The first round of the NFL playoffs began the weekend of January 11, 12, and 13. This weekend is the wild card weekend and obviously the teams that just made the playoffs are scheduled to play. There are two games on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday Night. The winning teams playing this weekend move on to the division round.
On January 11, there were two games played. The Los Angeles Chargers played the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, in Houston, Texas. They played for the AFC Wild Card Playoffs. The Texans won 32-12 and will move on to play the Chiefs in Kansas City on Saturday, the 18. The other game was the Steelers and the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, the home of the Ravens, in Baltimore, Maryland. They also played in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs. The Ravens won 28-14 and will move on to play the Bills in Buffalo on January 19.
The next day, January 12, there were three games played. The Buffalo Bills played the Denver Broncos at Highmark Stadium, the home of the Bills, in Buffalo, New York. They were the last game of the AFC Wild Card games as the Chiefs had a BYE- skip the first round of playoffs. Buffalo won 31-7 and moved on to play the Ravens on January 19, in Buffalo. The first game for the NFC Wild Card round was the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won 22-10 and moved on to play the Los Angeles Rams. The second game of the NFC Wild Card round was between the Washington Commanders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Washington won 23-20 and will play the Lions in Detroit on January 18; the Lions had a first-round BYE like the Chiefs.
The last day of the first round of playoffs was January 13 and only one game was played. The last game of the NFC Wild Card round was played between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. The Los Angeles Rams were supposed to be home, but because of the wildfires in California, they moved the game to Cardinals’ Stadium. The Rams beat the Vikings 27-9 and will move on to play the Eagles in Philadelphia on January 19.
The first round of the NFL playoffs, known as the wild card round, was good. There was only one upset game which was when the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The games were not as competitive as fans would like but there are more exciting games to come.
The divisional round will be four games, two played by AFC teams, and NFC teams will play the other two. The weekend games will also be played. The stakes rise, and so does the competition!