The Pittsburgh Steelers answered the final question in the NFL Playoff picture in dramatic fashion on Sunday, all while simultaneously dashing the Baltimore Ravens’ postseason hopes in an instant-classic final game of the 2025-2026 NFL season on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. 

How to Watch

Watch Sunday Night Football on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

Coming thanks to the Ravens’ last-second missed field goal, the Steelers’ 26-24 win locks in the league’s last remaining playoff puzzle piece, and at last gives fans a complete view of which 14 teams will continue their drive toward the Super Bowl when Wild Card weekend begins on Saturday, January 10. 

Which teams are in? Who has home-field advantage? Who plays who when the Wild Card round kicks off this weekend (and who gets a bye)? If these are the pro football questions that bedevil your mind as we flip the page toward the most exiting exciting part of the NFL calendar, you’ve landed in the right place. Keep on scrolling for everything you need to know about the full field of teams set to step up their game in the 2025-2026 NFL postseason.

RELATED: Everything to Know About Super Bowl LX: Time, Location, Halftime Show & More

How do the 2025-2026 NFL Playoffs work?

Let’s set the stage by zooming out for a bird’s-eye view: There are 14 teams in the NFL Playoffs. The Playoffs begin on Saturday, January 10 with the first of four postseason weekends (counting Super Bowl LX, set to air on NBC and Peacock on Sunday, February 8) getting the postseason action started in the Wild Card round.

The Wild Card round will be played across six games between January 10-12, and will feature twelve of the 14 teams who’ve earned a berth in the NFL postseason. The remaining two teams — representing the highest-seeded team from the NFC and the AFC — get to enjoy a first-round bye. 

After the Wild Cards, the Playoff progression consists of the Divisional round (featuring 4 games between all 8 remaining teams), followed by the Conference Championship round (2 games; 4 teams), and, finally, Super Bowl LX. 

RELATED: The Most Dramatic Sunday Night Football Comebacks of the 2025 NFL Season

Which teams are in the 2025-2026 NFL Playoffs?

Starting from the very top, the Seattle Seahawks (14-3) are the highest-seeded team from the NFC; while the Denver Broncos (14-3)  hold the highest seed from the AFC. That means they’re not only automatically qualified for the Playoffs, but also that they won’t have to play this weekend while the other 12 teams are battling it out to keep their postseason hopes alive. On top of that, both the Seahawks and the Broncos will enjoy home-field advantage for every remaining playoff game they qualify for up until the Super Bowl. 

Looking at it by conference, here’s how the full NFL Playoff picture breaks down, numbered according to each team’s Playoff seeding:
 
NFC
1 — Seattle Seahawks (14-3; NFC West Division winners)
2 — Chicago Bears (11-6; NFC North Division winners)
3 — Philadelphia Eagles (11-6; NFC East Division winners)
4 — Carolina Panthers (8-9; NFC South Division winners)
5 — Los Angeles Rams (12-5; Wild Card berth)
6 — San Fransisco 49ers (12-5; Wild Card berth)
7 — Green Bay Packers (9-7-1; Wild Card berth)

AFC
1 — Denver Broncos (14-3; AFC West Division winners)
2 — New England Patriots (14-3; AFC East Division winners)
3 — Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4; AFC South Division winners)
4 — Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7; AFC North Division winners)
5 — Houston Texans (12-5; AFC Wild Card berth)
6 — Buffalo Bills (12-5; AFC Wild Card berth)
7 — Los Angeles Chargers (11-6; AFC Wild Card berth)

RELATED: Why Were Patriots Star Stefon Diggs & Cardi B Doing Yoga Together at Gillette Stadium?

Which NFL teams play each other in the Wild Card round?

As always, this year’s Wild Card weekend will feel like an awful lot like an amplified late-season version of the NFL at its best, featuring 6 games that spread all the way from Saturday, January 10 to Monday, January 12. Here’s a glimpse at all the Wild Card matchups set to unfold this weekend:

Saturday, January 10
NFC — Carolina Panthers vs. Los Angeles Rams (4:30 p.m. ET)
NFC — Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers (8 p.m. ET)

Sunday, January 11
AFC — Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills (1 p.m. ET)
NFC — Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Fransisco 49ers (4:30 p.m. ET)
AFC — New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Chargers (8 p.m. ET — Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock)

Monday, January 12
AFC — Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans (8:15 p.m. ET)

Depending on how Wild Card weekend shakes out, Denver and Seattle will each be waiting at home to face the lowest-seeded remaining team when the following weekend’s Divisional round kicks off. That means the Broncos could play The LA Chargers, the Bills, the Texans, or the Steelers; while the Seahawks could play the Panthers, the LA Rams, the 49ers, or the Packers. 

RELATED: The Big Change the NFL Is Making to the First Round of the 2026 Draft, Explained

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!
Â