NFL Football

The Indianapolis Colts shut out the Cincinnati Bengals 27-0 on October 19 in Indianapolis. The Colts are hoping to do it again at Lucas Oil Stadium in the first round of the AFC playoffs. The game is as 1:05pm on Sunday on CBS and features the Colts holding a -3.5 advantage. The Colts are hoping to get back into the Super Bowl while the Bengals are just hoping to win a playoff game for the first time since 1990.

While the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers might hold a 7-8-1 record, the Panthers are actually listed as -5.5 favorites against the 11-5 Arizona Cardinals in their playoff game at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium. The game, which will take place at 4:20pm Eastern on ESPN, will feature the Panthers taking on a Cardinals team with an extremely shaky quarterback situation.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Cincinnati Bengals for the final game of the regular season. The game gave the Steelers the AFC North title and the right to host a playoff game. The Steelers were -3.5 favorites and took in a 27-17 victory.

It didn't take much for the Steelers to take in the momentum for the game as Antonio Brown had a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown after the Bengals' first possession. Brice McCain then intercepted a pass from Andy Dalton a few moments later. Dalton did tie the game up with a pass to Giovani Bernard.

The Baltimore Ravens needed a win and a loss by San Diego to make the playoffs with the last AFC wild card spot. The Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns 20-10 right as the Chargers lost to Kansas City, thus bringing the 10-6 Ravens into the playoffs. Meanwhile, the 7-9 Browns ended the season with yet another quarterback.

The 10-4-1 Cincinnati Bengals and 10-5 Pittsburgh Steelers have both clinched spots in the playoffs. However, the big question is just who will start the playoffs at home. The winner of this game will be the outright winner of the AFC North and therefore get a home game for the first round.

This game will be held at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won their match with the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 7 by a score of 42-21.

The 6-8-1 Carolina Panthers and the 6-9 Atlanta Falcons are not the most appealing teams in the world but they are both going to be competing for the NFC South title this Sunday at the Georgia Dome. The winner will get the title and the fourth seed in the NFC playoffs. The Falcons have a -4 advantage and the over/under is listed at 47.5 points.

The Falcons beat the Panthers 19-17 on November 16 in Charlotte off of a late field goal by Matt Bryant. This came in spite of Cam Newton getting two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

While the Denver Broncos had already reached a playoff spot, they were hoping to try and gain the top seed in the AFC. The Cincinnati Bengals were just trying to get into the playoffs in their game against Denver. The Bengals wound up on the winning side of things. While the Broncos were clear -3.5 favorites to win, the Bengals went beyond expectations and clinched a playoff spot with a 37-28 win over the Broncos.

The Seattle Seahawks got to a tie with the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West with a 35-6 victory in Glendale. Both teams now hold 11-4 records with the Seahawks holding the advantage for the division with the better head-to-head record, what with the Hawks having beaten them twice this year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers clinched their first playoff spot in three years with a 20-12 win against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, whether or not the Steelers will get the AFC North title or a wild card will remain to be seen until next weekend. The Steelers were able to move past the -2.5 line for the game but they are hoping to get more than just a spot in the playoffs; they are hoping to attain a home game in the playoffs.

The San Diego Chargers were down for much of their game against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday. Still, the Chargers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 38-35 overtime win against the Niners even as San Francisco were -1 favorites. Even with this, there are concerns about the health of their star quarterback.