After a thrilling Week 18 Sunday Night Football showdown between the Ravens and the Steelers, the 2025-2026 NFL regular season has officially been brought to a close. Now, it’s time for the playoffs, and it all begins this weekend with the Wild Card round. 

How to Watch

Watch Sunday Night Football on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

From January 10-12, most of the league’s best teams will compete to see who can advance to the Divisional Round, and thus move one step closer to the Super Bowl (coming to you February 8, live on NBC and Peacock). The 12 teams playing this weekend range from underdogs who had to fight all year for a playoff berth, to high-powered squads who’ve had their tickets punched for weeks.

But on Wild Card Weekend, the records don’t matter. It’s all down to one game, so let’s take a look at what’s ahead.

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How the 2026 NFL Playoffs’ Wild Card round works

The Wild Card round is the first round of the NFL Playoffs, and features six teams from each conference competing in a total of six games, three in the NFC and two in the AFC. At the end of the regular season, each of the 14 teams qualifying for the playoffs are given a “seed” number in their respective conference to set up the bracket based on which teams have the best record. The team with the best record (including tie-breaks) in each conference is the 1 Seed, and therefore gets to skip the first round entirely. Seeds 2-7 in each conference have to play it out in the Wild Card. 

Who’s playing in the 2026 NFL Playoffs’ Wild Card round?

Before we get to the games, let’s run down the seeding for the Wild Card teams first, so you can see who’s in, and where they stand at the start of the playoffs. For clarity, the Number 1 Seed in the NFC belongs to the Seattle Seahawks, while the AFC’s top seed belongs to the Denver Broncos. Both teams earned a bye during Wild Card Weekend, and will be waiting for the lowest ranked opponent going into next week.

Here are the seeds for each conference heading into Wild Card Weekend:

NFC

1. Seattle Seahawks (bye)

2. Chicago Bears

3. Philadelphia Eagles

4. Carolina Panthers

5. Los Angeles Rams

6. San Francisco 49ers

7. Green Bay Packers

AFC

1. Denver Broncos (bye)

2. New England Patriots

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

4. Pittsburgh Steelers

5. Houston Texans

6. Buffalo Bills

7. Los Angeles Chargers

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The Complete 2026 NFL Wild Card Schedule

Now, it’s on to the games! Here’s the schedule for all six matchups, including one big one brought to you live on NBC and Peacock! 

Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers – Saturday, January 10 at 4:30 p.m. ETGreen Bay Packers at Chicago Bears – Saturday, January 10 at 8 p.m. ETBuffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars – Sunday, January 11 at 1 p.m. ETSan Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles – Sunday, January 11 at 4:30 p.m. ETLos Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots – Sunday, January 11 at 8 p.m. ET, live on NBC and PeacockHouston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers – Monday, January 12 at 8:15 p.m. ET

NBC will be right in the thick of the NFL Playoffs right up until February 8, when NBC Sports will present complete all-day coverage of Super Bowl LX on both NBC and Peacock. Not yet a Peacock subscriber? Click here to get started!