NFL playoffs kick off in Buffalo. Browns back in the postseason. Everything you need to know for Super Wild Card Weekend.
So, what are you doing this weekend?
If you're anything like us, you're bunkering in for a full weekend of 18-plus hours of playoff football. The NFL's first "Super Wild Card Weekend" is here, and it features the first pair of playoff tripleheaders in league history.
That sounds like fun!
Unless, of course, you're a Cleveland Browns fan. You finally get to see your favorite team reach the playoffs after an 18-year absence, only for it to be gutted by COVID-19.
The wild-card action commences Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in Orchard Park, New York, where the red-hot Buffalo Bills host the Indianapolis Colts, who are coached by former Bills QB Frank Reich.
On Saturday night, Tom Brady will start what he hopes will be a march toward a 10th trip to the Super Bowl. This time, however, with a new team, the Buccaneers. He is aiming to be the fourth quarterback to start a Super Bowl with two different teams. Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner are two of them. Can you name the other? It's Craig Morton.
Here are the games, in case you need a reminder:
Saturday
- Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills, 1:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks, 4:40 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Football Team, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday
- Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans, 1:05 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC)
- Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints, 4:40 p.m. ET (CBS, Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime)
- Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC, Telemundo, Peacock)
First-round playoff byes: Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs
Super Wild Card Weekend: Picks and analysis
- Wild-card picks: Which teams will win this weekend and move on in the playoffs? Our staff makes their picks.
- Lorenzo's Locks: Paste BN Sports' Lorenzo Reyes has the three best bets for "Super Wild Card Weekend." Can Tom Brady and the Buccaneers cover vs. Washington?
- Which wild-card team can make a deep run? Is there a team playing this weekend that is capable of making a run to the Super Bowl?
- One wild-card player per team to watch: These players could also loom as X-factors who could sway postseason outcomes.
- One burning question facing each playoff team: Can Tom Brady lead the Bucs to the Super Bowl? Are the Ravens ready to win a playoff game? Key questions face all 14 teams in the postseason.
- Home-field advantage ... what home-field advantage? For the first time since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, away teams had a better winning percentage. As the playoffs start, should some teams worry?
- Coach's cancer fight inspired run to playoffs: The Washington Football Team reached this point because as an eternal optimist, coach Ron Rivera refused to surrender to cancer. In so doing, he inspired his players.
- Buffalo is special to ex-QB: Frank Reich returns to Buffalo to lead the Colts in their AFC wild-card game with the Bills.
- Playoff drought over, but misery remains: The Browns finally are back in the playoffs, but now fans are dealing with their coach and others testing positive for COVID-19 before Sunday's game.
- Power rankings: How all 32 teams stack up heading into the playoffs.
2021 NFL draft: Mocks and more
Mock draft: Five QBs in latest first-round projection
- Jaguars -- Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
- Jets -- Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
- Dolphins (from Texans) -- Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU
- Falcons -- Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
- Bengals -- Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon
College football national championship: Draft prospects everywhere
More: College underclassmen who intend to enter 2021 draft
NFL Facebook group: Join now!
Football season is here! And, if you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders. Sign up now!