B/R
The divisional round of the NFL playoffs is coming into focus.
The Houston Texans defeated the Los Angeles Chargers on the first day of Wild Card weekend to join the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs in the next round.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
TEXANS ARE HEADED TO THE DIVISIONAL 🤟
HOUSTON TAKES DOWN LA, 32-12 pic.twitter.com/NAErgVWifp
The Baltimore Ravens then knocked out the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night to become the fourth team through.
NFL @NFL
The @Ravens are heading to the Divisional Round! #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/koR0uShPNv
Here’s a look at the updated playoff picture and schedule heading into Sunday.
Projected Divisional Round Matchups
- 1. Detroit Lions vs. Lowest NFC Seed Remaining
- Second-highest NFC Seed Remaining vs. Second-lowest NFC Seed Remaining
- 1. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Lowest AFC Seed Remaining
- Second-highest AFC Seed Remaining vs. Second-lowest AFC Seed Remaining
The Ravens and Texans enter the divisional round as the AFC’s No. 3 seed and No. 4 seed, respectively.
Remaining Schedule
Wild Card Round
Sunday, Jan. 12
- No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET
- No 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET
- No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8 p.m. ET
Monday, Jan. 13
- No. 5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, 8 p.m. ET
Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 18
- AFC/NFC matchup 4:30 p.m. ET
- AFC/NFC matchup, 8:15 p.m. ET
Sunday, Jan. 19
- AFC/NFC matchup, 3 p.m. ET
- AFC/NFC matchup, 6:30 p.m. ET
Championship Sunday
Sunday, Jan. 26
- NFC Championship, 3 p.m. ET
- AFC Championship, 6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LIX
Sunday, Feb. 9
- AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 6:30 p.m. ET
The Lions and Chiefs are waiting in the next round to see which lowest remaining seed gets through.
Given that neither No. 7 seed plays until Sunday, the division winners will have to wait for the weekend to play out before they can start guessing who their next opponent will be.
If the Bills or Eagles win on Sunday, these No. 2 seeds can expect to play the second-lowest remaining seed in the next round.
But if the Broncos are able to hold off Josh Allen, and the Packers upset an Eagles team overcoming recent injury issues, Denver and Green Bay will be on track to play the division champs.
The Broncos, who ended a historic playoff drought by blowing out a second-unit Chiefs team in the regular-season finale to clinch a postseason spot, will hope to secure their chance to play the Kansas City starters in the divisional round with a win on Sunday.
The Eagles’ chances will meanwhile hinge on the successful return of Jalen Hurts, who missed the final two games of the season after suffering a concussion in December.
Two teams will bring first-year quarterbacks to their must-win Sunday games as the Broncos field Bo Nix and Commanders bet on Jayden Daniels. Both signal callers are looking to become the eighth rookie quarterback in history to win a playoff start.
