Time for the NFL Wildcard Weekend!

The 12 NFL teams that will play beyond the new year have been found.

Denver, New England, Seattle and Carolina have finished 1st and 2nd in the AFC and NFC respectively meaning they have the first weekend of the new year off - Denver and Seattle have also earned the right to stay at home throughout the playoffs if they keep winning as they finished numero uno in each league.

The wildcard playoffs will be played next weekend and if the weekend just gone by is anything to go by, this could very well be a lottery on both sides.

The wildcard weekend is like this -

Kansas City at Indianapolis, Saturday, 4 January, 4:35pm, NBC
New Orleans at Philadelphia, Saturday, 4 January, 8:10pm, NBC

San Diego at Cincinnati, Sunday, 5 January, 1:05pm, CBS
San Francisco at Green Bay, Sunday, 5 January, 4:45pm, FOX

The most intriguing tie has to be Drew Brees and Sean Payton's Saints versus Chip Kelly and Nick Foles' Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Saints have been brilliant at home but more suspect away from home. They may have a very good defence but they do have to play on Saturday night in what will be very cold conditions in Philadelphia so there is a good chance that Chip Kelly's dream debut season in the NFL could roll on to Seattle or Charlotte depending on what happens at Lambeau Field.

That game at Lambeau Field will also be pretty interesting. The 49ers aren't quite the force they were last season but did have the NFC's 3rd best record and are only in this situation because the Seahawks won the division. They do face a rejuvenated Green Bay Packers side with Aaron Rodgers back - Jim Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick might have sighed a bit when Randall Cobb strolled in unopposed for the touchdown to seal their place for the 5th season in a row in the playoffs; the Packers at Lambeau Field will be out to avenge their defeat at the hands of the 49ers this time last year.

The AFC wildcard games will also be tight ones to call. Consistency isn't a word that you'd associate with these sides and Cincy, San Diego, Indy and KC have all had their issues this season. San Diego might fancy their chances against an erratic Andy Dalton but the Bengals' secondary is a key threat even for a Pro Bowl QB in Phil Rivers, and Kansas City have got the best secondary in the whole country and could really rattle Andrew Luck - who has taken his fair share of hits this seasons.

This is where the fun starts in the NFL so bring it on!