NFL Playoff Picture 2023: Postseason Scenarios and Wild-Card Bracket

The Green Bay Packers needed a win to reach the NFL playoffs. The Detroit Lions prevented that from happening. And because of that, the Seattle Seahawks are heading to the postseason.

Sunday night brought a thrilling conclusion to the 2022 NFL regular season, as the Lions went on the road and denied the Packers of an NFC wild-card berth, winning 20-16 at Lambeau Field. That awarded the No. 7 seed in the conference to the Seahawks, who defeated the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 in overtime at Lumen Field earlier in the day.

With Seattle in, the 14-team field for the playoffs is now set. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are the No. 1 seeds, while the other 12 teams will all be in action for Wild-Card Round matchups during the upcoming weekend.

Here's everything else you need to know heading into the start of this year's NFL playoffs.

Wild-Card Round Schedule

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ATLANTA, GA JANUARY 08: The NFL logo during the NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons on January 8th, 2023 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Saturday, Jan. 14

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox

Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC

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Sunday, Jan. 15

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET, CBS

New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC

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Monday, Jan. 16

Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC

AFC Playoff Picture, Scenarios

AP Photo/John Locher

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes drops back to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bye: No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (14-3)

No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-3) vs. No. 7 Miami Dolphins (9-8)

No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals (12-4) vs. No. 6 Baltimore Ravens (10-7)

No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8) vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)

The Chiefs will be the only AFC playoff team out of action this weekend, as they'll wait to find out who they'll play in the Divisional Round. Kansas City will take on the lowest-seeded remaining team, which could be Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Baltimore or Miami.

If the Dolphins can go on the road and upset the Bills, they'd then have to go to Kansas City for their next postseason matchup. Miami and Buffalo split their regular-season series, but it's unclear whether Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (concussion protocol) will be back on the field for the playoffs.

There's a good chance that the Bills and the Bengals could face off in the Divisional Round, as they'll both be heavy favorites to win in the Wild-Card Round. The Week 17 matchup between Buffalo and Cincinnati was canceled after that game had previously been suspended when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest.

That cancellation could have an impact on the AFC Championship Game. If Kansas City and Buffalo both reach that point, then the contest will be held at a neutral site, due to the Bills playing one fewer regular-season game.

One of the more intriguing matchups during the Wild-Card Round will be the game between the Jaguars and Chargers. It will mark the playoff debuts for both Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence and Los Angeles' Justin Herbert, two of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.

Like the Buffalo-Miami contest, the Cincinnati-Baltimore matchup will be a battle between division rivals. Like Miami and Buffalo, the Bengals and Ravens split their regular-season series, with the Bengals coming out with a 27-16 win in Week 18. Now, the AFC North foes will meet on the same field in Cincinnati seven days later with much higher stakes.

NFC Playoff Picture, Scenarios

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 08: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) during pregame of the National Football league game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles on January 8, 2023 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Bye: No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)

No. 2 San Francisco 49ers (13-4) vs. No. 7 Seattle Seahawks (9-8)

No. 3 Minnesota Vikings (13-4) vs. No. 6 New York Giants (9-7-1)

No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) vs. No. 5 Dallas Cowboys (12-5)

The Eagles snapped their two-game losing streak with a Week 18 home win over the Giants, clinching both the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the conference in the process. Philadelphia now has a week to rest, which could benefit quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has been dealing with a right shoulder sprain that caused him to miss Weeks 16 and 17.

In the Divisional Round, the Eagles will face either the Buccaneers, Cowboys, Giants or Seahawks. So there's a decent chance Philadelphia could take on an NFC East rival (Dallas or New York).

If the 49ers and Vikings both win, they'll then play each other in San Francisco in the Divisional Round. That could be an exciting matchup between two teams that didn't face off in the regular season and are both 13-4 division champions.

The Seahawks have already lost to the 49ers twice this season. But if they can pull off an upset in the Wild-Card Round, they'd advance to take on the Eagles in Philadelphia the following weekend.

The Tampa Bay-Dallas contest is a rematch from Week 1 of the regular season. The Buccaneers won that game 19-3, but the Cowboys went on to have a much better year. Yet, the Bucs get to host the playoff matchup as the NFC South champion and No. 4 seed.

Of the 14 teams in the postseason field, Tampa Bay is the only one that enters the playoffs with a losing record. The Buccaneers have lost four of their past seven games and haven't won more than two consecutive games all season. So they'll need to get truly hot for the first time in order to have a deep postseason run.