With five wild-card games in the books, the divisional round is starting to take shape, but before that can fully happen, there’s still one game left to play in the opening round of the NFL playoffs: Cowboys at Buccaneers.
These two teams will close out Super Wild Card Weekend with a Monday night game in Tampa Bay.
If this game is half as exciting as any other wildcard game, we should be in for a crazy ride. So far, the wild card round has given us the third-largest comeback win in NFL playoff history, which came on Saturday when the Jaguars came back from a 27-0 deficit to beat the Chargers.
The Dolphins nearly sent shockwaves through the postseason, but their upset bid against Buffalo fell short with a 34-31 loss. The Ravens also came close to pulling off an astronomical upset before falling to the Bengals 24-17. One team that pulled off an upset was the Giants, who eliminated the Vikings from the playoffs with a 31-24 win in Minnesota.
The 49ers also advanced to the divisional round with a 41-23 win over the Seahawks on Saturday.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the entire postseason schedule. (And don’t forget, there could be a neutral-site AFC title game this year: If the Bills and Chiefs end up playing each other in the AFC championship game, the game will be played in Atlanta.)
Super Wild Card Weekend
Saturday January 14
- (2) 49ers 41-23 over (7) Seahawks. The 49ers got a brief scare from the Seahawks on a day when Seattle jumped out to a 17-16 halftime lead. But in the second half, San Francisco broke the game open with a dominant performance. Brock Purdy threw for 332 yards while becoming the first rookie in NFL history to throw for four touchdowns in a playoff game. (Purdy finished with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score.)
- (4) Jaguars 31-30 majors (5) Chargers. The Jaguars won that game by pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. The Jags fell behind, 27-0, early in the game due in large part to four interceptions by Trevor Lawrence, but rallied for the impressive victory, thanks in large part to Lawrence, who threw four touchdown passes .
Sunday January 15
- (2) Bills 34-31 on (7) Dolphins. The Dolphins came into this game as the biggest underdog in wild card round history (+14) and despite those odds, they were still able to give the Bills a big scare. In the end, the Bills were able to pull off the upset thanks to Josh Allen (352 passing yards, three touchdowns) and a defense that came up with multiple big plays, including two turnovers, four sacks and an ice-breaking quarterback stop. the game with just 2:30 to play.
- (6) Giants 31-24 over (3) Vikings. New York was able to pull off the upset in Minnesota thanks to a historic performance by Daniel Jones, who became the FIRST QB in NFL playoff history to throw for at least 300 and two touchdowns while also adding at least 70 rushing yards . Not only did Jones throw for 301 yards, but he was also the game’s leading rusher with 78 yards on 17 carries. The win over Minnesota marked the Giants’ first playoff win since beating the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012.
- (3) Bengals 24-17 majors (6) Ravens. The Ravens had Cincinnati on the ropes for most of this game, but the Bengals were able to escape with a win thanks to their defense, which delivered one of the biggest plays in NFL postseason history . With the Ravens on the Cincinnati one-yard line, Tyler Huntley punted and Sam Hubbard returned that fumble 98 yards for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
Monday, January 16
- (5) Cowboys at (4) Buccaneers (+2.5), 8:15 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN, broadcast on fuboTV). If the Cowboys are going to advance to the divisional round, they’ll have to do something they’ve never done before: beat Tom Brady. The Cowboys are 0-7 all-time against Buccaneers QBs and that includes a Week 1 loss where Tampa Bay outscored Dallas 19-3.
divisional round
Saturday January 21
- (4) Jaguars at (1) Chiefs, 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
- (6) Giants at (1) Eagles, 8:15 p.m. ET (Fox)
Sunday January 22
- (3) Bengals at (2) Bills, 3 pm ET (CBS)
- (5) Cowboys or (4) Buccaneers at (2) 49ers, 6:30 p.m. ET (Fox)
Championship Sunday
January 29
- NFC Championship, 3:05 p.m. ET (Fox)
- AFC Championship, 6:40 p.m. ET (CBS)
Super Bowl LVII
February 12
AFC Champion vs. NFC Champion at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., 6:30 p.m. ET (Fox)