NFL Playoffs 2023: Super Wild Card weekend TV schedule, matchups, start times
With the regular season over, the NFL Playoffs are finally here, and Super Wild Card weekend is shaping up to be an overstuffed load of football fun.
After 18 weeks, we finally know what the NFL Playoff Picture looks like — and it took to the very end of Sunday for it to come into focus.
Six teams entered Sunday with a chance to punch two remaining playoff tickets, three in each conference. New England was in the pole position to clinch the No. 7 seed in the AFC when the day started, but it was the Miami Dolphins who ended up getting in. That came at the expense of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who beat the Browns but needed that coupled with a Patriots and Dolphins loss.
For what it’s worth, the Steelers streak of not having a losing season under Mike Tomlin continues, as Pittsburgh finished the year 9-8. That’s not going to make missing the playoffs any easier to deal with, but the fact that Pittsburgh stormed back as much as it did is nothing less than admirable.
Things were equally as wild in the NFC, with the Packers, Lions, and Seahawks all fighting for the No. 7 seed and the No. 1 seed up for grabs when Sunday kicked off.
But now things have settled, and as the dust clears the NFL Playoff Picture has become crystal. Next up is Super Wild Card Weekend, where the real fun begins and the margin for error is as slim as it gets.
NFL Playoffs: What teams are playing Wild Card Weekend?
Like last year, there will be seven teams in each conference playing on Super Wild Card Weekend. Only two teams get bye weeks, the top two seeds in either conference, while the rest of the teams will play on the first weekend of the playoffs.
This year the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will get to sit out Wild Card Weekend and prepare to host a game the weekend after next. Everyone else in the bracket will be in action as six games will be spread across three days of absolute madness.
AFC
- Buffalo Bills
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Baltimore Ravens
- Miami Dolphins
Over in the NFC, things were a little more straightforward if not just as chaotic. Only two teams couldn’t help or hurt their playoff positioning, as the Buccaneers and Giants were locked in regardless of any outcomes on Sunday.
Everything else was up for grabs, to varying degrees. The No. 7 seed was the most volatile scenario, as three teams were vying for the final playoff ticket. Green Bay started the day in the driver’s seat, needing to win on Sunday night to get in, while the Lions needed a win coupled with a Seahawks loss and the Seahawks needed a win coupled with a Packers loss.
With Seattle winning, Detroit came through in playing spoiler on Sunday Night Football and cleared out the Packers from the playoff picture.
Philadelphia needed a win to secure the coveted No. 1 seed while the Niners needed a win to lock up the No. 2 seed and keep it out of Minnesota’s hands.
NFC
- San Francisco 49ers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Seattle Seahawks
NFL Playoffs: 2023 Wild Card Weekend TV Schedule
The NFL has spread Wild Card Weekend out over three days, rather than putting all of the games of Saturday and Sunday. Under this setup — which has been packaged and sold as Super Wild Card Weekend — two games will be played on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday night.
This will also mark the third straight year the NFL has simulcast a CBS playoff game on Nickelodeon with an alternate broadcast that needs to be experienced to be believed.
Here’s the complete rundown of who plays on what days and where to watch:
Saturday, January 14th
- 49ers vs. Seahawks – 4:30 pm ET on FOX
- Jaguars vs. Chargers – 8:15 pm ET on NBC
Sunday, January 15th
- Bills vs. Dolphins – 1 pm ET on CBS
- Vikings vs. Giants – 4:30 pm ET on FOX
- Bengals vs. Ravens – 8:15 pm ET on NBC
Monday, January 16th
- Buccaneers vs. Cowboys – 8:15 pm ET on ABC/ESPN
