The NFL playoffs are here and the final 14 teams have been decided as the 2024 season reaches the home stretch on the road to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans – and you can watch it all live on Sky Sports!
The Wild Card round begins on Saturday evening when Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert’s Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) visit DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud’s Houston Texans (10-7), with kickoff at 9.30pm.
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens (12-5) will then resume their pursuit of a Super Bowl when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) in an all AFC North clash in the early hours of Sunday.
The Denver Broncos (10-7) are back in the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 at the end of the 2015 season after clinching the final AFC wild card berth with a 38-0 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on the final day of the regular season.
In doing so Sean Payton’s side set up a road trip to face the Buffalo Bills (13-4) at 6pm on Sunday after Sean McDermott’s team secured the No 2 seed and a fifth straight AFC East division title behind MVP-contending quarterback Josh Allen.
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Highlights of Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-0 defeat to the Denver Broncos in Week 18 of the NFL
Having rested multiple starters on the final day – including 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley – the Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) enter as the No 2 seed in the NFC when they welcome Jordan Love’s Green Bay Packers (11-6) to Lincoln Financial Field. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7) then host the Washington Commanders (12-5) after clinching their playoff spot and a fourth successive NFC South title ahead of the Atlanta Falcons with their 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Wild Card weekend concludes Monday night as the Minnesota Vikings (14-3) visit the Los Angeles Rams (10-7) after Kevin O’Connell’s team were forced to settle for the No 5 seed following Sunday night’s 31-9 defeat to the Detroit Lions, who wrapped up the No 1 seed and a first-round bye alongside the Chiefs.
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Highlights of the Minnesota Vikings’s 31-9 defeat to Detroit Lions in Week 18 of the NFL
Full Wild Card round schedule
Saturday January 11 – Los Angeles Chargers @ Houston Texans – KO 9.30pm
Saturday January 11 – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens – KO 1am Sunday morning
Sunday January 12 – Denver Broncos @ Buffalo Bills – KO 6pm
Sunday January 12 – Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles – KO 9.30pm
Sunday January 12 – Washington Commanders @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – KO 1am
Monday January 13 – Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams – KO 1am Tuesday morning
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Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans completed his 11th straight 1,000-yard season, tying Jerry Rice’s NFL record
When is the Super Bowl?
Wildcard weekend will take place from Saturday January 11-Monday January 13 before the playoffs enter the Divisional Round on Saturday January 18 and Sunday January 19, at which point the respective No 1 seeds will join the action following their bye.
It is then onto the AFC and NFC Championship Games on Sunday January 26, before Super Bowl LIX takes place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9.
It will be the 11th time the Super Bowl has been hosted in New Orleans, the first time since 2013, and the eighth game to be held at the Caesars Superdome.
Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl half-time show.
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Highlights of the Cleveland Browns against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 of the NFL
Who are the current champions?
Andy Reid’s Chiefs are bidding to become the first team in NFL history to win three successive Super Bowl titles after beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in Las Vegas last February to follow up their 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LVII in Arizona.
The Chiefs clinched their ninth straight AFC West division title this season with a record of 15-2 having stormed out to a 9-0 start before sealing the No 1 seed after their Christmas Day win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Detroit meanwhile occupy the No 1 seed in the NFC as one of 12 teams yet to win the Super Bowl, and one of just four teams to never reach the NFL’s showpiece conclusion.
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Highlights from the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII from Las Vegas
How do the playoffs work?
The NFL is made up of 32 competing teams which are separated into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).
The AFC and NFC are then further divided by region to comprise four divisions with four teams each: AFC East, North, South and West and NFC East, North, South and West.
At the end of the regular season, a total of 14 teams advance to the playoffs, including the teams with the best record in each of the respective four divisions per conference, plus a further three ‘wild card’ teams determined by which teams own the next-best records in each conference.
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s best plays so far from the 2024 NFL season
The No 1 seeds in each conference (the two teams with the best win-loss records in the AFC and NFC) receive a first-round bye, while the No 2 seeds host the No 7 seeds, the No 3 seeds host the No 6 seeds and the No 4 seeds host the No 5 seeds on Super Wild Card Weekend to open the postseason.
The No 1 seeds enter the fold during the subsequent Divisional Round when they will host the lowest remaining seed from their respective conferences, while the second-lowest remaining seed visits the second-highest remaining seed from the winners of the wild card round.
The respective winners of those two matchups then meet in the Conference Championship games, in what effectively amounts to the semi-finals for the Super Bowl as we find out who advances from each conference to play in the season finale.
Watch the NFL playoffs live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW.