NFL playoff schedule set; New Orleans earns No. 3 seed, takes on Minnesota

The 2019 NFL regular season has come to a close and now the quest for the Super Bowl XIV trophy is officially moving forward.
With this past Sunday’s deciding games, the playoff schedule is set and the field of 32 teams has been cut down to 12.
On Saturday, the Buffalo Bills will travel to Houston Texans, winners of the AFC South, for the first of four wild card games to be played this weekend. The nightcap on Saturday will feature the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, at home against the Tennessee Titans.
Sunday’s first playoff game has the New Orleans Saints, NFC South champions, hosting the Minnesota Vikings in a battle of double digit win teams. The final game in the first round will pit the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia.
New Orleans (13-3), the No. 3 seed, faces a Minnesota team that finished their season on a two game losing streak, ending with an overall record of 10-6. Four of the six Viking losses came in their division, as they fell to Green Bay and Chicago twice each. Minnesota’s other two losses came at the hands of Kansas City and Seattle, both playoff teams.
The Saints finished off their regular season by blasting the Carolina Panthers 42-10. New Orleans is riding a three game win streak heading into the post-season.
The Saints are 1-3 against the Vikings in the playoffs, including a 29-24 heartbreaking defeat dubbed the “Minnesota Miracle” in 2017. However, New Orleans’ only win over Minnesota came at home in a 31-28 overtime win that clinched the NFC Championship and propelled the Saints to the world title.