NFL playoffs schedule set after Week 17 season finales

By Alex Butler

Six NFL Wild Card round matchups launch the league’s postseason this coming weekend after the final week of the 2020 regular season.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers will be the only teams in the 14-team playoff field that won’t play immediately, having locked up first-round byes as the top seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively.

“We’ll take advantage of the time off, rest and then we’ll get back to it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters Sunday.

The Buffalo Bills will host the Indianapolis Colts in the first game of the postseason schedule at 1:05 p.m. EST Saturday in Orchard Park, N.Y.

“We have to go out there and do our job and do what we set out to do before the season,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said Sunday. “[The season] gave us the chance that we wanted and now we have to take it.”

The Seattle Seahawks then will host the Los Angeles Rams at 4:40 p.m. EST Saturday in Seattle. The Washington Football Team hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the final game Saturday in Landover, Md.

Sunday’s Wild Card slate starts with the Baltimore Ravens against the Tennessee Titans at 1:05 p.m. EST in Nashville. The Chicago Bears then will battle the New Orleans Saints at 4:40 p.m. EST in New Orleans.

The Cleveland Browns will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final Wild Card game at 8:15 p.m. EST in Pittsburgh.

The Chiefs and Packers will host the lowest remaining seeds in the divisional round on Jan. 16 and 17. The NFC and AFC Championship games are scheduled for Jan. 24. Super Bowl LV is Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

“I’m not worried about any rust or anything,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “We have been really solid in situational football. I like our chances.”

The Chiefs are heavy favorites on most sports betting websites to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Packers, Bills and Saints also are considered top contenders to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Washington and Chicago are among the teams with the longest odds of winning the title.

NFL playoffs

Saturday

Wild Card

Colts at Bills at 1:05 p.m. EST on CBS

Rams at Seahawks at 4:40 p.m. EST on Fox

Buccaneers at Washington at 8:15 p.m. EST on NBC

Sunday

Wild Card

Ravens at Titans at 1:05 p.m. EST on ESPN

Bears at Saints at 4:40 p.m. EST on CBS

Browns at Steelers at 8:15 p.m. EST on NBC

Jan. 16-17