We have 3 days of playoff football this weekend*
There were some great games yesterday for the second ever Week 18 of an NFL season. The 2022-23 NFL season ended with the Detroit Lions defeating the Green Bay Packers to keep them out of the playoffs. That win gave the Seattle Seahawks the final spot in the NFC, and set the schedule for next weekend’s playoffs.
The NFL loves drama, and they got it yesterday, but now it’s time for the 14 teams still alive in their quest to win the Super Bowl and hoist the Lombardi trophy. Twelve of those teams with be playing during Super Wildcard weekend with games on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The Philadelphia Eagles(NFC #1 seed) and the Kansas City Chiefs(AFC #1 seed) have byes this week, and will play the lowest remaining seed in their conference the following week.
Super Wildcard Weekend starts Saturday afternoon with an NFC West rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle squeaked into the playoffs, and they will be playing the hottest team in the NFL who are on a 10 game win streak.
The Saturday night game switches over to the AFC, and will have the 10-7 Los Angeles Chargers visiting the 9-8 Jacksonville Jaguars. This will be the first playoff game for both Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence.
Sunday is a triple header that starts off with an AFC East matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills. Miami beat the Jets by a field goal to grab the last spot in the AFC, and will now face a team they beat earlier in the season. That was with Tua Tagovailoa, who probably won’t be cleared from the NFL’s concussion protocol for this game.
The New York Giants earned the 6th seed with a lot of help from Washington’s failures in their two games over three weeks this season. They get to visit Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings, and play a team that has been falling apart down the stretch.
The Sunday triple header ends with an AFC North matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. These teams both have a win over each other this season. The Ravens got their win when Lamar Jackson was still healthy and starting. He has missed the last 4 games with a knee injury, and his status is unknown for the playoffs.
Super Wildcard Weekend ends on Monday night with an NFC game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys were a disaster in their season finale game against the Washington Commanders. They were embarrassed in every faze of the game, and lost by 20 points.
The #NFLPlayoffs start with #SuperWildCard Weekend! pic.twitter.com/blHs0K3j7n
— NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2023
Wild-card weekend: Jan. 14, 15 and 16
NFC
(7) Seattle Seahawks at (2) San Francisco 49ers
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox, Fox Deportes
(6) New York Giants at (3) Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox, Fox Deportes
(5) Dallas Cowboys at (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC/ESPN+
Bye: (1) Philadelphia Eagles
AFC
(5) Los Angeles Chargers at (4) Jacksonville Jaguars
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, Universo
(7) Miami Dolphins at (2) Buffalo Bills
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on CBS, Paramount+
(6) Baltimore Ravens at (3) Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, Universo
Bye: (1) Kansas City Chiefs