NFL wild-card weekend previews
Saturday's games
New Orleans (11-5) at Seattle (7-9)
Time: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, NBC
Line: New Orleans by 10
Last meeting: Saints 34, Seahawks 19, Nov. 21, 2010
Last week: Saints lost to Buccaneers 23-13; Seahawks beat Rams 16-6
Notes: Winner plays either at Chicago or at Atlanta in next week's divisional round. ... First playoff meeting between teams. ... New Orleans beat Seattle 34-19 in Week 11. The 15-point margin was Seattle's closest loss of season. ... Seattle won NFC West after 16-6 win over St. Louis Sunday night, becoming first sub-.500 division champion in league history. ... Last division champ to reach playoffs at .500 (2008 Chargers) won wild-card game. ... Saints have never won playoff game away from Superdome (0-3). ... QB Drew Brees' 66.7 completion percentage in postseason is best in NFL history and his 103.7 passer rating is second highest. ... New Orleans placed RBs Chris Ivory (716 yards) and Pierre Thomas (269 yards) on injured reserve. Only healthy RBs from regular season are Reggie Bush and Julius Jones. ... LB Jonathan Vilma led Saints in tackles for third straight season. ... Seattle head coach Pete Carroll says quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will start. Hasselbeck has nine career playoff starts and is 4-1 at home. He has most playoff experience of any QB in NFC. ... Hasselbeck's 366 yards passing against Saints in Week 11 was fourth-highest single- game total of career and most allowed this season by Saints.
New York Jets (11-5) at Indianapolis (10-6)
Time: 7 p.m. Saturday, NBC
Line: Indianapolis by 3
Last meeting: Colts beat Jets 30-17, Jan. 24, 2010
Last week: Jets beat Bills 38-7, Colts beat Titans 23-20
Notes: Jets made playoffs despite losing three of last five. ... New York was 6-2 in road games this season. ... Jets lost to Colts 30-17 in last season's AFC title game. ... DE Shaun Ellis will break club record for most postseason games played. He's tied with James Dearth (nine). ... Coach Rex Ryan is 1-5 against Peyton Manning as Jets coach and Ravens defensive coordinator. ... QB Mark Sanchez completed 41 of 68 for 539 yards with 4 TDs and 2 interceptions in playoffs last year. ... Three of top five active players in sacks will be on field — Jets' Jason Taylor (131½) and Trevor Pryce (91) and Colts' Dwight Freeney (94). ... Indy making record-tying ninth straight playoff appearance. ... Manning is 8-5 all-time vs. Jets with 16 TDs and 13 INTs and is 6-3 all-time in home playoff games. ... Reggie Wayne (82 receptions) needs six catches to move into second in playoff history, passing Michael Irvin (87) and Andre Reed (85). Wayne also needs 41 yards receiving to pass Fred Biletnikoff (1,167) for fifth all-time. ... Wayne (nine) needs two TD receptions to move into third all-time, behind Jerry Rice (22) and John Stallworth (12). ... Colts were No. 1 in red zone TD efficiency, scoring 38 TDs in 56 chances (67.9 percent).
Sunday's games
Baltimore (12-4) at Kansas City (10-6)
Time: Noon Sunday, CBS
Line: Baltimore by 3
Last meeting: Ravens beat Chiefs 38-24, Sept. 13, 2009
Last week: Chiefs lost to Raiders 31-10, Ravens beat Bengals 13-7
Notes: Joe Flacco, John Harbaugh first QB-head coach duo to begin careers at same time and go to postseason each of first three seasons. ... S Ed Reed needs 2 interceptions to tie NFL postseason record of 9. Although missing first six games, Reed led NFL with 8 INTs. ... Ravens have three playoff wins since 2008, Chiefs three since 1971. ... Ravens finished third in league in fewest points allowed for third straight season. ... Ravens one of two teams with three players with at least 60 catches each. ... Ravens' average margin of defeat in four losses was 4 points. ... Chiefs had three losses of 20 points or more. ... Baltimore's 20 turnovers franchise record for fewest. ... Ravens' 28 points allowed after turnover third-fewest in league, KC second at 27. ... Ray Rice's 1,776 yards from scrimmage third-best in NFL, KC's Jamaal Charles second with 1,935. ... Against common opponents, Baltimore 5-0, KC 3-2. ... Chiefs' six-game improvement from 2009 is franchise record. ... KC going for first postseason win in 17 years. ... With one TD rushing, against Baltimore, Thomas Jones becomes first in postseason history with TDs rushing for three teams. ... Dwayne Bowe led league with team-record 15 TD catches.
Green Bay (10-6) at Philadelphia (10-6)
Time: 3:30 p.m. Sunday, FOX
Line: Philadelphia by 2½
Last meeting: Packers beat Eagles 27-20, Sept. 12, 2010
Last week: Packers beat Bears 10-3; Eagles lost to Cowboys 14-13
Notes: Eagles 2-0 against Packers in playoffs, including 1960 NFL championship game. ... Packers' 26 playoff appearances tied for fourth-most in NFL history. ... This is their third trip in four seasons under coach Mike McCarthy. ... Packers 3-2 as wild-card team. ... QB Aaron Rodgers is highest-rated passer in NFL history with 98.4 rating. He's also first in interception percentage at 2.0. ... Packers allowed opposing QBs to pass for just 185.9 yards per game after Week 5. ... LB Clay Matthews finished second in NFC and fourth in NFL with 13½ sacks. ... In final nine games, Packers gave up 10.4 points per game. ... Eagles 4-1 in wild-card games under coach Andy Reid, including 3-0 at home. ... Eagles 4-0 against NFC North in playoffs under Reid. ... WR DeSean Jackson had career-best 210 yards receiving vs. Cowboys last month. ... QB Michael Vick is 2-2 as starter in playoffs. He beat Packers at Lambeau Field while with Falcons in January 2003. ... CB Asante Samuel has NFL-record 4 interception returns for TDs in playoffs. ... K David Akers is 30 of 35 (85.7 percent) on field goals in playoffs. ... Eagles' last four wins have been fourth-quarter comebacks. ... TE Brent Celek has three TD catches in playoffs.