Those other times when things went wrong — we’re talking four Super Bowl losses plus 1998, 2000, 2009 and 2017 — weren’t solid opportunities. This time, the NFC playoff field is flawed.

After losing the first regular-season game in league history pitting teams with a combined 28 victories, the Vikings (14-3) hit the road for wild-card weekend, visiting the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams (10-7) on Monday night as the most accomplished fifth seed in NFL history.

The Detroit Lions are the team to beat in the NFC, but this conference's wild-card teams put up more fight than their AFC counterparts.

The Vikings will be facing the Los Angeles Rams in the opening round of the playoffs. What other matchups have formed?

The four NFC and four AFC division champions and six wild-card teams - the three non-division winners with the best records in each conference - will compete in a single elimination tournament. The final four will play in the AFC and NFC championship games on Jan.

Here's who NFC teams want to see—and don't want to see—for their best chance at lifting the Lombardi Trophy next month.

While the regular season suggests a Detroit Lions-Kansas City Chiefs clash for Super Bowl 59, everyone is vulnerable -- especially in a league where a dozen teams have to fight their way up from the Wild Card round.

Which teams are in line to play for it all? Our writers and editors fill out their brackets and pick a champion, a final score and an MVP for the big game.