the Giants (11-5) next Sunday while the Lions (9-7) visit Seattle (10-5-1) on Saturday night.
In the AFC, Tom Brady and the Patriots (14-2) beat Miami 35-14 to secure the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Chiefs (12-4) clinched a first-round bye thanks to Denver’s win over Oakland coupled with their victory over San Diego.
The Raiders (12-4) fell from No. 2 to the fifth spot and will open the playoffs on the road at Houston (9-7). That matchup could feature rookie quarterback Connor Cook making his first career start for the Raiders after they lost Derek Carr last week and backup Matt McGloin went down in the second quarter against the Broncos.
The Steelers (11-5) will host the Dolphins (10-6) in the AFC’s other wild-card game.
Here’s a look at the playoff teams by seed:
AFC
1. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS:.
2. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS.
3. PITTSBURGH STEELERS: Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown had an early bye. They sat out Sunday to rest for the Dolphins next Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
4. HOUSTON TEXANS: They need to sort out their quarterback issues.
5. OAKLAND RAIDERS: Carr’s season-ending injury deflated the team.
6. MIAMI DOLPHINS: It’s unknown whether QB Ryan Tannehill will return from injury.
NFC
1. DALLAS COWBOYS.
2. ATLANTA FALCONS.
3. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Russell Wilson and the Seahawks start their drive for a third NFC championship title in four seasons.
4. GREEN BAY PACKERS: Rodgers has the Packers riding high into the playoffs..
5. N.Y. GIANTS: Were locked into the No. 5 seed.
6. DETROIT LIONS: Wilson and Richard Sherman stand in the way of Detroit’s first playoff win since the 1991 season.
