The 2023 NFL regular season is over. The games that actually count are finally upon us.
This year’s 14-team playoff bracket features a heady brew of postseason standbys and new contenders we may not have expected to make it to a 19th week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams each shook off the idea of rebuilds in order to rise to the top of a disheveled NFC. The Green Bay Packers, led by an occasionally great, occasionally anonymous Jordan Love, joined them.
The AFC saw all four teams in the North finish the year with winning records. And while Jake Browning couldn’t get the Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs, Joe Flacco and Mason Rudolph emerged from the ether to get the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively, within striking distance of Super Bowl 58.
So what does the playoff bracket look like? And what are the best games and biggest upset possibilities of the Wild Card round? Read on to find out.