Who’s In the NFL Playoffs?
It’s that time of year again! The NFL playoffs are upon us and we want to know: who’s in?
AFC
The AFC playoff race is wide open as we enter the final week of the season. There are still five teams vying for the two Wild Card spots, and any one of them could end up winning the division. Let’s take a look at the AFC playoff picture.
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The Ravens were established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans to relocate the franchise to Baltimore. As part of a settlement between Modell, the city of Cleveland, and the other NFL franchises, Modell was allowed to retain his team’s history and records in exchange for giving up his franchise ownership rights. The Ravens have qualified for the NFL playoffs ten times since 2000, with two Super Bowl victories (XXXV and XLVII), two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), 15 playoff victories (9th all-time), four AFC North division championships (2003, 2006, 2011, 2018), and are currently the only team in the NFL to hold a perfect record in multiple Super Bowl appearances. The Ravens organization was ranked first overall in efficiency by Sportsshows off its “organizational report card” for all professional sports teams in North America.
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays their home games at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills are the only NFL team that plays its home games in the state of New York.The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, an affluent suburb of Rochester.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team was founded in 1960 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt and was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). In 1963, the team relocated to Kansas City and assumed their current name. The Chiefs joined the NFL as a result of the merger in 1970. The team is valued at over $2 billion. Hunt’s son, Clark, serves as Chairman and CEO of the team. While Hunt’s ownership stakes passed collectively to his widow and children after his death in 2006, Clark represents the Chiefs at all league meetings and has ultimate authority on personnel changes.
The Chiefs have won three AFL championships, in 1962, 1966, and 1969. They became the second AFC team (after the Houston Oilers) to defeat an NFC team (the Minnesota Vikings) in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Vikings on January 11, 1970. The team’s victory on January 20, 2019 over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV resulted in Hunt’s family becoming only the second group to own a Super Bowl championship team and an Association for Tennis Professionals Men’s Singles Grand Slam championship team during their ownership tenure; Jerry Reinsdorf previously accomplished this feat with Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox (1985) and NBA’s Chicago Bulls (1991, 1992, 1993).
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is located 28 miles (45 km) southwest of downtown Boston.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC. In contrast with their status as longtime AFC doormats, they are one of the most successful NFL franchises since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. The team is owned by Art Rooney II, and operated by his son, Daniel Rooney. The Steelers have won six Super Bowl championships, more than any other NFL team.[5][6]
The franchise has had 31 head coaches, including four who were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Paul Brown, Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin.Steelers have won 19 divisional championships (including seven consecutive divisional titles from 1972 to 1978), eight conference championships,[7][8] and six Super Bowls—two more wins than any other team in NFL history.[5][6] They currently rank fourth behind only the Green Bay Packers (13), New England Patriots (9),[9] and Dallas Cowboys (8).[10]
Houston Texans
In order for the Houston Texans to make it into the playoffs, they will need to win their division and have a Wild Card berth.
The Texans have been to the playoffs seven times in their franchise history, with their most recent appearance coming in 2016. They have never won a playoff game.
NFC
There are a total of six teams in the NFC playoffs this year. They are the Seattle Seahawks, the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Carolina Panthers.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) East division. They are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NFL, having appeared in eight Super Bowls, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos for second most appearances in the big game behind only the New England Patriots. As of 2019, the Cowboys have an all-time record of 640-382-22 (0.627 winning percentage), with their worst record coming in 1989 at 3-13 (.188).
Green Bay Packers
The Packers have won three straight NFC North titles and have qualified for the playoffs in each of the last five seasons. They’ll be looking to make it back-to-back conference championships for the first time since winning Super Bowl XLV following the 2010 season. Green Bay’s streak of five consecutive playoff appearances is the second-longest in team history behind only a string of eight straight from 1993-2000. The Packers’ overall record of 106-54-1 (.660) during that span is tied with New England for the best in the NFL over that stretch.
Under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the Packers have posted a regular-season record of 125-77-2 (.618), which ranks No. 4 in the NFL over that span behind only New England (145-57, .719), Seattle (129-63-0, .671) and Pittsburgh (125-67, .650). McCarthy’s 125 wins are tied with Vince Lombardi for No. 2 in team history behind only Mike Holmgren (94). Since McCarthy took over as head coach in 2006, Green Bay has 45 Pro Bowl selections, tied with New England for No. 2 behind only Baltimore (47).
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team that compete in the National Football League (NFL). The Rams franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in the short-lived second American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL the next year. In 1946, the franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Rams franchise stayed in the metro area until 1994, when they moved to Anaheim. The Rams franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016.
The Rams advanced to two NFL championships in their time in Cleveland, winning one in 1945. The club was thendecimated by an ownership change and a series of poor seasons following their championship win. This made it difficult for them to rebuild their roster and recapture on-field success. This led to their departure from Cleveland after the 1995 season and relocation to Anaheim.
In 21 seasons in Southern California since 1995, the Rams have compiled a record of 153–129–3 (.541), qualifying for the playoffs six times (in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2017, and 2018). They won Super Bowl XXXVI over the Tennessee Titans 23–16 during their lone season as the St. Louis Rams following their move from Southern California.
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion team in 1960, and first took the field for the 1961 season. The team competes in the National Football Conference (NFC) North division.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints currently compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966. The Saints began play in Tulane Stadium in 1967.
The name “Saints” is an allusion to November 1, 1966, the date of the franchise’s founding. After the team’s first season, owner Tom Benson changed the team’s primary colors from gold to black and green, leading many fans to refer to them derisively as the “Aints”. They then played home games in Tulane Stadium through 1974, when they moved to the new Louisiana Superdome (now the Mercedes-Benz Superdome). For most of their first 20 years, the saints were barely competitive, only getting to.500 twice. In 1987, they finished 12–3—their first-ever winning season—and qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In 2010, when they won Super Bowl XLIV 31–17 over AFC champion Indianapolis Colts.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football franchise based in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) West division. They joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team. The Seahawks are owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and are currently coached by Pete Carroll. Since 2002, the Seahawks have played their home games at CenturyLink Field, located south of downtown Seattle. The Seahawks previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium (1994, 2000–2001).
Seattle is one of three teams to have played in both the AFC and NFC Championship Games. They have appeared in three Super Bowls: XLVIII, XLIX, and LI. As of the end of the 2017 season, the Seahawks have a regular season record of 176–112–1 (.610), with a playoff record of 18–9 (.667).
Wild Card Round
The NFL playoffs are finally here and we have some exciting match-ups in the Wild Card round. In the AFC, we have the Buffalo Bills taking on the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans going up against the New England Patriots. In the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings will take on the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks will face off against the Dallas Cowboys.
AFC: Buffalo Bills vs. Houston Texans
The AFC Wild Card Round features the Buffalo Bills vs. the Houston Texans. The Bills are led by second-year quarterback Josh Allen, who has thrown for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. The Texans are led by veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has thrown for over 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. This will be a tough matchup for the Bills, as the Texans have one of the best defenses in the NFL.
NFC: Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks
Wild Card Round: NFC:
The NFC wild-card round features a rematch of one of the best games from the regular season, as the Seattle Seahawks host the Minnesota Vikings. The Seahawks won that epic game in Week 13, but the Vikings will be out for revenge in this one.
Seattle’s defense was phenomenal down the stretch, and they’ll need to be at their best again against a Vikings offense that features two 1,000-yard receivers in Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. On the other side of the ball, Russell Wilson will look to keep up his MVP-caliber play against a Minnesota defense that ranked 12th in DVOA during the regular season.
This should be another close and exciting game, and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will come out on top.
Divisional Round
The NFL playoffs are in full swing and we are down to the divisional round. This round is where the top seeded teams from each conference play the lower seeded team. In the AFC, we have the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Kansas City Chiefs. In the NFC, we have the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, and Philadelphia Eagles.
AFC: Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
The Baltimore Ravens take on the New England Patriots in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs. The Ravens are coming off a wild-card win against the Los Angeles Chargers, while the Patriots had a bye in the first round. This will be the third meeting between these two teams this season, with each team winning one game. The winner of this game will advance to the AFC Championship Game.
NFC: Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are coming off a bye week and their last game was a win against the Dallas Cowboys in week 16. The Cowboys are coming off a wild card win against the Seattle Seahawks. In their last meeting, the Rams won 44-21. The Rams are favored to win by 7.5 points.
This will be a rematch of one of the most memorable games from this NFL season. In their Week 16 meeting, the Rams trounced the Cowboys 44-21 en route to clinching the NFC West title and securing a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The Cowboys offense will be led by quarterback Dak Prescott, who is coming off a great game against the Seahawks in which he threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams will counter with their own high-powered offense, led by quarterback Jared Goff. In their last meeting, Goff threw for 4 touchdowns and 399 yards against the Cowboys defense.
The key to this game will be how well the Cowboys defense can contain Jared Goff and the Rams high-powered offense. If they can limit Goff and force him into making mistakes, they will have a good chance to win this game. However, if they cannot contain Goff and he has another big game like he did in Week 16, it could be a long day for the Cowboys.
Conference Championships
The Conference Championships are upon us and there are four teams left vying for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. In the AFC, we have the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots. In the NFC, we have the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints. These are two evenly matched games that could go either way.
AFC: Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The AFC Conference Championship game will be played between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens finished the regular season with a record of 14-2, while the Chiefs finished with a record of 12-4. The Ravens are the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the Chiefs are the No. 2 seed. This will be a rematch of a regular season game that was won by the Ravens, 33-28.
NFC: Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers
These two teams have met four times in the playoffs, with Dallas winning three of those meetings. The most recent meeting was in 2016, when the Packers beat the Cowboys in the divisional round. This will be a rematch of that game, and it should be a good one. The Cowboys are led by quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, while the Packers are led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Davante Adams. Both teams have good defenses, so it could come down to who can make more big plays on offense. Tune in to find out who will advance to the Super Bowl!
Super Bowl
The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Seven teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Green Bay Packers
Who’s going to be in the Super Bowl? The short answer is we don’t know yet – but we do know who’s playing in the NFL playoffs.
The Baltimore Ravens are in the playoffs for the 2020 season! They will be playing the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, January 12th at 1:05 pm EST. This will be a tough matchup, as the Packers are led by Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is having an MVP-caliber season.
The Ravens are no slouch either, led by their star Quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson is also having an MVP-caliber season and is looking to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory.
So, who’s going to win? We will have to wait and see! Tune into the game on Sunday to find out.
