The Patriots don't know who they'll play in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, but they do know what time they'll be playing.
The NFL announced today the postseason schedule going forward, and it has the Patriots hosting either the Texans, Ravens, or Colts on Sunday, January 13 at 4:30 pm.
In the Wild Card Round next week, the third-seeded Texans will host the sixth-seeded Bengals at 4:30 pm on Saturday, pitting two teams against one another that seem to be heading into opposite directions. The Texans fell to the Colts on Sunday. It was their second loss in the last three weeks (which opened up the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a bye week in the playoffs for the Patriots), while the Bengals have won three in a row.
The other matchup in the AFC has the fifth-seeded Colts traveling to Baltimore to play the fourth-seeded Ravens at 1 pm on Sunday. Indianapolis is coming off of an emotional win Sunday, coach Chuck Pagano's first game back since taking an indefinite leave on Sept. 26 to begin chemotherapy treatments for leukemia. But Sunday's Wild Card game will be especially charged since Pagano has a history with Baltimore. He spent four seasons with the Ravens, coaching their secondary for three seasons and then serving as the team's defensive coordinator last year.
The Patriots will play at home against the highest seed that advances out of the AFC's Wild Card Round, while No. 1 seed Denver will get the lower seed.
If the Patriots are to advance to the AFC Championship Game, they'll play that one on Sunday, January 20 at 6:30 pm.