Wild Card Scenarios and Standings

NFL Wild Card Weekend is upon us, and while the top seeds in each conference—the AFC’s Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC’s Detroit Lions—have a bye week, the 12 other teams still alive will attempt to advance to next weekend’s Divisional Round.

The action kicks off on Saturday, January 11, with two games scheduled for that day, followed by three on Sunday and one on Monday night.

Two wild card teams are home underdogs, while two other teams are favored by more than a touchdown. The stage is set for dramatic upsets—and it’s likely we’ll see at least one. For the last seven seasons, the Wild Card Round has seen at least one lower-seeded team best a higher-seeded team to advance to the Divisional Round.

Let’s take a closer look at the six games slated for Wild Card Weekend and the scenarios that might play out.

NFL Playoff Bracket

AFC

(1) Chiefs (bye)

(2) Bills vs. (7) Broncos

(3) Ravens vs. (6) Steelers

(4) Texans vs. (5) Chargers

NFC

(1) Lions (bye)

(2) Eagles vs. (7) Packers

(3) Buccaneers vs. (6) Commanders

(4) Rams vs. (5) Vikings

Wild Card Weekend Schedule

Saturday, January 11

• (5) Chargers at (4) Texans, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount +)
• (6) Steelers at (3) Ravens, 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video)

Sunday, January 12

• (7) Broncos at (2) Bills, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount +)
• (7) Packers at (2) Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
• (6) Commanders at (3) Buccaneers, 8 p.m. ET (NBC, fubo)

Monday, January 13

• (5) Vikings at (4) Rams, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, fubo)

The eight teams that advance out of the Wild Card Round will play in the Divisional Round on Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19.

On Championship Sunday—Sunday, January 26—the four remaining teams will face off to determine which team from each conference will advance to Super Bowl LIX, which will be held on Sunday, February 9 in New Orleans.

Wild Card Weekend Game Odds

AFC

Bills (-8.5) vs. Broncos

Ravens (-9.5) vs. Steelers

Texans vs. Chargers (-3)

NFC

Eagles (-4.5) vs. Packers

Buccaneers (-3) vs. Commanders

Rams vs. Vikings (-1.5)

Point spreads via DraftKings

Super Bowl Odds

Unsurprisingly, the No. 1 seed in each conference has the best odds of winning the Super Bowl, with the NFC’s Detroit Lions (+295) barely edging out the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (+350), per DraftKings.

From there, the AFC No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (+550), AFC No. 2 Buffalo Bills (+600) and NFC No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (+700) have the next-highest odds of winning it all.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans have the lowest Super Bowl odds of any playoff team, at +9000.

Here are all the remaining NFL teams’ odds of capturing the Lombardi Trophy this season:

1. Detroit Lions (+295)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (+350)
3. Baltimore Ravens (+550)
4. Buffalo Bills (+600),
5. Philadelphia Eagles (+700)
6. Minnesota Vikings (+1600)
7. Green Bay Packers (+2500)
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+2800)
9. Los Angeles Chargers (+3000)
10. Los Angeles Rams (+3000)
11. Washington Commanders (+4500)
12. Denver Broncos (+5500)
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (+9000)
14. Houston Texans (+9000)

You may be thinking, Hey, the Vikings have some of the highest odds as a No. 5 seed; that’s interesting. Indeed, the NFC, specifically the NFC North, was an anomaly in many ways this season. It sent three teams—the 15-2 Detroit Lions, 14-3 Minnesota Vikings and 11-6 Green Bay Packers—to the postseason.

The division crown was still up for grabs in the final week of the NFL regular season, making for a high-stakes showdown between the Lions and Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Week 18.

Detroit’s dominant 31-9 win meant the Lions emerged victorious in the North and established the Vikings as the winningest wild card team of all time—never before has a wild card team had 14 wins.

By the way: those three losses the Vikings suffered this season? Two came at the hands of the Lions, and the other was to the Los Angeles Rams, with whom the Vikings will have a rematch on Wild Card Weekend.

Will L.A. Fires Affect NFL Playoffs?

Even though the Vikings (14-3) finished with a better record than the Rams (10-7), the Rams won the NFC West, giving them the No. 4 seed and home-field advantage.

But the wildfires burning throughout the Los Angeles area have forced the NFL to think about alternative venues for the Monday Night Football game currently scheduled to be held at SoFi Stadium in Englewood.

The contingency plan would see the game moved to State Farm Stadium in Arizona, home of the Cardinals, per a league statement.

The game is currently still scheduled to be held at SoFi Stadium, but as more areas are evacuated and air quality is monitored, it’s a storyline that will be in play.

Will Quarterback Injuries Determine Wild Card Outcomes?

Heading into the Wild Card Round, two NFC teams—the Eagles and Packers—are dealing with injuries to their starting quarterbacks.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love suffered an elbow injury against the Chicago Bears in Week 18, a game the Bears won in the final seconds 24-22.

Love practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday and Thursday. Love said he was “hopeful” to play against the Eagles Sunday, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis also suffered a right thumb injury against the Bears in Week 18 and was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday.

For the Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts entered the league’s mandatory concussion protocol after suffering a concussion in the game against Washington on December 22. But Hurts practiced on Thursday, and the Eagles waived their No. 4 quarterback Ian Book, all of which points to the strong likelihood that Hurts will suit up on Sunday.