NFL Playoff Schedule 2023: AFC, NFC Bracket Details and Latest Picks
The best part of the NFL season is nearly here. In a little more than a week, the playoffs will get underway, with 14 teams beginning a quest to try to win a Super Bowl championship.
Before that point, though, the postseason field still needs to be finalized. There are three playoff berths up for grabs, and some seeding battles are still taking place. So quite a bit will be at stake in Week 18 of the regular season, which will unfold over Saturday and Sunday.
Here's a look at the upcoming postseason schedule, the playoff picture for each conference and predictions for how the brackets will shake out.
Full NFL Playoff Schedule
1 of 3
Wild-Card Round
Saturday, Jan. 14
4:30 p.m. ET: TBD on CBS, Fox or NBC
8:15 p.m. ET: TBD on CBS, Fox or NBC
Sunday, Jan. 15
1 p.m. ET: TBD on CBS, Fox or NBC
4:30 p.m. ET: TBD on CBS
8:15 p.m. ET: TBD on NBC
Monday, Jan. 16
8 p.m. ET: TBD on ESPN
Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 21
Game times TBD
Sunday, Jan. 22
Game times TBD
Conference Championships
Sunday, Jan. 29
3:05 p.m. ET: AFC Championship Game on CBS
6:40 p.m. ET: NFC Championship Game on Fox
Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 12
6:30 p.m. ET: Super Bowl LVII on Fox
AFC Playoff Picture, Predictions
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Bye: No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (13-3, clinched AFC West)
No. 2 Buffalo Bills (12-3, clinched AFC East) vs. No. 7 New England Patriots (8-8)
No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, clinched playoff berth) vs. No. 6 Baltimore Ravens (10-6, clinched playoff berth)
No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8) vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, clinched playoff berth)
In the hunt: Miami Dolphins (8-8), Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8), Tennessee Titans (7-9)
Predictions
1. Kansas City
2. Buffalo
3. Cincinnati
4. Jacksonville
5. Los Angeles
6. Baltimore
7. Miami
For the first time since the 2017 season, the Jaguars will be heading to the playoffs. And they'll be doing so as the AFC South champion.
Saturday night's Tennessee-Jacksonville matchup has the AFC South title on the line. The winner will capture that crown and the No. 4 seed in the conference. If the Titans lose, their season is over. If the Jags lose, they would need the Patriots, Dolphins and Steelers to all lose in order to still be a wild-card team as the No. 7 seed.
But Jacksonville won't have to worry about that. It should have no trouble taking down an injury-riddled Tennessee squad that will be starting Joshua Dobbs at quarterback for the second consecutive week.
While the Titans have lost six straight games, the Jags have won four in a row and six of their past eight. Expect quarterback Trevor Lawrence to lead Jacksonville to a sizable victory.
As for the No. 7 seed, the prediction here is that it will end up going to the Dolphins.
The Patriots can secure that berth with a win, but they have a challenging road matchup vs. the Bills. New England will lose, which will mean a Miami win over the Jets would award the Dolphins the final playoff spot in the AFC.
Miami has lost five consecutive games and will be starting either Teddy Bridgewater or Skylar Thompson at QB in place of Tua Tagovailoa (concussion protocol). But the Dolphins have enough playmakers on both sides of the ball to beat the Jets and secure their first postseason berth since the 2016 season.
The only way the Steelers can get into the playoffs is with a home win over the Browns and losses by both the Patriots and the Dolphins. So with a Miami victory, Pittsburgh will be left out, even if it beats Cleveland (which it should).
NFC Playoff Picture, Predictions
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Bye: No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, clinched playoff berth)
No. 2 San Francisco 49ers (12-4, clinched NFC West) vs. No. 7 Seattle Seahawks (8-8)
No. 3 Minnesota Vikings (12-4, clinched NFC North) vs. No. 6 New York Giants (9-6-1, clinched playoff berth)
No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8, clinched NFC South) vs. No. 5 Dallas Cowboys (12-4, clinched playoff berth)
In the hunt: Detroit Lions (8-8), Green Bay Packers (8-8)
Predictions
1. Philadelphia
2. San Francisco
3. Minnesota
4. Tampa Bay
5. Dallas
6. New York
7. Green Bay
The Eagles lost in each of the past two weeks (against the Cowboys and Saints) despite having an opportunity to clinch the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the conference with a win both times. Philadelphia will again be in that position this week, and it shouldn't fail again.
Whether quarterback Jalen Hurts (right shoulder sprain) returns to action or not, the Eagles should defeat the Giants, who are locked into the No. 6 seed with no added incentive to win. Because of that, Philadelphia will win at home and secure the lone first-round bye in the NFC.
With the Eagles winning, the rest of the NFC seedings will mostly stay the same. The 49ers should beat the Cardinals to lock in the No. 2 spot, while the Cowboys will have nowhere to move whether they defeat the Commanders or not.
The No. 7 seed could go to the Seahawks, Lions or Packers. But the only one of those three teams in control of its own destiny is Green Bay.
It won't matter what happens in Sunday's Rams-Seahawks game, as the Packers will capture the third and final wild-card berth with a win on Sunday night. Green Bay is looking to avenge its Week 9 loss to Detroit, and it will do so in front of the fans at Lambeau Field.
The Packers have won four straight games to get back into the playoff picture. And with the leadership of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay will halt the momentum of Detroit (which has won seven of its past nine) to reach the postseason for the fourth straight year
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