NFL playoffs schedule, bracket update for wild card weekend games

Most of the NFL’s 32 teams entered the 2024 season with a legitimate shot at a playoff spot. The regular season is now over and only 14 teams remain for the 2025 NFL playoffs and a place in Super Bowl 59.

At the end of the league’s Super Wild Card weekend, only eight teams will remain.

The NFL playoff field is full in 2025. Every team that has made it to the postseason has at least 10 wins, while the Minnesota Vikings became the league’s first wild card team with 14 wins. That should level the playing field and give many of the wildcard teams a legitimate chance to pull off an upset.

Therefore, the wild card round of the postseason could be more exciting than usual. Fans should tune in to watch as many games as possible and see exactly who their team will face next if they advance to the divisional round.

Here’s what you should know about the NFL’s wild card weekend schedule and how the playoff round will work in 2025.

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Which NFL playoff games are this weekend?

Six NFL playoff games will be played as part of the league’s Wild Card Weekend. They are as follows, depending on the conference:

AFC Wildcard Games

NFC wildcard games

NFL wild card playoff schedule

The NFL wild card games are spread over three days – Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There will be two games on Saturday, three on Sunday and a standalone Monday Night Football game to close out the week.

Below is the full schedule for the opening round.

NFL playoff games on Saturday

NFL playoff games on Sunday

NFL playoff games on Monday

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Updated NFL playoff series

The only two teams that will not be in action on Wild Card Weekend are the No. 1 seeds — the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions — who earned byes to finish with the best record in each conference.

The playoff bracket has not yet been determined. The No. 1 seeds will face the lowest seeds in the divisional round, leaving the two remaining teams to face each other in the conference semifinals. The No. 1 seeds can only play the No. 4 through 7 seeds in the divisional round, while the remaining seeds can play against anyone except the No. 7 seed, which will automatically become the No. 1 seed if they win would pull.

Here’s a look at the full 2025 NFL playoff bracket:

AFC playoff series

NFC playoff bracket

How does the NFL playoff bracket work?

It is not a fixed mount. The No. 1 seed in each conference will host the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round of the postseason, while the second-highest remaining seed will host the second-lowest remaining seed.

In the past, the No. 2 team in the league got a bye week. The NFL changed that rule in 2020 when it expanded its playoff field from 12 to 14 and began pitting the No. 2 seed against the No. 7 seed, the latter of which had previously failed to make the postseason.

The new format creates a greater variety of possible matchups for the divisional round, as the No. 1 seed is seeded and has the opportunity to face one of four teams, while the other teams also advance depending on how the dominoes fall can have up to four different opponents.

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When will wild card winners know their division opponents?

In 2025, the NFL divisional round for the AFC will be determined relatively quickly. Once the No. 2 seed Bills play the No. 7 seed Broncos on Sunday, the AFC’s divisional round will be fully set as the other two AFC games will be played on Saturday.

The final determination of the NFC divisional round will not be made until after the Rams and Vikings meet on Monday evening. However, Sunday afternoon’s game between the Eagles and Packers will allow NFC fans to get a clearer picture of the playoff round.

If Philadelphia wins, the Eagles will face either the Buccaneers or the winner of the Rams-Vikings game. If Green Bay wins, the Packers will face the Lions, so the winners of the two remaining games face off.

Complete NFL playoffs schedule

The NFL playoffs begin on Saturday, January 11th with the league’s Super Wild Card Weekend before concluding on February 9th with Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.

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NFL playoffs schedule, bracket update for wild card weekend games

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