NFL playoffs 2018: Bracket, schedule, scores, and more
The road to the Super Bowl got started with victories for the Titans, Falcons, and Jaguars in the Wild Card Round.
Thirty-two teams began the 2017 season. Only a dozen continued in the playoffs. The NFL regular season is over, and now the league’s best teams have been dropped into the lose-and-go-home forge that creates Super Bowl champions.
The defending-champion Patriots are back for their ninth straight playoff appearance (and 14th in the past 15 years). They hold down the AFC’s top seed, which means like last winter, the road to the conference title runs through Foxborough, Mass. They’ll play host to the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round.
In the AFC Wild Card Round, the Marcus Mariota-led Titans came back to stun the Kansas City Chiefs. The game was a lot like Kansas City’s season, with the Chiefs taking a huge early lead followed closely by a total collapse.
The Steelers, who suffered a painful defeat at home against New England earlier this season, have the conference’s other first-round bye. Their first game this postseason will be a rematch against a surprising Jaguars team whose top-ranked defense has pushed the franchise to its first postseason trip since 2007. Jacksonville beat up on Pittsburgh, 30-9, in Week 5 at Heinz Field.
The Jags battled the Bills in a low-scoring, but fun in unusual ways, playoff game. It was a long time coming for the Bills, who made their first postseason appearance since January 2000 and got there thanks to Andy Dalton and the Bengals pulling off an unlikely comeback against the Ravens in the final week of the regular season. But they couldn’t get past the AFC South champs in the Wild Card Round.
The Eagles are the top seed on the other side of the league, but may not be the favorite to escape the bracket and fly to the Super Bowl. Philadelphia surrounded second-year quarterback Carson Wentz with talent, then watched that strategy pay dividends as the young passer developed into an MVP candidate in the team’s 11-2 start.
But Wentz was lost to the season due to a torn ACL, and now the No. 2 seed Vikings will have a tremendous opportunity to be the first team to ever play a Super Bowl on their home field. Behind them, a resurgent Rams team with its own impressive sophomore quarterback, Jared Goff, and a punishing defense made the playoffs for the first time since the 2004 season.
Unfortunately for the Rams, they couldn’t secure their first playoff win in 13 years. They played host to the Falcons, whose Week 17 victory over the Panthers punched their playoff ticket. Atlanta led the entire game, beating the Rams 26-13 in Los Angeles. Next up, the Falcons will travel to face the Wentz-less Eagles.
The NFC South, 2017’s toughest division, gave us a season-long war between the Saints and Panthers that wasn’t decided until Week 17 concluded. New Orleans ended up winning the division title, but will meet Carolina for a third time in the Wild Card Round. The winner of that game will move on to play the Vikings in the next round.
Super Bowl 52 kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Wild Card Round
AFC byes: New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC byes: Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings
Saturday, Jan. 6
GAME 1: Tennessee Titans 22, Kansas City Chiefs 21
GAME 2: Atlanta Falcons 26, Los Angeles Rams 13
Sunday, Jan. 7
GAME 3: Jacksonville Jaguars 10, Buffalo Bills 3
GAME 4: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints, 4:40 p.m., FOX
Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 13
GAME 5: Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:35 p.m., NBC
GAME 6: Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots, 8:15 p.m., CBS
Sunday, Jan. 14
GAME 7: Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1:05 p.m., CBS
GAME 8: Carolina Panthers/New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings, 4:40 p.m., FOX
Championship Round
Sunday, Jan. 21
AFC Championship: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 3:05 p.m., CBS
NFC Championship: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6:40 p.m., FOX
Super Bowl 52
Sunday, Feb. 4
AFC Champion vs. NFC Champion, 6:30 p.m., NBC
All times are Eastern.