NFL Playoffs Begin With Two Saturday Games
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.
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.
