It's that time of year again. The NFL playoff season is upon us after the Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. That was the final piece of the playoff puzzle, with the Seattle Seahawks locking up the final spot in the postseason tournament.
Entering Sunday, three different teams were alive for the top seed in the NFC, with the Eagles, 49ers and Cowboys looking for home field. Meanwhile, the AFC playoff picture was solved after the early window of games ended Sunday afternoon.
That means football fans have a full week to chat matchups at the water cooler. With that, let's get into the NFL playoff bracket.
AFC Playoff Bracket
(1) Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs earned the top seed in the AFC via the win-percentage tie-breaker over the Buffalo Bills. However, because the Bills finished with the same amount of losses and beat the Chiefs heads up this year, if those teams were to face off in the AFC Championship, it would be held on a neutral field.
Kansas City will play host to the lowest seed remaining after the opening round.
(2) Buffalo Bills vs. (7) Miami Dolphins
The aforementioned Bills defeated the New England Patriots Sunday, 35-23. That crushed the Patriots' chances at reaching the postseason and opened the door for the Miami Dolphins. The biggest question entering that game will be the health of Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.
(3) Cincinnati Bengals vs. (6) Baltimore Ravens
It almost feels like every year, the NFL playoff wild card round sees at least one rematch from the final week of the regular season. This year, that came to fruition yet again as the Bengals will host the Ravens Super Wild Card weekend.
On Sunday, the Bengals defeated the Ravens in Cincinnati, 27-16. Baltimore was forced to start Anthony Brown at quarterback. It's unknown whether Lamar Jackson will be able to play in this game. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said on Friday that he is hopeful Jackson can suit up for the playoffs. But he has not practiced in over a month, so that is still a major question.
(4) Jacksonville Jaguars vs. (5) Los Angeles Chargers
The 4-5 NFL playoff game between the Jaguars and Chargers should be extremely entertaining. It's highly unlikely to look like their earlier matchup this season did when the Jags won 38-10 in Los Angeles.
Both teams are playing very good football as they enter the playoffs. The Jaguars won their last five games, including the winner-take-all game Saturday night against the Tennessee Titans. The Chargers, on the other hand, had won four in a row until they lost 31-28 to the Denver Broncos in a meaningless game.
Sadly, Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams was injured during Sunday's loss. He had to be taken to the locker room on a cart and needed help walking while leaving the stadium. That will be a situation worthy of following leading up to the start of the NFL playoffs.
NFC Playoff Bracket
(1) Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles clinched the overall top seed in the NFC and the first-round bye that comes with it by beating the New York Giants Sunday. New York had nothing to play for, having already been locked into their wild card spot. That certainly made it a bit easier on Philly to clinch home field.
Jalen Hurts made his return after missing the last two games. He was mostly effective but clearly is not 100%, as Hurts acknowledged himself after the game.
Similar to the Chiefs, the Eagles will play the lowest seed remaining in the NFC Divisional Round.
(2) San Francisco 49ers vs. (7) Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams in overtime, 19-16. But they had to wait around all night and pray. Their prayers were answered when the Lions beat the Packers 20-16.
Their reward for making the surprising playoff run is a date with the division rival 49ers.
(3) Minnesota Vikings vs. (6) New York Giants
The Vikings finally got back on track in Week 18, beating the hapless Chicago Bears 29-13. Vikings QB Kirk Cousins finished off the best regular season of his career, completing 85 percent of his passes for 225 yards and a touchdown.
Their reward for winning the NFC North is a home date with the Giants. These two teams faced off in Week 16 at the same location. The Vikings escaped on a last-second field goal, winning 27-24. This will likely be one of the more compelling first round games in these NFL playoffs.
(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. (5) Dallas Cowboys
If you thought that matchup above was juicy, this should really wet your appetite. Tom Brady and the Bucs get a home game against the Cowboys. That's despite finishing 8-9 with the Cowboys going 12-5. But Tampa won their division, as bad as it was.
Dallas entered play Sunday with a chance to claim the one-seed. That was erased by the Eagles win over the Giants, but that result had nothing to do with how atrocious Dallas played Sunday. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense was pathetic in a 26-6 loss to the Washington Commanders. They have zero momentum and although the Buccaneers were a losing team this year, would you want to go into Tom Brady's house to open the NFL playoffs?
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