NFL Playoff Bracket 2024: Latest Picture, Schedule After Divisional Results

Erin WalshJan 14, 2024

And then there were four.

The Baltimore Ravens opened Saturday's slate with a 34-10 win over the Houston Texans in an AFC Divisional round matchup at M&T Bank Stadium to clinch a berth in the AFC Championship game for the first time since the 2012 campaign when they last won the Super Bowl.

The San Francisco 49ers followed that up with a huge 24-21 comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional round at Levi's Stadium to secure a berth in the NFC Championship game for the third straight season.

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They will be joined by the Detroit Lions, who defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 in Sunday's showdown.

And the Kansas City Chiefs are still alive in their pursuit of back-to-back titles thanks to their dramatic 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills in the final Divisional Round game. They will face the Ravens with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line.

Here's a recap of all the action, a look at the updated playoff picture and a peek into the remaining postseason schedule.

Lions 31, Buccaneers 23

The dream continues for Detroit.

While the Lions never trailed in their victory over the Buccaneers, the game was very much in doubt until Derrick Barnes intercepted Baker Mayfield in the final two minutes. It was the first time all game the visitors didn't have an answer after they fell behind.

When Jared Goff found Josh Reynolds for a go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter, Mayfield responded with a touchdown pass to Cade Otton before halftime. When Craig Reynolds gave the Lions the lead with a touchdown run in the third quarter, Rachaad White hauled in a touchdown from Mayfield right before the fourth.

Even when Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown scored back-to-back touchdowns to open up a seemingly safe 14-point lead in the fourth, Mayfield responded by hitting Evans for a touchdown.

Tampa Bay even got the ball back in the final minutes with a chance to tie it and force overtime, but Barnes delivered.

Goff was excellent and completed 30-of-43 passes for 287 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. While the defense gave up 349 yards and three scores to Mayfield through the air, it intercepted him twice to secure the win.

Next up is a matchup with the 49ers for the right to play in the Super Bowl.

Chiefs 27, Bills 24

"Wide right" are nightmare words for Buffalo fans, and they had to hear them again Sunday.

Josh Allen drove the Bills into field-goal range late in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie it and perhaps force overtime, but Tyler Bass missed the 44-yarder. All the Chiefs needed from there was one first down to ice it, and they picked it up thanks to Isiah Pacheco.

It was the end of an incredible back-and-forth contest that saw Patrick Mahomes go 17-of-23 for 215 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions while Josh Allen went 26-of-39 for 186 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions with 72 yards and two scores on the ground.

Travis Kelce hauled in two touchdowns for the Chiefs, while Pacheco impressed with 97 yards and a score on the ground.

Lead changes were the name of the game, as five straight touchdowns during the second, third and fourth quarters flipped the lead before the Bills were finally unable to answer with their final drive.

And now they are left to think about that field goal for the rest of the offseason.

Ravens 34, Texans 10

A magical year has come to an end for the Texans, but the Ravens are only getting started following a big divisional round win on Saturday night that ensures the AFC Championship game will be played in Baltimore.

After entering halftime tied 10-10, the Ravens played a dominant second half to get star quarterback Lamar Jackson his first home playoff win.

Jackson led the Ravens on a touchdown drive to kickoff the third quarter, giving Baltimore a 17-10 lead, which they would not give up.

After the Baltimore defense forced the Texans to punt on their first second-half possession, Jackson again led a touchdown drive to put the Ravens up 24-10 as he found tight end Isaiah Likely for a 15-yard score.

Jackson put the game out of reach for Houston late in the fourth quarter with an eight-yard rushing touchdown. He finished the game having completed 16 of 22 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 100 yards and two scores on 11 carries.

It should also be noted that the Baltimore defense was fantastic in the second half and didn't allow the Texans a single red zone snap after halftime.

Jackson and the Ravens will now shift their focus to the championship game, where they will host the winner of Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.

49ers 24, Packers 21

It wasn't a pretty win by any means, but Brock Purdy and the 49ers got the job done late in the fourth quarter to punch their ticket to the NFC Championship game.

The 49ers trailed the Packers 21-14 in the third quarter before Purdy led San Francisco on what is being described as a "legacy" touchdown drive with time ticking down in the fourth quarter.

With 1:07 remaining in the final frame, star running back Christian McCaffrey charged into the end zone on a six-yard touchdown run to secure the win for San Francisco.

Purdy struggled through much of Saturday's game, but he was able to put the team on his back when it mattered most, and that's really all that matters.

Now that the team has secured a berth in the next round, Purdy can review film and get back on the practice field this week in hopes of improving upon his shaky performance.

San Francisco awaits the result of Sunday's matchup between the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to see who they will be playing next weekend.

Texans 45, Browns 14 (Wild Card)

For the first time since the 2019 season, the Texans are into the divisional round following a 45-14 win over the Browns on Saturday.

Houston was dominant en route to securing a berth in the next round as star quarterback C.J. Stroud continued to prove why he's the likely Offensive Rookie of the Year. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

Wide receiver Nico Collins was Stroud's top target as he finished with six catches for 96 yards and one touchdown. Brevin Jordan, Devin Singletary and Dalton Schultz also recorded touchdowns.

One of the biggest moments of the game came in the third quarter when Texans cornerback Steven Nelson intercepted Browns quarterback Joe Flacco for a pick-six. On the following drive, Houston linebacker Christian Harris intercepted Flacco for another pick-six to put the game out of reach for Cleveland.

What Stroud and the Texans have been able to accomplish in his first season has been nothing short of incredible, and now they'll get to compete for a spot in the AFC Championship Game, which is something that was entirely out of the question one year ago.

Chiefs 26, Dolphins 7 (Wild Card)

The Chiefs continued their recent run of playoff success with a 26-7 win over the Dolphins on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium, and the matchup was largely uncompetitive as Kansas City cruised to victory.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 23 of 41 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown in the win, in addition to rushing for 41 yards.

Wide receiver Rashee Rice also had his best game of the year—perhaps proving he can be Mahomes' go-to guy alongside tight end Travis Kelce down the stretch—catching eight passes for 130 yards and one score.

One of the craziest moments of the game came in the third quarter when Mahomes' helmet shattered on a helmet-to-helmet hit by Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott. Luckily the veteran wasn't injured and remained in the game.

The Chiefs will now look to punch their ticket into the AFC Championship Game for the sixth straight season with a win in the divisional round.

As for the Dolphins, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is now 1-7 in games played in sub-50 degree weather, which has sparked a discussion about whether he should remain Miami's franchise signal-caller.

The Dolphins have many questions to answer entering 2024 as their high-powered offense failed to produce in a big game, but who will be their starting quarterback moving forward isn't one of them—Tagovailoa is the guy, at least for now.

Packers 48, Cowboys 32 (Wild Card)

The Cowboys didn't lose a single home game throughout the regular season.

So much for that.

The Packers jumped out to a stunning 27-0 lead in the first half after a pick-six from Darnell Savage and never looked back. Aaron Jones ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns, while Jordan Love threw for 272 yards and three more scores.

Dak Prescott ended up putting up solid numbers with 403 passing yards, but much of that was because the Cowboys were in comeback mode throughout and needing to overcome his two interceptions and poor play from their defense.

Now there are questions about the future in Dallas following another disappointing playoff exit, while the Packers will continue in their underdog role.

Lions 24, Rams 23 (Wild Card)

There was no shortage of storylines coming into this one.

Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff were traded for each other and playing against their former teams, while the Lions were going for their first playoff victory since the 1991 campaign.

The crowd responded accordingly and was loud from the opening kickoff.

Detroit jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and needed a late defensive stop in the fourth quarter to hang onto a one-point win. Goff threw for 277 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions, while Stafford threw for 367 yards, two touchdowns and zero picks.

Ultimately, it was a completion from Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the final minutes that clinched the win and earned the Lions another playoff game in front of their crowd.

Bills 31, Steelers 17 (Wild Card)

There is no such thing as a moral victory in the playoffs, but the Steelers can at least take solace knowing they weren't completely blown out.

It seemed like they would be when the Bills jumped out to a 21-0 lead after Josh Allen's 52-yard touchdown run, but a blocked field goal temporarily turned the game around for the visitors.

Pittsburgh closed the deficit to one score in the fourth quarter, although Khalil Shakir's late touchdown catch iced it for Buffalo.

Allen ended up throwing for three touchdowns and running for another and will now have the opportunity to face Mahomes in the Divisional Round in a highly anticipated quarterback showdown.

Buccaneers 32, Eagles 9 (Wild Card)

The Eagles are going to want to forget about the end of the 2023 campaign.

Things looked great when they were 10-1 and possibly headed to a second straight Super Bowl appearance, but they dropped five of their final six regular-season games before getting blown out in Monday's playoff game against Tampa Bay.

Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, while the Buccaneers defense held Philadelphia scoreless in the second half. That defense also scored on its own with a safety on an intentional grounding from Jalen Hurts in the end zone and set the tone throughout the game.

Philadelphia was without star wide receiver A.J. Brown, but it was more of the same after its late season collapse.

Updated Playoff Picture

The Ravens will face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game on their home turf.

Fans are in for what should be an incredible quarterback matchup between Jackson and Mahomes.

The same can be said for the 49ers, who will be hosting the Lions. While the level of quarterback play in the NFC Championship game isn't expected to be the same as in the AFC, it should still be a good game no matter which team moves on.