The NFL Playoffs officially began on Saturday with three high-profile games. They continue on Sunday with three more games, marking the first year under the expanded postseason format. Here is everything to know about the Wild Card round and which channels will air the games.
Indianapolis Colts (11-5) vs. Buffalo Bills (12-4): Dubbed the “Super Wild Card” by the league, the opening weekend started with a Saturday afternoon game between the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. The AFC East champions hosted the matchup at Bills Stadium with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS. Josh Allen and the Bills entered the weekend as 6.5-point favorites due to a powerful offense that routinely found success in 2020. The Colts, on the other hand, struggled with consistency.
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Welcome to #SuperWildCard Weekend. pic.twitter.com/yl6GDsZmp6
โ NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2021
Los Angeles Rams (10-6) vs. Seattle Seahawks (12-4): The Saturday playoff action continues at 4:40 p.m. ET on FOX with a battle between NFC West teams. The Seattle Seahawks will host the Los Angeles Rams in the third meeting of the year, albeit one in which the loser starts the offseason early. The two teams are innately familiar due to playing in the same division, one reason why the Seahawks are only three-point favorites.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5) vs. Washington Football Team (7-9): Saturday’s final playoff matchup features a veteran quarterback making his postseason debut with a new team. Tom Brady will lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into battle against the Washington Football team at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC. He will do so while making history in the process. Brady has never gone on the road during the Wild-Card round in his career, but he will do so due to the Buccaneers finishing second in the NFC South.
Baltimore Ravens (11-5) vs. Tennessee Titans (11-5): Following a stacked schedule on Saturday, the Wild Card round will continue on Sunday afternoon with a rematch from last year’s Divisional round. The Tennessee Titans will host the Baltimore Ravens at 1:05 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN and Freeform. The Titans stunned the Ravens during last year’s game, but Lamar Jackson and co. will look for revenge on Sunday afternoon.
Chicago Bears (8-8) vs. New Orleans Saints (12-4): The playoff games continue on Sunday with a battle between the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This game will take place at 4:40 p.m. ET on CBS, Amazon Prime Video and Nickelodeon. The Bears only made the playoffs due to the expanded system that added a seventh team, but the defense will aim to defeat the Saints and move on to the Divisional round.
Cleveland Browns (11-5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): The opening weekend of the NFL Playoffs ends on Sunday night with the third battle between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. The game will take place at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC. The Browns have not appeared in the playoffs since 2002 and will face off with the team they defeated in order to reach the postseason.