1 Thought on Every NFL Playoff Team Entering 2025 Wild Card Weekend

Fourteen teams. Thirteen games, spanning a period of 30 days that culminates at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on February 9.

Five franchises (Lions, Bills, Vikings, Chargers, Texans) can win their first-ever Vince Lombardi Trophy, while one (Pittsburgh) can become the first to capture seven of them.

History will be made one way or another, especially if the Chiefs complete the first three-peat in Super Bowl history. But they're not the favorites this time around and are instead one of a handful of teams (along with Detroit, Buffalo, Baltimore and Philadelphia) with Super Bowl odds below +750.

Oh, and we've got two rookie quarterbacks involved: Jayden Daniels for Washington and Bo Nix for Denver.

It's going to be a scene.

Before it all gets underway, we're here with one final thought per playoff team.

AFC East

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Josh Allen

Buffalo Bills

It sure feels like their year. The defense has its moments, but MVP favorite Josh Allen enters the postseason having posted a combined 17 passing/rushing touchdowns to one interception in his last five games.

And while the quarterback has never been able to get the Bills to the Super Bowl thus far in his career, keep in mind he's balled out with a career 21-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the playoffs.

AFC North

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Lamar Jackson

Baltimore Ravens

You won't find many No. 3 seeds as good as the Ravens, who sport the reigning MVP at quarterback but also put together a campaign in which they hammered fellow playoff teams Houston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Denver and the Chargers.

They're also playing their best football right now, having outscored their last four opponents 135-43. It's just brutal luck that this is all happening in a conference with Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

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Pittsburgh Steelers

It's always been a season that screams "one and done," which aligns with them being a two-score underdog Saturday night in Baltimore.

Anything can happen in a matchup like that, but the Steelers have a ceiling on both sides of the ball. They haven't scored more than 17 points since Week 14, and the defense fell apart in December.

AFC South

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C.J. Stroud

Houston Texans

This entire season in Houston defined "sophomore slump," and the Texans are only here because the rest of the AFC South was a mess.

They have the talent to beat the Los Angeles Chargers, especially with home-field advantage, but there's also a pretty glaring ceiling here.

If I was a Texans fan, I'd already be concerning myself with how they fix this in 2025 more than relishing their chances this month.

AFC West

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Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh

Denver Broncos

Sean Payton is bolstering his Hall of Fame credentials by the day. Denver isn't a team that was supposed to make the playoffs, but it's hung in all season and deserves plenty of credit.

That said, it's hard to trust a rookie quarterback in a playoff spot like this and that once-awesome Broncos defense has come back to earth of late.

Their offseason starts on Monday morning.

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Kansas City Chiefs

If not for their track record and that wild horseshoe that has followed them throughout the 2024 campaign, few would view the Chiefs as a true Super Bowl threat. But they're the two-time defending champs and again a No. 1 seed.

They deserve credit for simply knowing how to win. Patrick Mahomes led an NFL-high seven game-winning drives as the Chiefs posted five fourth-quarter comebacks and went 11-0 in one-score games. The quarterback also put up a 110.4 passer rating on third down.

You can't count 'em out.

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Los Angeles Chargers

The power of Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert and a strong defense could make the Chargers a potential spoiler—not only in Houston on Saturday but also in Kansas City if they're the only AFC wild-card team to win this weekend.

They're very familiar with the vulnerable Chiefs, with their last three matchups being decided by a grand total of 10 points.

I'd love to see a Chargers-Chiefs meeting in the divisional round, and I wouldn't rule out a surprise appearance in the AFC Championship Game for the Bolts.

NFC East

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Jayden Daniels

Philadelphia Eagles

It looks as though Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown will be healthy enough just in the nick of time. That said, not having a bye hurts a Philadelphia team that is far from 100 percent and now has to deal with the talented and feisty Packers.

I'm not saying the Eagles are in trouble, but a classic slow start and/or some rust against Green Bay could force them to exert more energy than they'd prefer on Wild Card Weekend—all while the Lions are resting.

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Washington Commanders

On Sunday night, Jayden Daniels will become the 28th rookie quarterback to start an NFL playoff game.

A rookie starter has never quarterbacked his team to the Super Bowl, and the odds are stacked against the LSU product as Washington is a sixth seed. But the 24-year-old has been remarkable, and this team has had plenty of magic in 2024.

At the very least, Daniels and the Commanders have what it takes for him to become the 12th rookie QB to win a playoff game (13th if Bo Nix pulls it off on Saturday).

Beyond that, they'd have to hope for a Green Bay upset of Philly so they could avoid Detroit and play the winner of Vikings-Rams in the divisional round.

NFC North

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Jordan Love

Detroit Lions

Even if we've gotten used to Detroit being good, it's odd to step back on the eve of a playoffs and note that the Lions are the Super Bowl favorite.

However, when you're in a division like this and you've had injuries like they have had and you win 15 games while outscoring your opponents by a comfortable league-best 13.1 points per game, you've earned it.

A Bills-Lions Super Bowl remains a strong possibility, and it doesn't get a lot better than that in terms of a battle of lovable longtime losers.

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Green Bay Packers

A deep run is pretty unlikely at this point, especially if Jordan Love is less than 100 percent.

You never know with a team that rarely turns it over of late and consistently gets takeaways on defense. But if I were a Packers fan, I'd be more concerned about the quarterback's chances of staying healthy and consistent in the long term.

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Minnesota Vikings

The NFL's first-ever 14-win wild-card team had a magical and unexpected run this year, but it increasingly feels as though it's coming to an end. Wrong division, wrong time.

And now possibly wrong opponent, wrong time. The Rams are playing very well, and we know they have the experience on offense combined with an emerging defense.

NFC South

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Baker Mayfield

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It's wild that they continue to find a way to win this division and get into the playoffs year after year, even as the core ages and the roster becomes thinner altogether.

Are they a Super Bowl team? No.

Could they put up some fight and even do some surprise damage? Considering Baker Mayfield was the league's fourth-highest-rated passer and the offense ranked fourth in points per game, absolutely.

NFC West

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Sean McVay

Los Angeles Rams

Excluding a somewhat meaningless Week 18 game in which they took their foot off the gas, the Rams enter the playoffs having given up just 24 points in their last three outings.

The defensive front has become stellar since its wakeup call against the Bills last month. Despite allowing 42 points, L.A. still managed to win that game by reminding us that its offense can still ball out as well.

Watch out for the Rams.