With five wild-card games now in the books, the divisional round is starting to take shape, but before that can fully happen, there is still one game left to be played in the opening round of the NFL playoffs: Cowboys at Buccaneers.
Those two teams will close out Super Wild Card Weekend with a Monday night game in Tampa Bay.
If that game is just half as exciting as every other wild-card game, then we should be in for a crazy ride. So far, the wild-card round has given us the third-largest comeback win in NFL playoff history, which came on Saturday when the Jaguars came back from a 27-0 deficit to beat the Chargers.
The Dolphins almost sent shockwaves through the postseason, but their upset bid against Buffalo came up just short in a 34-31 loss. The Ravens also came close to pulling off an astronomical upset before falling to the Bengals 24-17. One team who pulled off an upset was the Giants, who knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs with a 31-24 win in Minnesota.
The 49ers also advanced to the divisional round with a 41-23 win over the Seahawks on Saturday.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the entire postseason schedule. (And don’t forget, there could be a neutral site AFC title game this year: If the Bills and Chiefs end up playing each other in the AFC Championship Game, then the game will be played in Atlanta.)
Super Wild Card Weekend
Saturday, Jan. 14
- (2) 49ers 41-23 over (7) Seahawks. The 49ers got a brief scare from the Seahawks on a day where Seattle jumped to a 17-16 halftime lead. But in the second half, San Francisco broke the game open with a dominating performance. Brock Purdy threw for 332 yards while also becoming the first rookie in NFL history to total four touchdowns in a playoff game. (Purdy finished with three passing touchdowns and one rushing score).
- (4) Jaguars 31-30 over (5) Chargers. The Jaguars won this game by pulling off one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history. The Jags fell behind, 27-0, early in the game due in large part to four interceptions from Trevor Lawrence, but they rebounded to pull off the stunning win, thanks in large part to Lawrence, who threw four touchdown passes.
Sunday, Jan. 15
- (2) Bills 34-31 over (7) Dolphins. The Dolphins went into this game as the biggest underdog in the history of the wild-card round (+14) and despite those odds, they were still able to put a major scare into the Bills. In the end, the Bills were able to stave off the upset thanks to Josh Allen (352 passing yards, three touchdowns) and a defense that came up with multiple big plays, including two turnovers, four sacks and a fourth-down stop that iced the game with just 2:30 left to play.
- (6) Giants 31-24 over (3) Vikings. New York was able to pull off the upset in Minnesota thanks to a historic performance from Daniel Jones, who became the FIRST QB in NFL playoff history to throw for at least 300 and two touchdowns while also adding at least 70 yards on the ground. Not only did Jones throw for 301 yards, but he was also the game’s leading rusher with 78 yards on 17 carries. The win over Minnesota marked the Giants’ first playoff victory since they beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI back in February 2012.
- (3) Bengals 24-17 over (6) Ravens. The Ravens had Cincinnati on the ropes for most of this game, but the Bengals were able to escape with a win thanks to their defense, which came up with one of the biggest plays in NFL postseason history. With the Ravens at Cincinnati’s one-yard line, Tyler Huntley fumbled and Sam Hubbard returned that fumble 98 yards for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
Monday, Jan. 16
- (5) Cowboys at (4) Buccaneers (+2.5), 8:15 pm ET (ABC/ESPN, stream on fuboTV). If the Cowboys are going to advance to the divisional round, they’re going to have to do something they’ve never done: Beat Tom Brady. The Cowboys are 0-7 all time against the Buccaneers QB and that includes a Week 1 loss where Tampa Bay topped Dallas 19-3.
Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 21
- (4) Jaguars at (1) Chiefs, 4:30 pm ET (NBC). After getting a week off, the Chiefs will be opening their postseason run with a game against a Jaguars team that they actually played earlier this season. Back in Week 10, the Chiefs beat the Jags 27-17 in a game where Kansas City jumped out to a 20-0 lead before coasting to the win.
- (6) Giants at (1) Eagles8:15 p.m. ET (Fox). These two division rivals will be meeting for the third time this season and the Giants will be hoping this game has a different outcome than the first two, which were both won by Philadelphia. This will mark the 25th time in NFL history that a team has swept its division rival in the regular-season and then faced them again in the playoffs. The team that went 2-0 during the regular season has pulled off the three-game sweep 15 out of 24 times.
Sunday, Jan. 22
- (3) Bengals at (2) Bills, 3 p.m. ET (CBS). This game will be played exactly 20 days after their original game was canceled due to the situation involving Damar Hamlin. With Hamlin now back home in Buffalo, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he were to attend this game.
- (5) Cowboys or (4) Buccaneers at (2) 49ers, 6:30 pm ET (Fox). The winner of the Monday night game between Dallas and Tampa Bay will be headed to San Francisco. The 49ers didn’t play the Cowboys this year, but they did play the Buccaneers. Back in Week 14, San Francisco absolutely destroyed the Bucs, 35-7.
Championship Sunday
Jan. 29
- NFC Championship, 3:05 p.m. ET (Fox)
- AFC Championship, 6:40 p.m. ET (CBS)
Super Bowl LVII
Feb. 12
AFC Champions vs. NFC Champion at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, 6:30 pm ET (Fox)
