NFL Playoff Schedule 2021: Bracket Dates, Picture and Wild-Card Predictions

Kristopher KnoxJan 3, 2021

The playoffs are set, and the 2020 NFL regular season has come to an end. It didn't come without its challenges, but the National Football League made it through 17 weeks of regular-season action and will now embark on its first playoffs under the new format.

The Kansas City Chiefs had locked up the AFC's top seed and a first-round bye before Week 17. The Green Bay Packers locked up the top seed in the NFC and a bye on Sunday. The Cleveland Browns will make their first playoff appearance since 2002, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will make their postseason return after last appearing in 2007.

The AFC South and NFC East divisional races were decided on Sunday, with the Tennessee Titans and the Washington Football Team now set to host games on Wild Card Weekend.

Perhaps fittingly, the NFC East wasn't decided until the regular-season finale on Sunday night.

Here, you'll find a look at the full schedule for Wild Card Weekend, along with the final NFL standings and predictions for next weekend's slate.

Wild Card Weekend Schedule

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Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Saturday, January 9

Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills

1:05 p.m. ET on CBS, CBS Sports

Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks

4:40 p.m. ET on Fox, Fox Sports Go

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Football Team

8:15 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports

Sunday, January 10

Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans

1:05 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN, ESPN App

Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints

4:40 p.m. ET on CBS, Nickelodeon, CBS Sports, Amazon

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers

8:15 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports

AFC Predictions

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John Munson/Associated Press

Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills

The Indianapolis Colts squeaked into the playoffs with a Week 17 win and a loss by the Miami Dolphins. They'll now face a Buffalo Bills team that is as hot as any squad in the league right now.

Buffalo has convincingly won six straight games. The Bills' finale against the Dolphins was never in doubt, as they steamrolled Miami en route to a 56-26 win—locking up the AFC's No. 2 seed in the process.

While the Colts defense and ground game could make this a close contest, the Bills offense appears borderline unstoppable. Quarterback Josh Allen is playing at an MVP level, Stefon Diggs has established himself as one of the league's top receivers, and Buffalo is getting solid contributions on the ground from Devin Singletary and Antonio Williams.

With the Buffalo defense also playing relatively well—no opponent has reached 30 points since Week 10—the Bills may be one of the toughest outs in the AFC playoff race. This won't be an easy game, but the Bills have the momentum and will advance to the divisional round.

Bills 31, Colts 25

Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans

This may be the most exciting game of Wild Card Weekend. It will also most likely be the most run-heavy. The Baltimore Ravens and dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson lost to the Titans in the divisional round last year. Derrick Henry and the Titans will be looking to repeat history.

On Sunday, Henry topped the 2,000-yard rushing mark for the regular season, while Jackson became the NFL's first quarterback to run for 1,000 yards in back-to-back years.

"It's just the beginning for us, to be honest with you," Jackson said, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley.

Both squads are dangerous offensively, and it would be unfair not to mention Ryan Tannehill, A.J. Brown and the Tennessee passing attack. However, defense could be the deciding factor in this potential back-and-forth contest.

The Ravens rank ninth in total defense and fourth in points allowed. Tennessee ranks 29th and 23rd in yards and points allowed, respectively. Expect Baltimore to make just a few more critical stops in a wild one.

Ravens 38, Titans 34

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers

It wasn't a stellar final stretch for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lost four of their final five games. However, Pittsburgh is a well-rounded team, which is why they started the season 11-0. Their defense is elite—ranking second in both points and yards allowed—and when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is playing well, the methodical offense is good enough to win.

Roethlisberger rested in the finale against Cleveland along with starters such as T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey. Pittsburgh's B-team still only lost to the Browns after a failed two-point attempt.

The Browns deserve credit for finally ending their playoff drought and for getting to 11 wins. However, they've only beaten two AFC playoff teams en route to that record and have largely fed on underwhelming competition.

Perhaps most importantly, the Browns have been wildly inconsistent on defense and will need perfection to stop Big Ben and Co. next Sunday.

The Browns haven't won in Pittsburgh since Roethlisberger was drafted in 2004. That streak isn't going to end this year.

Steelers 30, Browns 20

NFC Predictions

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Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks

The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday to slide into the postseason. Their reward will be a date with NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks. While this is a game that could go either way—the two teams split their regular-season series—Seattle has the momentum and the edge.

The Seahawks have an MVP-caliber quarterback in Russell Wilson, while the Rams may not have starting quarterback Jared Goff—he underwent thumb surgery earlier this week.

"Well, we will talk about that," Rams coach Sean McVay said, per NFL.com's Adam Maya.

Seattle has also seen a defensive resurgence over the past couple of months. While the Seahawks still rank dead last in passing yards allowed and just 23rd in total defense, they have also held their last eight opponents under 25 points.

The Seahawks rolled the Rams 20-9 in their last meeting, and Round 3 could yield similar results.

Seahawks 24, Rams 12

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Football Team

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were determined to take the NFC's top wild-card spot in Week 17, and they did so with a 44-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons. The Football Team held off the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night to earn the honor of hosting Tampa Bay.

Yes, the 7-9 Football Team will have home-field advantage over the 11-5 Buccaneers. While the records might suggest a mismatch, Washington's fourth-ranked defense is good enough to keep this one close.

The deciding factor could be the play of Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who seems to have finally found his way in Bruce Arians' offense. Tampa's sixth-ranked defense can force Washington to put the game on Alex Smith's shoulders, and the quarterback making the fewest mistakes should come out on top here.

Smith is your 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, but it's hard to bet against Brady in the postseason—especially with a strong roster around him.

Buccaneers 27, Football Team 22

Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints

Despite sagging during the middle portion of the regular season, the Chicago Bears managed to get back into the postseason with a Cardinals loss on Sunday. However, the Bears aren't carrying much momentum out of their 35-16 loss to the Packers and will now face one of the conference's better squads.

The New Orleans Saints have a healthy Drew Brees at quarterback and one of the NFL's better defenses—the Saints rank third in yards and eighth in points allowed. What the Saints may not have is a full running backs room, as Alvin Kamara was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and multiple other backs were deemed close contacts.

However, the Saints were still able to field a functional rushing attack against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17, with Ty Montgomery topping the 100-yard mark. They have enough talent offensively and are sound enough on the other side of the ball to survive another week without Kamara and Co.

Chicago will need a near-perfect game from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to win here. While Trubisky has been better in recent weeks, he stumbled against the Packers and isn't likely to out-duel Brees in such a pivotal contest.

Saints 30, Bears 23