SPORT: NFL playoffs 2018: Bracket and schedule update after Panthers vs. Saints

NFL playoffs 2018: Bracket and schedule update after Panthers vs. Saints.

Wild Card Weekend is now behind us, and the Saints are into the Divisional Round.

The Wild Card Round is in the books, and only eight NFL teams remain on the road to the Super Bowl. The final Wild Card Game saw the New Orleans Saints beat the Carolina Panthers for the third time this season, 31-26.

The Saints advance to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, where they will face the Minnesota Vikings on the road. Earlier on Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars won a tight one over the Buffalo Bills, and will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

The first half was all Saints, though it was Carolina with the first scoring opportunity. Unfortunately, the most accurate kicker in the regular season, Graham Gano, missed a field goal, which immediately led to a New Orleans touchdown that came on an 80-yard pass from Drew Brees to Ted Ginn.

From there, the Panthers kicked a pair of field goals on their next two possessions, but the Saints scored touchdowns on their next two. Carolina closed the half with a field goal. In the second half, Carolina kicked a field goal, as did the Saints, and the teams then exchanged punts.

Carolina finally found the end zone in the fourth quarter, when Newton hit Greg Olsen for a 14-yard touchdown reception. New Orleans took back over, but they punted, as did the Panthers on their next possession. But Brees orchestrated yet another touchdown drive, and the Panthers were down multiple scores with five minutes to go.

Then Newton hit Christian McCaffrey for a 56-yard touchdown in under a minute, giving the Panthers some life. The Saints had a fourth down late at the two-minute warning, and they went for it. They didn’t get it, with a Carolina player picking it off instead of simply hitting the ball away, so the Panthers lost a good chunk of yardage when they took over with no timeouts remaining.

Carolina marched all the way downfield, into the red zone, but an intentional grounding call and a sack had the team well out of range, and the Saints held on to win.

On Saturday, the Tennessee Titans just edged out the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Atlanta Falcons handled the Los Angeles Rams. The Titans will play the New England Patriots and the Falcons will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round.

Below is an updated look at the playoff landscape after Wild Card Weekend.

All times Eastern

Wild Card Round

AFC byes: New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers

NFC byes: Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings

Saturday, Jan. 6

GAME 1: Tennessee Titans 22, Kansas City Chiefs 21

GAME 2: Atlanta Falcons 26, Los Angeles Rams 13

Sunday, Jan. 7

GAME 3: Jacksonville Jaguars 10, Buffalo Bills 3

GAME 4: New Orleans Saints 31, Carolina Panthers 26

Divisional Round

Saturday, Jan. 13

GAME 5: Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:35 p.m., NBC

GAME 6: Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots, 8:15 p.m., CBS

Sunday, Jan. 14

GAME 7: Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1:05 p.m., CBS

GAME 8: New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings, 4:40 p.m., FOX

Championship Round

Sunday, Jan. 21

AFC Championship: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 3:05 p.m., CBS

NFC Championship: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6:40 p.m., FOX

Super Bowl 52

Sunday, Feb. 4

AFC Champion vs. NFC Champion, 6:30 p.m., NBC