NFL Wild Card Weekend Viewing Guide: Matchups, Schedule, How to Watch

The NFL's postseason is about to kick off.

Twelve teams will be in action during Wild Card Weekend playing for the right to move onto the Divisional Round and one step closer to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. This weekend's playoff slate begins with a Saturday afternoon matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans and stretches through a prime-time Monday Night Football showdown showcasing the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

From game times to betting info and more, here's what fans need to know going into the first weekend of playoff football this year.

AFC, NFC Wild Card Matchups

Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans: The Browns, despite turning to five starting quarterbacks and being hindered by a variety of injuries, are making just their third playoff appearance of the millennium after an 11-6 regular season that captured them the top Wild Card spot in the AFC. Joe Flacco will pass Tom Brady for the most road playoff wins by a quarterback in NFL history by beating the No. 4 seed Texans (10-7).

Houston, led by rookie phenom C.J. Stroud, clinched a playoff berth last weekend and eventually locked up the AFC South—earning a home playoff game—with a Jacksonville Jaguars loss.

Miami Dolphins at Kansas Chiefs: Make sure to bundle up for this one. The No. 5 seed Dolphins (11-6) travel from South Beach to the frigid Midwest for a Wild Card meeting with the defending-champion No. 3 seed Chiefs (11-6). Miami lost to the Bills in the regular-season finale, costing it the AFC East and an opportunity to be playing at home this weekend.

As a bonus, be on the lookout for Tyreek Hill in his return to Kansas City.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills: Both the No. 7 seed Steelers (10-7) and No. 2 seed Bills (11-6) were at .500 late into the regular season and in danger of missing the postseason. But after a pair of strong finishes, here they are. Buffalo, winners of five games in a row, quickly went from outside the playoff picture to the second seed in the conference and can win a playoff game for the fourth season in a row by downing the offensively challenged Steelers.

Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys: From the "Ice Bowl" to the Dez Bryant no-catch game, there have been plenty of memorable postseason encounters between these storied franchises. Perhaps another is in store. The No. 7 seed Packers (9-8), behind quarterback Jordan Love, advanced to the playoffs in the first year of the post-Aaron Rodgers era. And a familiar face awaits them in the Wild Card round—former coach Mike McCarthy, who now leads the No. 2 seed, 12-5 Cowboys.

Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford finally gets to play a postseason game in Detroit. The former Lions quarterback, who was sent to the Rams in a trade that led L.A. to a Super Bowl win, returns to the city in which he spent the first 12 years of his professional career for this Wild Card matchup. The No. 3 seed Lions (12-5) are hosting their first playoff game since 1993 against the No. 6 seed Rams (10-7). And this is also a reunion game for Lions QB Jared Goff, who started his time in the NFL in Los Angeles before being sent to Detroit in the previously mentioned trade.

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The NFC, at one time, seemed to be in Philadelphia's grasp. But five losses in their last six games has plummeted the 11-6 Eagles down to the NFC's top Wild Card. The defending conference champions will now have to play on the road against the No. 4 seed Bucs (9-8) in the opening weekend of the playoffs. Baker Mayfield and company clinched the NFC South in Week 18, reaching the postseason in the franchise's first season since Tom Brady's permanent retirement, despite starting the campaign 4-7.

Wild Card Game Times, Announcers, How to Watch

The six games on the Wild Card slate will be played over a three-day span this weekend, starting with two AFC contests on Saturday and concluding with an NFC showdown on Monday night.

Take a look at the full schedule.

Saturday, January 13

Browns at Texans: 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC, Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge on the call).

Dolphins at Chiefs: 8 p.m. ET (Peacock, Mike Tirico and Jason Garrett).

Sunday, January 14

Packers at Cowboys: 4:30 p.m. ET (FOX, Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen).

Rams at Lions: 8 p.m. ET (NBC, Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth).

Monday, January 15

Steelers at Bills: 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo). This game was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but was pushed to Monday because of weather conditions in Buffalo.

Eagles at Bucs: 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman).

NFL Playoff Bracket

The top-seeded Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, both on byes this week, await the lowest-remaining seed in their respective conferences in the Divisional Round. Here's a look at the full NFL postseason bracket, which the league posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Full NFL Playoff Schedule, Including Super Bowl

The NFL postseason advances to the Divisional Round next weekend. Game times have yet to be released for the next round of the playoffs, but two games will be played on Saturday, January 20, with two more to follow on Sunday, January 21. The conference championship games will follow on Sunday, January 28. The NFC Championship Game will air on FOX, while the AFC Championship Game will be shown on CBS. Game times are not yet available.

This all leads up to Super Bowl LVIII, which will be played on Sunday, February 11, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on CBS.

Who Is Favored to Win the Super Bowl?

The 49ers enter Wild Card weekend with the best odds (+220) of becoming Super Bowl champions, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Rounding out the top five in the Lombardi Trophy race are the Ravens (+310), Bills (+650), Cowboys (+750), and Chiefs (+1000). The Steelers (+12000) are being given the worst title odds of any team in the postseason.

As for this weekend's games, the Browns (two points) and Eagles (three points) are the only road squads entering their contests as favorites. The Bills (9.5 points) have the largest betting line advantage out of any of the matchups.

Update 01/14/24 9:25 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.