Of the four divisional playoff games this weekend, the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers matchup is easily the least enticing. The Cardinals stumbled to the title in the NFL's weakest division, while Carolina is a talented team without a lot of national hype. With three other games that pit fierce division rivals (Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants), two stout defenses (Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans) and teams playing a rematch of the game with the most thrilling ending of the year (San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers), why is the NFL subjecting us to the Cards-Panthers in Saturday primetime?

To answer this question, we had to go back to the beginning; the beginning, in this case, being 2001. That's when the NFL moved the kickoff times of the Saturday divisional playoff games back four hours to 4:30 and 8:00 p.m. ET. Since then, the Saturday primetime game has alternated between CBS and FOX (and, thusly, the AFC and NFC). This is FOX's year in the rotation, which means they get the primetime game on Saturday and the early game on Sunday. Conversely, CBS gets the early game on Saturday and the coveted 4:30 spot on Sunday. 

Judging by the playoff schedules in previous years, it appears the NFL and its broadcasting partners try to save the best matchups for Sunday, which is why Philly-New York was assigned to that day. This makes sense, as Saturday is traditionally one of the worst days for television viewership while Sunday is one of the best. 

Ideally, the NFL would go back to the Saturday afternoon schedule so fans could enjoy their evening without having to keep one eye glued to the TV. However, with ratings for the Colts-Chargers wild card game reaching record-highs last Saturday night, expect to see more playoff football under the lights in the coming years, even if the ratings tank for Kurt Warner and Jake Delhomme.

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