The first playoff game in 12 years for the Detroit Lions will come on the road against a possible NFL MVP. Drew Brees, who set three single-season passing records and threw for more than 5,400 yards this year, will lead the New Orleans Saints against the Lions next week in the Crescent City. New Orleans already beat Detroit 31-17 in New Orleans in early December.
The second NFC wild card game will have the Atlanta Falcons visiting the winner of tonight's game between Dallas and the New York Giants. The Green Bay Packers have the No. 1 seed in the NFC and will host the Lions if Detroit reaches round two. San Francisco is the No. 2 seed and has a first-round bye as well.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots earned the No. 1 overall seed and homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Baltimore is the No. 2 seed and earned a bye with their win over Cincinnati. The wild card games are set with the 12-4 Pittsburgh Steelers, which lost both games to Baltimore this year and therefore the tiebreaker, heading to Denver to face the 8-8 Broncos. The Cincinnati Bengals backed into the final playoff spot by virtue of losses by the Jets, Broncos and Raiders and will play at the Houston Texans, which have never been to the playoffs.
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