2025 NFL Wild-Card Weekend: Ranking All Six Games From Worst to Best

From a heated divisional rivalry to defensive chess matches, here’s which wild-card round games are the most—and least—entertaining.

For the first time since 2023, the Eagles and the 49ers will meet head-to-head as Philadelphia begins its title defense. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

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Fourteen teams still have a dream of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of this season. By Monday night’s end, only eight will remain alive.

The 2025 wild-card weekend starts on Saturday with the Rams visiting the NFC South–champion Panthers before the Bears host the Packers in an NFC North showdown. 

On Sunday, the tripleheader begins with the Jaguars and Bills in Jacksonville, followed by the Eagles and 49ers in Philadelphia. The nightcap gives us the second-seeded Patriots hosting the Chargers at Gillette Stadium. Finally, the Texans visit the Steelers on Monday evening to close out the wild-card round.

Below we rank all six games in terms of watchability from least to most enticing, starting with the game in Charlotte.

6. Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers

Game info: Saturday, Jan. 10, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX

Spread: Rams -10.5

These two teams met on the final day of November, with the Rams coming off an enormous win over the Buccaneers. However, the Panthers met the challenge and halted the L.A. hype train, winning 31–28 on a game-winning field goal. Matthew Stafford committed three turnovers in the defeat. 

At 8–9, Carolina is the worst team in the playoffs. The Panthers have a negative point differential and a quarterback in Bryce Young who is likely to see his fifth-year option declined this offseason. Carolina also has just one receiver with more than 400 receiving yards. 

The Panthers get a Rams team that’s not playing its best football coming into the playoffs with losses in Weeks 16 and 17, but is still arguably the most talented group remaining. Provided Stafford doesn’t have a trio of turnovers, Los Angeles should win going away with better offensive and defensive units, along with far more playoff experience. 

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5. Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers

Game info: Monday, Jan. 12, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN

Spread: Texans -3.5

This should be a defensive battle in Pittsburgh, with the Steelers and Texans matching excellent pass rushes come Monday night. 

The Steelers are 10–7 and have one of the better edge trios in the league with Alex Highsmith, T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig, who combined for 23 sacks and 56 quarterback hits this season. Conversely, Houston has the NFL’s top duo with Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, totaling 27 sacks and 45 QB hits of their own. 

For Pittsburgh, the key will be getting the ball out quickly. Nobody has fewer air yards per attempt (min. 200 throws) than Aaron Rodgers at 6.0. Unloading fast while mixing in a running game led by Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell is key to neutralizing the pass rush, while Houston will attempt to play aggressive coverage, forcing Rodgers to hold onto the ball.

The game may well come down to when the Texans have the ball. C.J. Stroud has a legit weapon in receiver Nico Collins, who totaled 1,117 yards on 71 receptions in the regular season. However, Houston needs more and that could come in the form of rookie second-round receiver Jayden Higgins, who caught 27 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns over the last nine regular-season games.

The Packers and Bears will meet for the third time this season but just the second time ever in the postseason. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

4. Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

Game info: Saturday, Jan. 10, 8 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime 

Spread: Bears -1.5

The oldest rivalry in football is renewed once more, and for only the second time ever in the postseason. 

In Chicago, the Bears and Packers will be playing for the third time in the past 34 days. In the first matchup, Green Bay held serve at Lambeau Field with Keisean Nixon intercepting Caleb Williams on fourth-and-goal to preserve a 28–21 victory. Two weeks later, the rematch was an instant classic. Trailing by 10 points with two minutes remaining, Chicago tied the game and then won on a 46-yard touchdown catch in overtime by DJ Moore. 

This time around, can Caleb Williams produce for a full 60 minutes? In the first half of Chicago’s loss at Green Bay, he threw for 32 yards before amassing 154 yards in the final 30 minutes. In the Bears’ victory, Williams had 151 passing yards at the two-minute warning before totaling 99 yards and two touchdowns afterwards. 

If Williams is limited for much of the game as he was the first two times out against defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Chicago will have a tough time winning the rubber match.

3. Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots

Game info: Sunday, Jan. 11, 8 p.m. ET, NBC

Spread: Patriots -3.5

The Patriots are arguably the best team in the AFC, holding the same record as Denver while having excellent balance. 

New England boasts an MVP-level quarterback in Drake Maye, who threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns as part of a 14-win season. He has a pair of terrific weapons in receiver Stefon Diggs and running back TreVeyon Henderson, with the two combining for 2,145 total yards and 14 touchdowns. 

All told, the offense ranks third in yards per game (379.4) while the defense is eighth (295.2 yards allowed). In points, the Patriots are in the top five on both sides of the ball, something only the Seahawks can also claim. 

For the Chargers to pull the upset, they’ll need to take advantage of New England’s weak offensive line. The Patriots have allowed 48 sacks, ninth-most in the league. Los Angeles is tied for 10th defensively with 45 sacks, led by Tuli Tuipulotu with 13. If Tuipulotu, Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh can create havoc and perhaps a turnover or two, the Chargers are live underdogs.

Despite being the No. 6 seed in the AFC, Josh Allen and the Bills have immense pressure going into this year’s playoffs. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

2. Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars

Game info: Sunday, Jan. 11, 1 p.m. ET, CBS

Spread: Bills -1.5

No player is under more pressure in the playoffs than Josh Allen. 

Allen, in the midst of his eighth NFL season and sixth consecutive playoff appearance, finds himself in a challenging and enviable position. The Bills are the sixth seed and on the road as a wild-card team, likely having to win three consecutive games away from home to reach the Super Bowl. Only four teams have ever run such a table including the 2005 Steelers, ’07 Giants, ’10 Packers and ’20 Buccaneers. 

However, Allen and the Bills don’t have their annual bogeyman awaiting them. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs failed to qualify for the postseason, something also true of Joe Burrow’s Bengals and Lamar Jackson’s Ravens. In short, anything less than a Super Bowl appearance would be a failure. 

The first step is attempting to get past a Jacksonville team which has won eight straight, riding the hot hand of Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence has thrown for 15 touchdowns against one interception over the past six games, with the Jaguars winning those tilts by an average of 20.1 points per game. For the Bills, though, the key could be stopping 1,000-yard back Travis Etienne, who faces the 30th-ranked rushing defense by yards per carry allowed (5.1).

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1. San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles

Game info: Sunday, Jan. 11, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX

Spread: Eagles -4.5

Three years ago, this was the NFC championship game. Brock Purdy got hurt and the Eagles won going away, 31–7. 

This time around, the 49ers and Eagles meet in the wild-card round with a lot of the same stars back for the rematch. Purdy and the Niners return to Philadelphia with Christian McCaffrey as the main weapon for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to neutralize, after McCaffrey finished second in scrimmage yards in 2025 with 2,126.

If the Eagles can bottle up McCaffrey, the next order of business is getting the offense going. Despite having a trio of 1,000-yard weapons in running back Saquon Barkley and receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, the Eagles rank 24th offensively (311.2 yards per game), along with 19th in scoring (22.3 points per game).

The best matchup of the weekend might well come down to which offensive stars can shine through against the units led by Fangio and San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, two of the best minds in the business. 

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