After a Super Wild Card Weekend that certainly lived up to its name, the divisional round is set for the upcoming weekend.
The Cowboys were the final team to punch their ticket to the divisional round, and they did that Monday night by destroying the Buccaneers. The win over Tampa Bay now earns the Cowboys a trip to San Francisco, where they’ll face a 49ers team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season.
In the other NFC game, the Giants will be traveling to Philadelphia to face an Eagles team that has already beaten them twice this year. With the Giants, Cowboys and Eagles all in the divisional round, it will mark the first time since the NFC Central in 1997 that one division sent three teams to the second round.
In the AFC, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will be playing their first game of the postseason when they host the Jaguars on Saturday. The heavyweight match in the AFC will then take place Sunday when the Bills host the Bengals. The two teams were supposed to play each other in Week 17, but the game was canceled after a frightening incident that saw Damar Hamlin go into cardiac arrest in the first quarter.
Hamlin is now back in Buffalo, where he continues to recover.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the entire postseason schedule and bracket.
Super Wild Card Weekend
Saturday, Jan. 14
- (2) 49ers 41-23 over (7) Seahawks. The 49ers got a brief scare from the Seahawks on a day where Seattle jumped put to a 17-16 halftime lead. But in the second half, San Francisco broke the game open with a dominating performance. Brock Purdy threw for 332 yards while also becoming the first rookie in NFL history to total four touchdowns in a playoff game. (Purdy finished with three passing touchdowns and one rushing score).
- (4) Jaguars 31-30 over (5) Chargers. The Jaguars won this game by pulling off one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history. The Jags fell behind, 27-0, early in the game due in large part to four interceptions from Trevor Lawrence, but they rebounded to pull off the stunning win, thanks in large part to Lawrence, who threw four touchdown passes.
Sunday, Jan. 15
- (2) Bills 34-31 over (7) Dolphins. The Dolphins went into this game as the biggest underdog in the history of the wild-card round (+14) and despite those odds, they were still able to put a major scare into the Bills. In the end, the Bills were able to stave 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 a fourth-down stop that iced the game with just 2:30 left to play.
- (6) Giants 31-24 over (3) Vikings. New York was able to pull off the upset in Minnesota thanks to a historical performance from 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 yards on the ground. Not only did Jones throw for 301 yards, but he also the game’s leading rusher with 78 yards on 17 carries. The win over Minnesota marked the Giants’ first playoff victory since they beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI back in February 2012.
- (3) Bengals 24-17 over (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 came up with one of the biggest plays in NFL postseason history. With the Ravens at Cincinnati’s one-yard line, Tyler Huntley fumbled and Sam Hubbard returned that fumble 98 yards for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
Monday, Jan. 16
- (5) Cowboys 31-14 over (4) Buccaneers. The Cowboys dominated this game from start to finish, and a big reason why that happened was because of Dak Prescott, who had a historically big night. The Cowboys QB set a franchise record with five total touchdowns (four pass, one rush) while also throwing for 305 yards. The only Cowboys player who struggled in this game was kicker Brett Maher, who missed an NFL-record four extra points. The Cowboys will now have to decide if they want to keep him around for Sunday’s game in San Francisco.
Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 21
- (4) Jaguars at (1) Chiefs (-8.5), 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC). After getting a week off, the Chiefs will be opening their postseason run with a game against a Jaguars team that they actually played earlier this season. Back in Week 10, the Chiefs beat the Jags 27-17 in a game where Kansas City jumped out to a 20-0 lead before coasting to the win.
- (6) Giants at (1) Eagles (-7.5), 8:15 p.m. ET (Fox). These two division rivals will be meeting for the third time this season and the Giants will be hoping this game has a different outcome than the first two, which were both won by Philadelphia. This will mark the 25th time in NFL history that a team has swept its division rival in the regular-season and then faced them again in the playoffs. The team that went 2-0 during the regular season has pulled off the three-game sweep 15 out of 24 times.
Sunday, Jan. 22
- (3) Bengals at (2) Bills (-5), 3 p.m. ET (CBS). This game will be played exactly 20 days after their original game was canceled due to the situation involving Damar Hamlin. With Hamlin now back home in Buffalo, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he were to attend this game.
- (5) Cowboys at (2) 49ers (-4), 6:30 p.m. ET (Fox). The 49ers didn’t play the Cowboys this year, but these two teams did meet last January in a playoff game that went down to the wire. The 49ers’ 23-17 wild-card win last season wasn’t decided until the Cowboys inexplicably called a QB draw in the final seconds even though they had no timeouts. That game was played in Dallas, but this time around, the game will be played in San Francisco.
Championship Sunday
Jan. 29
- NFC Championship, 3 p.m. ET (Fox)
- AFC Championship, 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Note: If the Bills and Chiefs end up playing each other in the AFC Championship, then the game will be played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Super Bowl LVII
Feb. 12
AFC Champion vs. NFC Champion at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, 6:30 p.m. ET (Fox)
