Playoff Matchups SetAFC Seeds:
1. Indianapolis (will host lowest AFC seed remaining after next week's Wild Card games)
2. Denver (will host highest AFC seed remaining other than Indianapolis after next week's Wild Card games)
3. Cincinnati (will host Seed 6 Pittsburgh next weekend)
4. New England (will host Seed 5 Jacksonville next weekend)
Obviously there are some interesting questions about next week's games. Can Tom Brady make it to 10-0 as a playoff quarterback? Can Carson Palmer win his first postseason matchup, a crucial hurdle on the way to becoming one of the great QBs? Or can Ben Roethlisberger win his first road playoff game?
NFC Seeds:
1. Seattle (will host lowest NFC seed remaining after next week's Wild Card games)
2. Chicago (will host highest NFC seed remaining other than Seattle after next week's Wild Card games)
3. Tampa Bay (will host Seed 6 Washington Redskins next weekend)
4. New York Giants (will host Seed 5 Carolina Panthers next weekend)
Ironically, the only proven playoff quarterbacks in the NFC are from the two Wild Cards. Mark Brunell won a pair of postseason games in 1996. More important, they were road playoff wins, which are hard to come by. He's won four playoff games in total, which is more than anybody not named Tom in this year's Super Bowl tournament.
Jake Delhomme has won three postseason games, which means he's equal to Eli Manning's older brother in playoff wins. The other NFC teams are all led by quarterbacks who've never won a playoff game.
Fearless prediction: The home teams will win next week except for Cincinnati, which will be beaten by the Steelers.