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NFL Playoff Picture 2020: Postseason Scenarios and Wild-Card Bracket
December 30, 2019
The AFC South went 2-0 against the AFC East on Saturday as the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans took down the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, respectively, to kick off the NFL postseason.
The Wild Card Round surprises continued Sunday, with the Minnesota Vikings upsetting the New Orleans Saints in overtime.
The lone rematch of the entire weekend is Sunday's second game featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.
Heading into the postseason, here are the playoff standings for the AFC and NFC, the schedule for the Wild Card Round and a look at each of those four matchups.
AFC Playoff Standings
1. Baltimore (14-2)
2. Kansas City (12-4)
3. New England (12-4)
4. Houston (10-6)
5. Buffalo (10-6)
6. Tennessee (9-7)
AFC Wild-Card Matchups
No. 4 Houston Texans 22, No. 5 Buffalo Bills 19 (OT)
No. 6 Tennessee Titans 20, No. 3 New England Patriots 13
NFC Playoff Standings
1. San Francisco (13-3)
2. Green Bay (13-3)
3. New Orleans (13-3)
4. Philadelphia (9-7)
5. Seattle (11-5)
6. Minnesota (10-6)
NFC Wild-Card Matchups
No. 6 Minnesota Vikings 26, No. 3 New Orleans 20 (OT)
No. 5 Seattle 17, No. 4 Philadelphia 9
AFC: Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
The Houston Texans overcame a 16-0 second-half deficit to defeat the Buffalo Bills 22-19 in overtime behind some late heroics from quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Texans signal-caller completed 20 of 25 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown and added 55 rushing yards and another score. He also ran for one two-point conversion and tossed another to DeAndre Hopkins, who had six catches for 90 yards (all after halftime).
The play of the game didn't result in a touchdown, however, as Watson evaded a seven-man Bills pass rush to find Taiwan Jones for a 34-yard gain to the Buffalo 10-yard line in overtime:
Ka'imi Fairbairn followed up with a game-winning 28-yard field goal.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen did it all for Buffalo in defeat. He completed 24 of 46 passes for 264 yards, rushed for 92 yards on nine carries and even caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver John Brown.
Houston advanced to the AFC Divisional Round for the fourth time since 2011.
The last time Buffalo secured a postseason victory was on Dec. 30, 1995, when it defeated Miami in a wild-card matchup. The Bills have lost six straight playoff games since then.
For a long time, Buffalo struggled to even reach the postseason. It missed the playoffs every year from 2000 to 2016 before it secured a wild-card berth in 2017.
The Texans will face the Chiefs in the next round, with game time slated for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 12.
AFC: Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots
Derrick Henry's 204 scrimmage yards and one touchdown proved to be the difference in the Tennessee Titans' 20-13 win over the New England Patriots.
Henry gained all 75 of the Titans' yards in a late-second-quarter drive that resulted in a 14-13 halftime lead for Tennessee. The ex-Alabama star rumbled into the end zone from one yard out to cap the drive.
The Titans also scored touchdowns on an Anthony Firkser 12-yard catch from Ryan Tannehill and a Logan Ryan pick-six off Pats quarterback Tom Brady with New England backed up on its 1-yard line in the game's closing seconds.
Running back James White led the Pats with 76 yards from scrimmage. Julian Edelman scored New England's lone touchdown on a five-yard run.
Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans led all defenders with 10 tackles. Three of them occurred on a goal-line stand late in the second quarter to hold New England to a field goal. Henry and the Titans marched down the field in response before half to grab a lead they never relinquished.
New England never seriously threatened to score in the second half, failing to pass the Titans' 47-yard line.
The Titans will visit the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Saturday.
NFC: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints
Kirk Cousins came through with a pair of huge throws in overtime to help the Minnesota Vikings seal a 26-20 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints.
Minnesota rode Dalvin Cook for much of the game even with the running back battling his way back from a shoulder injury. The Pro Bowler finished with 94 rushing yards on 28 carries, adding three catches for 36 receiving yards.
His play helped give the Vikings a 13-10 lead at halftime that grew to 20-10 after the third quarter.
New Orleans fought its way back into the game, leaning on the versatile Taysom Hill to make big plays all over the field. The reserve quarterback finished with 50 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards plus a receiving touchdown in an impressive individual day.
However, the Saints couldn't get the offense going outside of Hill as Drew Brees was held to 208 passing yards with two turnovers.
Minnesota's defense kept New Orleans in check and then Cousins came through with the big throws in overtime.
The Vikings will now travel to face the NFC's No. 1 seed with a game against the San Francisco 49ers Saturday at 4:35 p.m. ET.
NFC: Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles
An injury to Carson Wentz helped seal the fate of the Philadelphia Eagles as the Seattle Seahawks earned a 17-9 win Sunday.
Wentz was making his first career playoff start but lasted only the first quarter before suffering a head injury and was initially ruled out. It put the game in the hands of 40-year-old Josh McCown, who played well but couldn't get into the end zone.
Seattle also totaled seven sacks while holding the Eagles to only three field goals.
The Seahawks didn't have much more success offensively but Russell Wilson continually made plays when it mattered, including a huge touchdown pass to DK Metcalf.
Wilson finished with 325 passing yards, 160 to Metcalf, to go with his 45 rushing yards. He also connected with Metcalf on a game-sealing 36-yard catch on 3rd-and-10.
Despite the one-sided play, Philadelphia had a chance to tie the game in the closing minutes. A pass interference gave the team first down at the opposing 13-yard line, needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to send it to overtime.
However, McCown was sacked on fourth down in the team's last offensive play.
Seattle will face the Green Bay Packers in the last game of the Divisional Round, set for Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET.