NFL Wild-Card Sunday Pre-Gamin’: Vikings at Saints (12:05 CT), Seahawks at Eagles (3:40 CT)

The NFC side of the NFL Playoffs opens up this afternoon, but the Chicago Bears aren’t a part of the action.

So … who’s down to root against some rivals?

NFC Game #1

Minnesota Vikings (10-6, 2nd NFC North) at New Orleans Saints (13-3, 1st NFC South) – 12:05 p.m. CT, FOX (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Chris Myers), Westwood One Radio (Kevin Kugler, Jason Taylor, Scott Kaplan)

Site: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans

Referee and crew: Carl Cheffers (referee), Rich Hall (umpire), Jim Mello (down judge), Byron Boston (line judge), Allen Baynes (field judge), Jim Quirk (side judge), Greg Wilson (back judge)

Odds: Saints (-7.5), Over/Under 49.5

Coaches

Vikings Mike Zimmer (57-38-1, 1-2 playoffs) vs. Saints Sean Payton (131-77, 8-6 playoffs)

Starting Quarterbacks

Vikings: Kirk Cousins: 3,603 yards, 26 TD, 6 INT, 69.1 completion pct., 107.4 rating

versus

Saints: Drew Brees: 2,979 yards, 27 TD, 4 INT, 74.3 completion pct., 116.3 rating

Quick Hit: Drew Brees’ home splits in 2019 (119.7 rating, 322.8 yards/game, 17 TD, 3 INT) are freaking wild, but Kirk Cousins (101.1 rating, 253.6 yards/game, 15 TD, 4 INT) has been more respectable on the road than you might have otherwise expected.

NFC Game #2

Seattle Seahawks (11-5, 2nd NFC West) at Philadelphia Eagles (9-7, 1st NFC East) – 3:40 p.m. CT, NBC (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya), Westwood One Radio (Kevin Harlan, Brian Griese, Ross Tucker)

Site: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Referee and crew: Shawn Smith (referee), Bryan Neale (umpire), Derick Bowers (down judge), Tim Podraza (line judge), Keith Washington (field judge), Jeff Lamberth (side judge), Tony Steratore (back judge)

Odds: Pick ’em, Over/Under 44.5 via the Westgate Superbook.

Coaches

Seahawks Pete Carroll (133-90-1 overall, 100-59-1 with Seahawks, 10-8 playoffs) vs. Doug Pederson (38-26, 4-1 playoffs)

Starting Quarterbacks

Seahawks: Russell Wilson: 4,110 yards, 41 TD, 5 INT, 66.1 completion pct., 106.3 rating

versus

Eagles: Carson Wentz: 4,039 yards, 27 TD, 7 INT, 63.9 completion pct., 93.1 rating

Quick Hit: Believe it or not, today marks the first Eagles playoff game started by someone other than Nick Foles since January 9, 2011 . That’s when Mike Vick started for Philly, but the Packers beat the Eagles 21-16. You can check out that enchanted box score here.

written by

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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