AFC Wild Card predictions: Which teams will advance to divisional round
USA TODAY Sports Chris Bumbaca and Joe Rivera share who they think will make it out of the AFC Wild Card round.
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The 2025 NFL regular season is in the books, and now the most exhilarating part of the season is about to unfold.
The NFL playoffs kick off this weekend, with the league’s elite teams vying for the coveted Super Bowl title.
This year marks the sixth straight season that the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff format, leaving the old 12-team structure behind. As we dive into wild-card weekend, these 14 contenders begin their journey toward claiming the iconic Lombardi Trophy.
Here’s everything you need to know about the NFL playoffs bracket, the teams competing and the schedule for 2025.
Teams that made the NFL playoffsAFC
NFC:
NFL conference standingsAFCDenver Broncos (14-3, AFC West winners)*New England Patriots (14-3, AFC East winners)*Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4, AFC South winners)*Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, AFC North winners)*Houston Texans (12-5, wild card No. 1)*Buffalo Bills (12-5, wild card No. 2)*Los Angeles Chargers (11-6, wild card No. 3)*
NFC:
Seattle Seahawks (14-3, NFC West winners)*Chicago Bears (11-6, NFC North winners)*Philadelphia Eagles (11-6, NFC East winners)*Carolina Panthers (8-9, NFC South winners)*Los Angeles Rams (12-5, wild card No. 1)*San Francisco 49ers (12-5, wild card No. 2)*Green Bay Packers (9-7-1, wild card No. 3)*NFL playoff bracket, wild card matchups
Here’s a look at the NFL playoff bracket and the matchups for the wild-card round.
AFC:
No. 1 Denver Broncos (BYE)No. 2 New England Patriots vs. No. 7 Los Angeles ChargersNo. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars vs. No. 6 Buffalo BillsNo. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. No. 5 Houston Texans
NFC:
No. 1 Seattle Seahawks (BYE)No. 2 Chicago Bears vs. No. 7 Green Bay PackersNo. 3 Philadelphia Eagles vs. No. 6 San Francisco 49ersNo. 4 Carolina Panthers vs. No. 5 Los Angeles RamsNFL playoff schedule
The wild-card round schedule is set. All times Eastern.
Wild-card round (all times Eastern)
Saturday, Jan. 10
Sunday, Jan. 11
Monday, Jan. 12
Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
Stream the NFL playoffs with a Fubo subscription
Divisional round
Saturday, Jan. 17
AFC/NFC divisional game: 4:30 p.m.AFC/NFC divisional game: 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 18
AFC/NFC divisional game: 3 p.m.AFC/NFC divisional game: 6:30 p.m.NFL conference championship round
Sunday, Jan. 25
AFC championship game: 3 p.m.NFC championship game: 6:30 p.m.Super Bowl 60TV: NBCDate: Feb. 8, 2026Location: Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California)Time: 6:30 p.m.What is the NFL playoff format?
The NFL playoff format is a single-elimination tournament of seven teams in the AFC and NFC, including:
Four division winners (South, North, East, and West)Three wild card teams (best remaining teams by record)
The division winner with the best record receives the No. 1 seed in their conference, plays their playoff games at home, and gets a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Seahawks and the Broncos earned the No. 1 seeds in the NFC and AFC, respectively.
The playoffs have four rounds: the wild card round, the divisional round, the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. There is an extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.
Wild card round
No. 1 seed has a byeNo. 2 seed hosts No. 7 seedNo. 3 seed hosts No. 6 seedNo. 4 seed hosts No. 5 seed
Divisional round
The No. 1 seed hosts the lowest remaining seed.The second-highest remaining seed hosts the second-lowest remaining seed.
Conference championship game
Divisional round winners (higher seed hosts)
Super Bowl
Conference championship winners play at a neutral site.
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