Tag: NFL Playoffs

NFL playoff matchups set

Have a look at the final NFC and AFC playoff standings and what the first-round matchups will be.

The Arizona Cardinals did not make the postseason, finishing the season 8-9 following their Week 18 47-24 win at home over the San Francisco 49ers. With the conclusion of Week 18 games, the postseason teams and seedings in the NFC and AFC were determined.

The Detroit Lions, with their 31-9 Week 18 win over the Minnesota Vikings, earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye. They won the NFC North. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South. The Washington Commanders locked in the No. 6 seed.

In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs had already clinched the top seed in the conference and first-round bye. Resting their starters in Week 18, they lost 38-0 to the Denver Broncos, sending Denver to the postseason and eliminating the Cincinnati Bengals from contention.

Here are the final playoff standings in both conference

NFL playoff standings

AFC

  1. Kansas City Chiefs
  2. Buffalo Bills
  3. Baltimore Ravens
  4. Houston Texans
  5. Los Angeles Chargers
  6. Pittsburgh Steelers
  7. Denver Broncos

NFC

  1. Detroit Lions
  2. Philadelphia Eagles
  3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  4. Los Angeles Rams
  5. Minnesota Vikings
  6. Washington Commanders
  7. Green Bay Packers

NFL playoff wild card matchups

The Lions and the Chiefs will not play in the first round. They will play the lowest seed remaining after the wild card games are played.

AFC

  • Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills
  • Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
  • Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans

NFC

  • Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
  • Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

What Commanders WR Terry McLaurin said about finally playing for a winner

Commanders WR Terry McLaurin talks about finally playing for a winner.

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin had never played on a winning NFL team until this season. In his sixth NFL season, McLaurin played on Washington teams that won three and four games, and until Washington won its ninth game against the Saints last month, he had never been on a team with more than eight wins.

The Commanders didn’t stop at nine wins, though. Washington won its last five games to finish 12-5, the franchise’s best regular-season record since 1991. McLaurin was a major reason for the Commanders’ success, going over 1,000 yards receiving for the fifth consecutive season and breaking the franchise record with 13 receiving touchdowns in a single season.

Speaking of that record-breaking touchdown, McLaurin did it in the most dramatic way possible. Quarterback Marcus Mariota found McLaurin in the back of the end zone with three seconds remaining Sunday to defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the regular-season finale.

Washington had already clinched a playoff bid and learned it would play in Tampa next weekend against the Buccaneers.

After Sunday’s game, McLaurin reflected on what it was like playing for a 12-win team.

“It’s amazing, that’s why you work so hard in the offseason,” McLaurin said. “Honestly, to win as many games as you can, to be sitting here right now, going into the playoffs with a chance to win it all. It’s a new season. It’s anybody’s game. It’s anybody’s trophy. We believe if we put our best foot forward, we can be one of the teams competing for that.”

This team is built differently. McLaurin is correct; this team competes for 60 minutes, even if they aren’t playing their best football. That type of mindset hasn’t always been in Washington — at least for a long time — and it gives you a chance regardless of the opponent. If the Commanders get behind, they stay the course, rally behind the quarterback and, well, compete.

 

Rams will host Vikings in wild-card round next Monday night

The Rams will welcome the Vikings back to SoFi Stadium next Monday night in the wild-card round

The Los Angeles Rams finally know which team they’ll be welcoming to SoFi Stadium in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Following the Vikings’ lopsided loss to the Lions on Sunday Night Football, the Rams will host Minnesota next Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Vikings were steamrolled by the Lions in the final game of Week 18, losing on the road, 31-9. Sam Darnold and the offense were shut down and kept out of the end zone, getting stymied by Aaron Glenn’s defense in Detroit.

Minnesota finishes the season with a 14-3 record but because it’s a wild card team, it has to go on the road to start the playoffs.

The Rams beat the Vikings earlier this season in Week 8, a 30-20 victory at SoFi Stadium to hand Minnesota its second loss of the year. They outgained the Vikings 386-276 in that game, allowing just 64 yards rushing – the second-lowest total given up by the Rams this season.

This will be a matchup between Sean McVay and his former offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell, who’s the head coach of the Vikings, of course. It’s only the second meeting between these two coaches, with the first being in Week 8.

NFL announces date and time of Commanders’ wild-card game vs. Buccaneers

The NFL paid attention to the ratings when putting together the schedule for Wild Card Weekend.

The NFL saw the rating for last week’s game between the Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons and said, “Give me more of that, please.”

The NFL announced next week’s wild card schedule during the first half of Sunday Night Football, featuring the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. The Commanders, who will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will play on Sunday Night Football for the second time in three weeks.

While there were several exciting matchups next week, it’s likely the NFL and NBC/Peacock saw the ratings of the Week 16 Washington game and wanted to feature the upstart Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels again.

According to NBC Sports PR, the Washington-Atlanta game had 19.7 million viewers, the most for a Sunday night game since the 2019 regular-season finale. In that game, the 49ers played the Seahawks for the NFC West title.

The Commanders and Bucs come into next week’s game as two of the NFL’s hottest teams. Washington has not lost since Week 12, while Tampa Bay has won six of its last seven games after being 4-6 at one point.

NFL Playoffs: Date, time set for Chargers vs. Texans

Find out when the Chargers and Texans will face off next weekend.

The NFL announced the full schedule for Wild Card weekend.

The Chargers will travel to take on the Texans next Saturday, Jan 11, at 1:30 pm PT.

The game will be televised on CBS.

Los Angeles won its final three games of the season and finished with an 11-6 record and the fifth seed. Houston finished the season 10-7 and champions of the AFC South.

Bo Nix had an amazing quote after Broncos clinched a playoff berth

“Quite honestly, opening the season, nobody expected us to do this, but we didn’t really listen to that,” Broncos QB Bo Nix said.

After the Denver Broncos secured a spot in the NFL playoffs with a 38-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Tracy Wolfson of CBS Sports got the first post-game interview with rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

“It means everything,” Nix said of the Broncos returning to the playoffs. “You know, we worked really hard for this. Quite honestly, opening the season, nobody expected us to do this, but we didn’t really listen to that. We just came out there and put a lot of games together — we’ve lost a few tough ones, but we’ve also won some big ones. So, this team deserves it.”

This offseason, Denver was given an over/under line of 5.5 wins in 2024. The Broncos easily hit the over with a 10-7 record this season.

Nix had a brilliant game against the Chiefs, completing 26-of-29 passes for 321 yards with four touchdowns. He set a franchise record with 17-straight completions to begin the game and finished the day with a team-record 89.7% completion rate.

Up next for Denver is a road game against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

“They’re a really good football team, they’ve won a lot of games this year,” Nix said of the Bills. “Josh [Allen] is obviously a really good player, he’s had a really good season. But, you know, we’re excited about the opportunity — it’s playoff football time.”

The Broncos-Bills game will be televised on CBS on Sunday, Jan. 12.

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NFL sets date, time and TV info for Broncos-Bills playoff game

The Broncos will face the Bills in the first round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 11:00 a.m. MT on CBS.

Following the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, the NFL announced dates and times for the first round of the playoffs during the Sunday Night Football broadcast in Week 18.

The league announced Sunday night that the Denver Broncos‘ Wild Card game against the Buffalo Bills has been set for Sunday, Jan. 12 at 11:00 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) on CBS. Fans can stream the game on on FuboTV.

The Bills are the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs this year and the Broncos are the No. 7 seed. Because the No. 1 seed (the Kansas City Chiefs) get a first-round bye, the No. 2 seed faces the No. 7 seed in the first round.

Denver will now aim to get an upset win in Buffalo against Von Miller, who won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos following the 2015 season.

View the team’s complete 2024 schedule below.

Denver Broncos 2024 Schedule

Week Date TV Opponent Time (MT) Broncos Tickets
1 9/8 CBS @ Seattle Seahawks 26-20 L
2 9/15 CBS  vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 13-6 L
3 9/22 FOX @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-7 W
4 9/29 CBS @ New York Jets 10-9 W
5 10/6 FOX vs. Las Vegas Raiders 34-18 W
6 10/13 CBS vs. Los Angeles Chargers 23-16 L
7 10/17 Amazon Prime Video @ New Orleans Saints 33-10 W
8 10/27 CBS vs. Carolina Panthers 28-14 W
9 11/3 CBS @ Baltimore Ravens 41-10 L
10 11/10 CBS @ Kansas City Chiefs 16-14 L
11 11/17 FOX vs. Atlanta Falcons 38-6 W
12 11/24 CBS @ Las Vegas Raiders 29-19 W
13 12/2 ESPN vs. Cleveland Browns 41-32 W
14 12/8 BYE
15 12/15 CBS vs. Indianapolis Colts 31-13 W
16 12/19 Prime @ Los Angeles Chargers 34-27 L
17 12/28 NFL Network @ Cincinnati Bengals 30-24 L
18  1/5 CBS vs. Kansas City Chiefs 38-0 W
19 1/12 CBS @ Buffalo Bills 11:00 a.m. Tickets

The Broncos clinched their first winning season since 2016 in 2024. Now they will seek their first playoff win since the 2015 season.

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Time and date set for Steelers Wild Card playoff game

The Steelers will take on the Ravens next week in the playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had to wait until the end of the Week 18 afternoon games but the announcements are out about all the AFC playoff matchups. Thanks to the Los Angeles Chargers beating the Las Vegas Raiders, the Steelers will travel to Baltimore and take on the Ravens.

The game is set for Saturday, January 11 at 8:00 pm ET on Prime Video. This will be the third time these two teams will square off this season. The Steelers beat the Ravens 18-16 in Pittsburgh in Week 11 but the Ravens got revenge when they doubled up the Steelers 34-17 in Baltimore in Week 16.

For Pittsburgh, they must wash the taste out of their mouths from the four-game losing streak they ended the season with and try and figure out a way to keep pace with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson despite the struggles of Russell Wilson and the Steelers offense.

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Broncos QB Bo Nix high-fived fans around entire stadium after clinching playoffs

After clinching the team’s first playoff berth since 2015, Bo Nix ran around the Broncos’ entire stadium to high-five fans.

After a convincing 38-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix ran around the team’s entire stadium and high-fived fans in the lower bowl.

“I learned I gotta run a little bit more during the week because that’s a long little lap,” Nix joked in his postgame press conference. “I was a little tired at the end, but the fans deserve it. They’ve been — it’s been a long time coming — and they deserve it. They showed up and they were loud for us today. It’s fun to do stuff like that. It’s fun to clinch a playoff spot. Last game of the year, against a divisional team, it’s just kind of a great story.”

With the win, Denver clinched its first playoff berth since winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season. Peyton Manning retired after that season and Nix became the team’s 14th starting QB since Manning in 2024.

Nix had a brilliant rookie season, totaling 4,206 yards from scrimmage and 34 touchdowns while leading the Broncos to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth.

“Now playoff time starts,” Nix said, “and our goal wasn’t just to make the playoffs, even though it hadn’t been done in a while. … We’re excited about the opportunity, we know it’s going to be tough, but we’ve got a game to play.”

Denver will go on the road to face the Buffalo Bills next week.

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Texans know opponent in the AFC Wild Card Round

The Houston Texans have a playoff date with one of the AFC’s best from the west.

The Houston Texans’ path to a Super Bowl starts against a coach who won a national title the last time he stepped into the NRG Stadium.

The Texans welcome Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round following Week 18’s madness to end the regular season.

Houston (10-7) secured a 23-14 win over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.

Los Angeles (11-6) defeated the Las Vegas Raiders at Alliegent Stadium behind a two-touchdown performance from Justin Herbert in a 34-20 victory.

Houston was locked into the No. 4 seed regardless of Sunday’s outcome in Nashville. After losing on Christmas Day to the Baltimore Ravens, Houston couldn’t improve over either AFC North franchise.

But the opponent that would travel down south remained a mystery entering Saturday afternoon. With a Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, they would have clinched the No. 5 seed.

If Los Angeles would have lost in the AFC West showdown, Pittsburgh would have clinched the No. 5 seed since it won the head-to-head matchup against the Chargers earlier in the season.

The Chargers head to Houston with the No. 1 scoring defense, holding opponents to 17.7 points per game. They also feature a formidable pass-rushing duo in Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack while excelling in coverage behind All-Pro safety Derwin James.

Then, there’s Herbert. Under the new regime, the Pro Bowler has been a model of consistency in 2024. He’ll finish the regular season just shy of 4,000 passing yards with 23 touchdowns against three turnovers.

The Texans will have their hands full between a strong run game headlined by J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, plus an underrated receiver room. Second-round pick Ladd McConkey is fresh off a 1,000-yard season after hauling in over 80 passes from Herbert and seven touchdowns.

Former TCU star Quentin Johnston leads the team with eight touchdowns. Josh Palmer is the top weapon in yards per catch, averaging 15.5 yards a play.

A date and kickoff times have yet to be determined.