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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Home-field advantage may not be dead, but it's&amp;nbsp;not doing well.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All four road teams&amp;nbsp;won this past weekend, marking the first time that has occurred in the NFL playoffs. A road sweep also has never happened in the divisional round, so perhaps the higher seeds can reestablish some normalcy on Saturday and Sunday. All four (Carolina, Arizona, Denver and New England) are expected to be favored.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The NFL's seeding system itself is to blame for the home-team stumble, of course. Were it not for division champs automatically earning the right to play on their own turf, both Kansas City and Green Bay would have hosted in Round 1, instead of traveling to Houston and Washington, respectively.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Beyond that, there's not much for the league to do, shy of sweeping changes\u2014i.e. scrapping the divisions entirely or setting up the postseason as the NCAA does its playoff, with neutral-site action. Oooooh ... NFL bowl games, anyone? No? Good call.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What the first four playoff outcomes really did was reinforce a running theme throughout the 2015 season: parity bordering on mediocrity. Save for the likes of Carolina and Arizona, teams were jumbled across the board from September through the start of January, so a handful of road wins here and there should come as little surprise. In fact, not one of the wild-card weekend's results truly counted as an \"upset,\" by Vegas's definition.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Will the top seeds flip the script in the divisional round? Until then, here's how the remaining eight stack up:&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\r\n&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t1\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t1Carolina Panthers\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;1\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;15-1\r\n\r\n\tThe Panthers' bye came early this season, back in Week 5 after they had raced out to a 4-0 start (en route to 14-0). They returned from their time off and won a thriller in Seattle, 27-23, scoring two touchdowns in the final four minutes. What does that mean for Sunday's divisional-round rematch with the Seahawks? Well ... not much, other than the confidence that may have come from snapping a five-game, five-year losing streak to the defending NFC champs. Speaking of streaks, the Panthers have gone 27 straight games topping 100 yards rushing, including in that earlier win over the Seahawks. But Pete Carroll's club finished the year ranked No. 1 against the run and kept Adrian Peterson mostly in check this past weekend.\r\n\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\t\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;DEITSCH: Why NFL T.V. ratings have no ceiling&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t2\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t2Arizona Cardinals\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;2\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;13-3\r\n\r\n\tCan we just get this game going already? It feels like we've been waiting forever to see what the Cardinals can do on the big stage. Last year hardly counts because of Carson Palmer's absence\u2014remember the Ryan Lindley debacle at Carolina in the 2014 wild-card round? The Cardinals' last win was by 30 over their next opponent, Green Bay. Their last game, period, was a 30-point loss to the Seahawks. Which version of themselves the Cardinals more closely resemble will go a long way toward determining their fate, but the Week 17 showing was an outlier in a brilliant regular season.\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t3\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t3Kansas City Chiefs\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;4\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;12-5\r\n\r\n\tIf the Chiefs' 10-game win streak to close the regular season didn't catch your attention, their complete annihilation of the Texans should have done it\u2014regardless of how cautious anyone felt about the Texans' Super Bowl chances. Jeremy Maclin's health is about the only lingering question mark at the moment, though that is a significant one.\r\n\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\t\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;AFC PLAYOFF PRIMER: How Steelers/Broncos, Chiefs/Patriots match up&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t4\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t4New England Patriots\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;5\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;12-4\r\n\r\n\tThe Patriots would have loved to hang onto the AFC's No. 1 seed, but hanging onto a first-round bye arguably was even more important. While Bill Belichick probably could win a couple games with Tom Brady, 20 guys from the stands and Pat Patriot, his roster this weekend will be as healthy as it's been in months. Don't count out the defending champs based on their 2-4 closing stretch.\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t5\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t5Seattle Seahawks\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;3\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;11-6\r\n\r\n\tHey, sometimes it takes a little luck in the playoffs. And, sometimes, it requires harnessing the power of a million leprechauns to force a chip-shot miss from the opposition's kicker. The Seahawks played with about as much lethargy as a team can while moving on in the post-season. The other remaining NFC teams probably would prefer they were out.\r\n\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\t\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;BISHOP: About that time when Pete Carroll smashed a whiteboard&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t6\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t6Denver Broncos\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;6\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;12-4\r\n\r\n\tWhen the Broncos reached the Super Bowl two seasons back, it was with the NFL's top-rated offense and its 19th-ranked defense. The setup is very different this time around\u2014Denver boasts a No. 1 defense and No. 16 offense. Three of the teams to test that defense most strenuously this season remain alive in the AFC bracket, so Peyton Manning probably will have to crank it up a notch at some point soon if the Broncos' playoff run is to be a long one.\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t7\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t7Green Bay Packers\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;12\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;11-6\r\n\r\n\tThere was a long, long way to go in Sunday's game when this play happened but perhaps the best indication that Aaron Rodgers had found a long-awaited groove came here: With Green Bay down 11-0, Rodgers caught Washington with too many men on the field, then took advantage of a scrambling defense to throw a touchdown pass. When Rodgers unleashes his free-wheeling, swagger-filled style, the Packers still are a dangerous bunch.\r\n\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\t\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;BANKS: Green Bay returns to relevance with rout over Washington&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t8\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t8Pittsburgh Steelers\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t&amp;nbsp;\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\tlast week:&amp;nbsp;7\r\n\r\n\trecord:&amp;nbsp;11-6\r\n\r\n\tEver sit down on a roller coaster, reach the top, then look to your right and have this reaction: \"What the hell is Landry Jones doing here?\" Such was the Steelers' rocky ride in Cincinnati, which ended with a bizarre, dramatic victory. A limited Ben Roethlisberger helped save his team late, but can he heal in time for next weekend's trip to Denver? Even if he does, the Steelers will have their hands full. Without him, forget it.\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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