It came down to the final regular season game of the year to fill the last remaining slot on the NFC side of the playoffs bracket, and with an interception late in the Fourth Quarter and a roughing penalty even later, mistakes cost the Dallas Cowboys a chance at a comeback against the Washington Redskins. With the Redskins in as the No. 4 seed, the playoffs bracket was set and rookie quarterback RG III looked even more solid as the Rookie of the Year. But a win in the his first NFC Wild Card game in the NFL playoffs would go a long way to making his case stronger against his teammate, running back Alfred Morris and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, also in the playoffs on the other side (AFC) of the bracket (via CBSSports.com).
The Redskins enter the playoffs with a 10-6 record and a seven-game win streak (with only the Denver Broncos with a longer winning streak in the NFL at 11). They will face the team with the next longest win streak in the League, the Seattle Seahawks (11-5), the No. 5 seed, a team fresh off of a dominating victory -- in their next-to-last game -- over division rivals and Division champs (NFC West), the San Francisco 49ers, the NFC's No. 2 seed. The two will meet in the last Wild Card game of the weekend on Sunday.
The winner of the Redskins-Seahawks game will advance to take on the Atlanta Falcons.
Like the No. 2 49ers, the NFC's No. 1 seed, the Falcons (13-3), get a bye week and await the results of the Wild Card Games.
The first NFC Wild Card game will be played between the No. 3 seeded Green Bay Packers (11-5) and the Minnesota Vikings (10-6). The Vikings won their last game of the season to get into the playoffs, beating the Packers by a field goal in overtime. A win by the Packers would have gotten them a No. 2 seed and a bye, knocked the Vikings out of contention, and brought the Chicago Bears into the playoffs, but Minnesota was having none of it.
The first NFC Wild Card game will be played on Saturday. The winner of the Packers-Vikings match-up will have to do battle in San Francisco.
NFC Wild Card Games TV Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on NBC
(6) Minnesota Vikings vs. (3) Green Bay Packers
Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013, at 4:30 p.m. (EST) on FOX
(5) Seattle Seahawks vs. (4) Washington Redskins
****Numbers in parentheses are seed placement. The Vikings and Seahawks are the true Wild Card teams making the playoffs, while the the Packers and the Redskins advanced via winning their respective divisions.
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