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NFL Week 18 Overreactions<\/p>\n
USAT’s Prince Grimes breaks down the NFL playoff picture after closing out the regular season.<\/p>\n
Sports Seriously<\/p>\n
Who would the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> and New England Patriots<\/a> play next in the NFL playoffs<\/a> if they win their NFL playoff wild-card game<\/a> on Jan. 11?<\/p>\n NFL coaches don’t like their teams to look ahead, but there’s nothing wrong with fans planning ahead in the NFL postseason<\/a>.<\/p>\n When would the Patriots and Chargers play in the NFL divisional round<\/a>? Where could they play? Who could they play?<\/p>\n Here’s what to know about the potential second-round game scenarios<\/a> for the Chargers and Patriots, if they win their first-round game, which is being played at 6 p.m. MST on NBC on Sunday (stream with Peacock<\/a>).<\/p>\n One of the teams could only play one team in the next round, while the other could end up playing several different opponents in the NFL playoff divisional round<\/a>, depending on the results of the NFL postseason wild-card games<\/a>.<\/p>\n NFL playoff schedule: Rams at Panthers<\/a> | Packers at Bears<\/a> | Bills at Jaguars<\/a> | 49ers at Eagles<\/a> | Chargers at Patriots<\/a> | Texans at Steelers<\/a> | Seahawks next game<\/a> | Broncos next game<\/a> | NFL playoff bracket<\/a> | When is Super Bowl?<\/a> | TV channels, streaming<\/a><\/p>\n Watch NFL playoff games on FUBO (free trial)<\/a><\/p>\n Who would New England Patriots vs Los Angeles Chargers winner play next?<\/p>\n New England Patriots NFL playoff scenarios:<\/p>\n The Patriots would play either the No. 5 Houston Texans, No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers or No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> in their second playoff game.<\/p>\n Here’s the NFL playoff scenarios for how they could face each of those teams in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs:<\/p>\n No. 5 Texans at No. 2 Patriots (if Patriots beat Chargers, Bills beat Jaguars, Texans beat Steelers)No. 4 Steelers at No. 2 Patriots (if Patriots beat Chargers, Bills beat Jaguars, Steelers beat Texans)No. 3 Jaguars at No. 2 Patriots (if Patriots beat Chargers, Jaguars beat Bills)<\/p>\n Los Angeles Chargers NFL playoff scenarios:<\/p>\n The Chargers would play the No. 1 Denver Broncos<\/a> in their second playoff game.<\/p>\n Here’s the NFL playoff scenario for how they could face that team in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs:<\/p>\n No. 7 Chargers at No. 1 Broncos (if Chargers beat Patriots)<\/p>\n The Patriots couldn’t face the No. 6 Buffalo Bills<\/a> or No. 1 Denver Broncos in the next round because of seeding.<\/p>\n The Chargers couldn’t face any other team besides the Broncos because they would be the highest seed remaining in the postseason.<\/p>\n NFL playoff picks: Rams at Panthers<\/a> | Packers at Bears<\/a> | Bills at Jaguars<\/a> | 49ers at Eagles<\/a> | Chargers at Patriots<\/a> | Texans at Steelers<\/a> | The Republic’s score predictions<\/a><\/p>\n When would the Los Angeles Chargers vs New England Patriots winner play next?<\/p>\n The winner of the Chargers at Patriots NFL postseason wild-card game will play in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday, Jan. 17, or Sunday, Jan. 18.<\/p>\n NFL playoff odds: Rams at Panthers<\/a> | Packers at Bears<\/a> | Bills at Jaguars<\/a> | 49ers at Eagles<\/a> | Chargers at Patriots<\/a> | Texans at Steelers<\/a> | Wild-card odds<\/a> | Super Bowl odds<\/a><\/p>\n Where would the New England Patriots vs Los Angeles Chargers winner play next?<\/p>\n The Patriots are the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, while the Chargers are the No. 7 seed.<\/p>\n The Patriots would host the Texans, Steelers or Jaguars in the NFL divisional round at Gillette Stadium, if they beat the Chargers.<\/p>\n The Chargers would play at the Denver Broncos’ Empower Field at Mile High in the second round of the NFL playoffs, if they upset the Patriots.<\/p>\n