NFL Playoffs Begin With Two Saturday Games

Two games featuring NFC rivals and AFC upstarts kick off the NFL playoffs.

With 18 weeks of NFL regular season play in the books, the playoffs start on Saturday, Jan. 14 with a pair of wild-card round games. This year, wild-card weekend will run from Saturday through Monday, with Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN/ABC all broadcasting NFL playoff games. Saturday features games from both the AFC and NFC: one battle between two upstart franchises, and another between division rivals. The Seahawks travel to the 49ers in the afternoon, followed by a prime-time matchup between the Jaguars and Chargers.

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Seahawks at 49ers, 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

Seattle (9–8) snuck into the playoffs in their first year of the post-Russell Wilson era, thanks to a surprising breakout season by former backup Geno Smith. He won’t have an easy task ahead of him against Nick Bosa and a fierce San Francisco (13–4) defense, and an offense that has been humming with rookie, former seventh-round pick Brock Purdy behind center. The 49ers were 2–0 against their NFC West rival this year, winning the two games by a total of 28 points.

Chargers at Jaguars, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC)

Year one of the Doug Pederson era was a rousing success in Jacksonville (9–8), as Trevor Lawrence took a major leap in his second NFL season, leading the team to a surprising AFC South division title. As a result, they scored a home game against a talented Los Angeles (10–7) team led by another quarterback known for his big arm and long locks, Justin Herbert. The Chargers are 2.5-point road favorites, per SI Sportsbook, and this definitely feels like the bigger coin flip of the day’s lineup. In a September matchup between the two, it was the Jaguars that rolled 38–10 behind 262 passing yards and three touchdown passes by Lawrence.