The NFL completed its schedule for the wild-card round of the playoffs on Sunday evening following the outcomes of the late-afternoon games and the night game, which ultimately determined the final matchups. The Los Angeles Chargers secured the No. 5 seed in the AFC by defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 34-20, finishing the season with an 11-6 record. This accomplishment placed them ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoff seeding. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos triumphed over a resting Kansas City Chiefs team with a decisive 38-0 victory, earning them the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC.
Having lost four consecutive games to conclude the regular season, the Steelers now find themselves facing the Baltimore Ravens for the third time this season in a showdown between the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds in the AFC. Although the two teams split their regular-season series, the Ravens clinched the AFC North title by a comfortable margin.
On the NFC side, the Los Angeles Rams suffered a 30-25 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, causing them to slip behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoff seeding. Tampa Bay secured the No. 3 seed by defeating the New Orleans Saints 27-19 earlier in the day, while the Rams settled for the No. 4 seed.
The upcoming first round of the NFL postseason is scheduled as follows:
Saturday, Jan. 11
No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) at No. 4 Houston Texans (10-7), 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (12-5), 8 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, Jan. 12
No. 7 Denver Broncos (10-7) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-4), 1 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 7 Green Bay Packers (11-6) at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
No. 6 Washington Commanders (12-5) at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7), 8 p.m. ET, NBC
Monday, Jan. 13
No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (14-3) at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7), 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
–Field Level Media
