Post by Yeseeka on Jan 8, 2023 14:26:16 GMT -8
The following is the schedule for the National Football League playoffs on the road to Super Bowl LVII.
Fans will see a new Super Bowl champion crowned in the second month of 2023. The Super Bowl LVI champion Los Angeles Rams missed the playoffs this season, leaving the field open for 14 other teams to compete and emerge in an effort to hoist the Lombardi Trophy to cap the 2022-23 NFL season.
The Kansas City Chiefs hope to regain their championship form of three years ago as they have earned the top seed in the American Football Conference. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will have some stiff competition from the rest of the field of AFC contenders. The Buffalo Bills and last year's AFC representative, the Cincinnati Bengals, are the second and third seeds, respectively. Perhaps quietly, the Jacksonville Jaguars slipped into the fourth seed as they won the AFC South with a 9-8 record. That leaves the wild card teams. The Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens each finished with 10-7 records, and the Miami Dolphins claimed the seventh seed in the final week of the regular season just a game behind both teams. To note, if the Bills and Bengals should meet in the divisional round, the game will be played at a neutral site due to the fact their regular season game on January 2 was cancelled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after a play in the first quarter. Thus, both teams are counted as one fewer games in their schedules than all other teams.
After winning Super Bowl LVII, the Philadelphia Eagles have had a bit of a drought, but they have rebounded by winning the national Football Conference's Eastern Division. While he had been out due to injury the past few weeks, quarterback Jalen Hurts is expected back in a couple of weeks since the Eagles will have a bye week before heading to the divisional round of the playoffs. Rookie QB Brock Purdy, "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2022 Draft, should be at the helm for the San Francisco 49ers in the wild card round as the number two seed. The resurgent Minnesota Vikings earned the third seed. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl two years ago, all but sneaked into the playoffs with a 8-9 record while winning the NFC South after resting several starters in the season finale. the Dallas Cowboys earned the first wild card. The New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks earned the final two wild card spots.
The league expanded the schedule this season, going from 16 games to 17. That marked the first schedule expansion in 43 years, 1978, when it went from 14 to 16 games. For the second season, the NFL's playoff field consists of 14 teams (seven from each conference) with the top seed in each conference receiving a first-round bye.
Represented in this year's playoff field are three of the past five Super Bowl Champions; Eagles (LII), Chiefs (LIV) and Buccaneers (LV). The following are the records in the Super Bowl by this year's playoff teams, ranked by winning percentage:
Baltimore Ravens 2-0 (1.000)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 2-0 (1.000)
San Francisco 49ers - 5-2 (.714)
Dallas Cowboys - 5-3 (.625)
Kansas City Chiefs - 2-2 (.500)
Miami Dolphins 2-3 (.400)
New York Giants 2-2 (.500)
Philadelphia Eagles - 1-2 (.333)
Seattle Seahawks - 1-2 (.333)
Jacksonville Jaguars - 0-0 (.000)
Los Angeles Chargers - 0-1 (.000)
Cincinnati Bengals - 0-3 (.000)
Buffalo Bills - 0-4 (.000)
Minnesota Vikings - 0-4 (.000)
The following schedule is broken down chronologically by conference. All times are pacific time. Teams are listed with their playoff seeding in front of their names. National broadcast information is listed as it becomes available. Seedings appear below the schedules, followed by schedule information of the Pro Bowl. Click on the final score of games for the official boxscore.
American Football Conference
WILD CARD ROUND
Sat., Jan. 14 - #4 Jacksonville Jaguars (H) 31, #5 Los Angeles Chargers 30
Sun., Jan. 15 - #2 Buffalo Bills (H) 34, #7 Miami Dolphins 31
Sun., Jan. 15 - #3 Cincinnati Bengals (H) 24, #6 Baltimore Ravens 17
Bye - #1 Kansas City Chiefs
DIVISIONAL ROUND
Sat., Jan. 21 - Kansas City Chiefs (H) 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 20
Sun., Jan. 22 - Cincinnati Bengals 27, Buffalo Bills (H) 10
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Sun., Jan. 29 - Kansas City Chiefs (H) 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20
National Football Conference
WILD CARD ROUND
Sat., Jan. 14 - #2 San Francisco 49ers (H) 41, #7 Seattle Seahawks 23
Sun., Jan 15 - #6 New York Giants 31, #3 Minnesota Vikings (H) 24
Mon., Jan 16 - #5 Dallas Cowboys 31, #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (H) 14
Bye - #1 Philadelphia Eagles
DIVISIONAL ROUND
Sat., Jan. 21 - Philadelphia Eagles (H) 38, New York Giants 7
Sun., Jan. 22 - San Francisco 49ers (H) 19, Dallas Cowboys 12
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Sun., Jan. 29 - Philadelphia Eagles (H) 31, San Francisco 49ers 7
Super Bowl LV
Sun., Feb. 12 - Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
How They Finished
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
1. Kansas City Chiefs (14-3, first AFC West)
2. Buffalo Bills (13-3, first AFC East)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (12-4, first AFC North)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8, first AFC South)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (10-7 second AFC West)
6. Baltimore Ravens (10-7, second AFC North)
7. Miami Dolphins (9-8, second AFC East)
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
1. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3, first NFC East)
2. San Francisco 49ers (13-4, first NFC West)
3. Minnesota Vikings (13-4, first NFC North)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9, first NFC South)
5. Dallas Cowboys (12-5, second NFC East)
6. New York Giants (9-7-1, third NFC East)
7. Seattle Seahawks (9-8, second NFC West)
Pro Bowl
NFC 35, AFC 33
February 5 at 12 p.m. (ABC, ESPN, Disney XD)
Allegiant Stadium; Las Vegas, Nevada
Playoff Bracket
(Courtesy CBS Sports)
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Graphic courtesy of David.