X-factors for Wild Card Weekend. Plus, expert SB59 picks
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Welcome to Wild Card Weekend!
These are your Friday must-reads 📜:
✔️ Paste BN Sports experts' playoff and Super Bowl picks
📺 NFL playoff watchability rankings: Which wild-card games are best?
📈 Which NFL playoff team is biggest Super Bowl threat?
Here we've provided an X-factor for each of this weekend's NFL wild-card playoff games:
✖️ Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans — CB Derek Stingley Jr.: The Texans' Pro Bowl cornerback could play a pivotal role in his team advancing to the divisional round for the second straight season. Chargers rookie receiver Ladd McConkey became a go-to receiver for quarterback Justin Herbert, catching 82 passes for 1,149 yards. Plagued by a case of the dropsies for much of the season, second-year receiver Quentin Johnston emerged late with three touchdowns in the final three games for L.A. Stingley, who ranked second in the NFL with a career-high 18 passes defensed this season, will need to help keep the ball out of the hands of McConkey and Johnston if the Texans want to advance.
✖️ Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens — QB Russell Wilson: Wilson's Steelers are the first team since the 1986 New York Jets to win at least 10 games but enter the playoffs with a losing streak of at least four games. Wilson and the Steelers will have to do better than they did a week ago in the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals if they have any chance of upsetting the Baltimore Ravens.
✖️ Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills — LB Von Miller: Miller, as well as fellow Bills pass rushers A.J. Epenesa and Greg Rousseau, will be tasked with keeping rookie quarterback Bo Nix uncomfortable in his first playoff game. Miller is a seasoned veteran and brings a history of playoff success — two Super Bowl wins, MVP of Super Bowl 50 — to the Bills' latest quest for that elusive title.
✖️ Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles — WR Jayden Reed: With Christian Watson out, Jordan Love — health pending — and the Packers' offense will need Reed to play a huge role if the team has any aspirations of knocking off the high-flying Eagles. When these two teams met in Week 1 in Brazil, Reed had a huge game, accounting for two touchdowns (one receiving, one rushing) and 171 total yards.
✖️ Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — QB Jayden Daniels: The Commanders are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and won at least 12 games for the first time since the franchise's last Super Bowl-winning season in 1991 thanks in large part to their dynamic rookie quarterback. Daniels' dual-threat abilities could be troublesome for a Bucs defense that struggled to contain the Ravens' Lamar Jackson and Broncos rookie Bo Nix.
✖️ Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams — QB Sam Darnold: For much of the 2024 season, the Vikings' vagabond quarterback looked like a bona fide MVP candidate. In the regular-season finale, Darnold crashed back down to earth and looked more like the "seeing ghosts" Darnold that New York Jets fans recall not-so-fondly. Darnold completed just 18-of-41 pass attempts for 166 yards and no touchdowns. He was only able to connect with standout receiver Justin Jefferson three times for 54 yards. The Vikings will need Darnold to return to pre-Week 18 form in order to advance.
NFL news, notes and analysis
➤ NFL moves Vikings-Rams playoff game: The league announced Thursday that – "(i)n the interest of public safety" – Monday night's wild-card game between the Rams and Vikings, which was scheduled to be played at SoFi Stadium, will be moved to Arizona due to the wildfires that continue to rage through the greater Los Angeles area. This is just the second time that the NFL has moved a playoff game to a new location.
➤ Ranking NFL's six* open head coaching jobs: From the most-attractive job (hello, Patriots) to the least-attractive (sorry, Raiders), Nate Davis assesses each of the league's opening gigs.
➤ Which non-playoff teams have hope for 2025? Tyler Dragon ranks five teams currently in their offseasons that have the best chance to reach the postseason next year.
➤ Mock draft: While events such as the Senior Bowl, scouting combine and pro days — not to mention free agency — will surely provide critical insights, many fans are already wondering if their team can land a top talent.
NFL playoff schedule
WILD CARD WEEKEND
Saturday
- Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens, 8 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime Video)
Sunday
- Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8 p.m. ET (NBC)
Monday
- Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams (in Arizona), 8 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN)
DIVISIONAL ROUND
Saturday, Jan. 18
- TBD vs. TBD
- TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, Jan. 19
- TBD vs. TBD
- TBD vs. TBD
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday, Jan. 26
- AFC championship game, time TBD (CBS)
- NFC championship game, time TBD (FOX)
SUPER BOWL 59
Sunday, Feb. 9
- AFC champion vs. NFC champion, 6:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
📆 Complete NFL playoff bracket, schedule and odds
NFL classic: Straight from the YouTube algorithm 🏈🎞️
This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall a classic, memorable game from yesteryear.
The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles have three previous playoff meetings, including in the 1960 NFL championship, in which the Eagles delivered the only playoff defeat ever experienced by the Vince Lombardi-coached Packers.
But, we're here to talk about another memorable encounter between these two NFL flagship franchises ...
Let's fast forward to the big moment ...
The Eagles were down 17-14 and had the ball with a little more than a minute remaining in a 2003 NFC divisional playoff game against the Packers. A second-down sack of Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb by the Packers' Bhawoh Jue pushed Philly back 16 yards and an incomplete pass on third down set up a desperate fourth-and-26 situation. Somehow, McNabb connected with receiver Freddie Mitchell for a 28-yard gain, kept the drive going and eventually led to David Akers' game-tying field goal as time expired. In overtime, a (stop us if you've heard this before) ill-advised interception thrown by Packers quarterback Brett Favre set up the Eagles for the winning score, another field goal from Akers.
The Eagles prevailed, 20-17, in the playoff classic and advanced to their third straight NFC championship game. The Carolina Panthers knocked off the Eagles to advance to Super Bowl 38, which the New England Patriots won for what was the second of Tom Brady's seven Super Bowl wins.
📸 NFL teams wearing alternate or throwback uniforms
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