Rams are 12-5.
Panthers are 8-9 (losing record, BTW)
YTF are they playing the playoff game in Carolina?
I’m guessing because the Rams didn’t win their division and the Panthers did.
Because as a division winner, Carolina gets a home game against the wild-card rams
Seeds 1-4 are alotted to the 4 division winners, ranked by records. Seeds 5-7 go to the wild card teams, and the first weekend matchups are 2v7, 3v6, and 4v5.
Ah ha.
Question answered. Thanks.
Exactly this.
The Rams and 49ers finished at 12-5, two games behind the Seahawks (14-3) for the NFC West title, and are both wild card teams.
The Panthers finished in a three-way tie (with the Falcons and Buccaneers at 8-9, and won the tiebreakers to win the NFC South title.
The NFL seeds their playoff teams this way:
- The #1 through #4 seeds in a conference are the four division winners, ranked by record
- The #5 through #7 seeds in a conference are the four non-division-winners with the best record (i.e., the wild card teams), ranked by record
Historically, NFL owners have decided that winning your division is an important thing, and is rewarded by getting to host at least your first playoff game. Thus, a wild-card team will always play on the road during this first round (Wild Card round), even if they are playing against a division winner with a poorer regular-season record.
Hypothetically, a wild card team in a subsequent playoff round could wind up being the home team for a playoff game, if they were matched against another wild card team which is lower-seeded.
Its a close game!
I had not realized that Carolina had won their division upon opening this thread.
Wild Card Weekend games all pit a division winner (home team) against a wild-card team (visiting team).
Prior to a couple of years ago, when each conference only had two wild card teams, the top two seeds (i.e., the two divisions winners with the best records) got a first-round bye. When they added the third wild card, they took away the bye for the #2 seed.
The Bears, who won the NFC North, are the #2 seed, and they host the Packers (the #7 seed) tonight.
If both the Packers and 49ers win, then the Rams will host the 49ers in LA next weekend, despite being a wild card team.
The Packers are up 18 points at the half, and if the Bears don’t turn things around dramatically, the Packers are going to Seattle next weekend.
It’ll come down to the Niners winning in Philadelphia, and that’s not implausible if their offense can get back on track.
It’s the 2 minute warning. GB is up by 3 but the Bears have the ball on the GB 25. Packers are blowing it!
ETA: Bears scored. Pack is toast.
Yeah, the Packers fell apart in the second half. Their offense barely got going and their defense looked gassed to me because they were on the field so long.