The NFL Playoffs are finally here, and the AFC playoff picture is officially set.
With the regular season in the books, it’s finally time to look ahead to the NFL playoffs. The NFC race came down to the final weekend, as one playoff ticket remained unpunched and the seeding wasn’t set until the late slate finished up.
It was a wild ride, but the real fun is just beginning.
Now that we know how the regular season shook out, it’s time to check out the playoff picture and see what the road to the Super Bowl will be in the NFC.
2020 NFC Playoff picture, bracket, and start times
Here’s how the seeding shook out now that all is said and done:
- Green Bay Packers
- New Orleans Saints
- Seattle Seahawks
- Washington/Giants
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Los Angeles Rams
- Chicago Bears
NFC Wild Card Weekend Matchups and Schedule
While the AFC playoff bracket is loaded with top tier teams, the NFC leaves a lot to be desired.
The Bears backed into the playoffs by way of the Arizona Cardinals losing in Week 17. Any time Mitchell Trubisky has gone up against a defense that isn’t ranked near the bottom of the league the Bears have a miserable performance. The Saints and Bears played earlier this year in Chicago, but Nick Foles was the starter — and to Chicago’s credit, they dragged New Orleans to overtime so anything is possible.
Meanwhile, the Rams and Seahawks is a great playoff matchup on paper, but it’s unclear whether Jared Goff will be healthy enough to start. Goff needed three screws inserted into his thumb after he broke it in Week 16.
Tom Brady’s return to the playoffs will once again be against the lowest quality team in the postseason, despite the fact that he and the Buccaneers have to go on the road to play in the northeast. Of course, the last time Brady played on Wild Card weekend against the lowest quality team he ended up being upset so all bets are off, especially since the Giants almost beat the Bucs earlier this season.
- Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams -Saturday, Jan. 9th at 4:40pm ET on FOX
- WSH/NYG vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Saturday, Jan. 9th at 8:15pm ET on NBC
- New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears – Sunday, Jan 10th at 4:40pm ET on CBS/Nickelodeon
NFC Divisional Round Matchups and Schedule
The only NFC team that has its ticket punched for the second weekend of the playoffs is the Green Bay Packers. They’ll await the lowest remaining seed that survives Wild Card weekend.
Green Bay Packers vs. Lowest Remaining Seed – Jan. 16/17 on FOX
TBD vs. TBD – Jan. 16/17 on FOX
NFC Championship Game
Obviously, we don’t know who will be playing this weekend but we do know when the game will go down.
TBD vs. TBD – January 24th on FOX (Start time to be announced once the matchups are set)