The hunt for the 2025 Super Bowl is officially on.

The NFL playoffs begin with a wild card weekend starting January 11th, featuring six games and some pretty compelling storylines.

The big question surrounding this year’s postseason is whether the Kansas City Chiefs can make history by winning an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl. No team in NFL history has ever done that – hell, no two-time defending Super Bowl champions have ever made the big game, so history is against the Chiefs.

The Chiefs managed to win a lot of close games this year, but the downside is that they weren’t dominant in many of those wins. However, the Chiefs still managed to go an NFL-best 15-2 this season (tied by the Detroit Lions) and secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed, an improvement over last year when they were in third place were in the playoffs and the playoffs won the Super Bowl. Oh, and they also have Patrick Mahomes, who knows a thing or two about winning in the clutch.

Here are some other stories to keep an eye on:

Will the Chiefs be dethroned?

The 2025 Super Bowl will be played in New Orleans on February 9, and the Chiefs’ path to get there is likely to be a challenge given the AFC’s congestion. The second-seeded Buffalo Bills, led by superstar quarterback Josh Allen, have been knocking on the door of a championship for years and beat the Chiefs this season.

The Baltimore Ravens are the third seed and many believe quarterback Lamar Jackson is ready to finally win a title. Their wild card game against their AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers is a difficult opening task – the teams know each other very well, Pittsburgh has already won one of their two meetings this year and the Steelers, whose offense has faltered in recent weeks, are one of the few teams that seem to know how to pressure Jackson.

The Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers will also meet in the wild card round and could also be poised to play spoilsport.

Can the Lions roar all the way to the Super Bowl?

On the NFC side, the top-seeded Lions have managed to fend off a number of injuries while their prolific offense makes it difficult for opponents to slow them down. The Lions made it to the NFC Championship Game last season, where some fans felt they got too aggressive before losing to the San Francisco 49ers.

Head coach Dan Campbell hasn’t deviated from that style of play, however, so it’s hard to imagine him doing so now as the favorite to make the team’s first Super Bowl appearance.

Which teams can pose a problem for the Lions?

The Philadelphia Eagles’ do-everything running back Saquon Barkley represents a matchup nightmare for many teams, but it remains to be seen whether quarterback Jalen Hurts has fully recovered from a concussion.

The lower seeds are also a fascinating group. The Minnesota Vikings were 14-3 in the regular season but slipped to fifth place because they finished behind the Lions in the NFC North. Quarterback Sam Darnold has silenced the critics this year, but can he do it again in the playoffs, starting with an away Wild Card showdown against Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams?

The Green Bay Packers are in seventh place but are struggling. However, they should be confident, especially since they had a good postseason run last season as an even seed. And don’t overlook the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wide receiver Mike Evans, who is coming off a regular season in which he recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards for the 11th consecutive season, tying him with Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the longest Series in the NFL connects history.

Are young people being served?

This year’s playoffs feature something fans don’t typically see at this point in the season: more than one rookie starting quarterback. The Washington Commanders were expected to be in rebuilding mode this season with Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, learning the fundamentals of quarterbacking. Instead, he looked like a seasoned pro as he led the rejuvenated Commanders to the playoffs for the first time in four years. Can he lead them to their first postseason win since 2006?

Denver Broncos fans have reason to believe in “Bo” because their quarterback came in the “nowhere” of the time. Yes, Bo Nix is ​​another rookie signal-caller who put up some pretty eye-popping numbers and led Denver back to the playoffs for the first time since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 in 2016. The Broncos, like the Commanders, are ahead of schedule for their rebuild. Will they maintain the momentum in the playoffs?

Which teams will participate in the 2025 NFL playoffs?

Here’s a look at the teams in the playoffs and their respective seeds.

NFC playoff seeds

(1) Detroit Lions

(2) Philadelphia Eagles

(3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

(4) Los Angeles Rams

(5) Minnesota Vikings

(6) Washington commanders

(7) Green Bay Packers

AFC playoff seeds

(1) Kansas City Chiefs

(2) Buffalo Bills

(3) Baltimore Ravens

(4) Houston Texans

(5) Los Angeles Chargers

(6) Pittsburgh Steelers

(7) Denver Broncos

What is the 2025 NFL Playoffs schedule for Wild Card Weekend and how can I watch?

Saturday, January 11th

• No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
• No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 8:00 p.m. ET (Prime Video)

Sunday, January 12th

• No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
• No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox, Fox Deportes)
• No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock, Universo; Peacock is owned by TODAY.com parent company NBCUniversal)

Monday, January 13th

• No. 5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, 8 p.m. ET. Due to the wildfires in California, the game was relocated to Arizona. (ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes; ManningCast: ESPN2, ESPN+)