Who’s In The NFL Playoffs This Year?

It’s that time of year again! The NFL playoffs are upon us and we’re here to give you a rundown of who’s in and who’s out.

AFC

The AFC playoff bracket is set with the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tennessee Titans all punching their ticket to the playoffs. Who will win it all?

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills 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 their 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.

Houston Texans

In order to make the playoffs, a team must have a winning record and finish in first or second place in their division. The four division winners in each conference are seeded 1-4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, with the better record earning the higher seed. The two wild card teams in each conference are seeded 5 and 6.

The Houston Texans clinched the AFC South division title and the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs with a 19–16 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 21, 2020. They will host the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round on January 4, 2021.

Kansas City Chiefs

As the AFC’s top seed, the Kansas City Chiefs are in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. They will have a first-round bye and will host a divisional round game on Jan. 12 or 13 at Arrowhead Stadium.

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.

The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium. An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971. The Patriots played their home games at Fenway Park from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season.

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.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 in Houston, Texas, as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The Oilers won the first two AFL Championships, and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970.

The franchise took its current name after relocating to Nashville, Tennessee in 1997. The Titans have appeared in four AFC playoff games since becoming a Conference member when the NFL began holding post-season contests for them following the 1970 merger between then-American Football League and consequently NFL. The most recent appearance was during the 2017 season when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 22-21 in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs before losing 14-35 to eventual Super Bowl champions, New England Patriots, in the Divisional Playoffs.

NFC

This Year’s NFL playoffs are set and there are some familiar faces as well as some new ones. In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints are the top seed and they will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Saints are followed by the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks.

Dallas Cowboys

As the number one seed in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys have clinched a first-round bye and will host a Divisional Round game on January 15 at 4:40 p.m. ET on Fox. The Cowboys have not played in a Conference Championship game since 1995, when they defeated the Green Bay Packers to advance to Super Bowl XXX.

Green Bay Packers

Entering the final week of the season, the Packers had a chance to clinch the NFC North title with a win over the Minnesota Vikings, but they came up short and were forced to settle for a wild card berth.

The Packers finished the season with a 13-3 record, their best since 2011, when they won the Super Bowl. They lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game last year.

This year’s team is led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is considered one of the best signal-callers in the NFL. Rodgers has thrown for 4,384 yards and 38 touchdowns this season. He has been named the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Year.

The Packers’ offense also features wide receiver Davante Adams, who has caught 99 passes for 1,386 yards and 13 touchdowns. Running back Aaron Jones has also been impressive, rushing for 1,084 yards and 19 touchdowns.

On defense, linebacker Za’Darius Smith has been a force, tallying 12.5 sacks. Safety Adrian Amos has also been solid, recording 79 tackles and two interceptions.

The Packers will host the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional round on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

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 before joining the NFL the next year. In 1946, the franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Rams franchise remained in the metro area until 1994, when they moved to St. Louis. The Rams franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016.

The Rams organization has won three NFL championships, and is the only one to win championships representing three different cities (Cleveland in 1945, Los Angeles in 1951, and St. Louis in 1999). The franchise has compiled 19 postseason appearances, including 11 division championships, four NFC Championships (1970, 1974, 1979, and 2018), and have reached two Super Bowls; winning Super Bowl XIV 31–19 over the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 1979 season, and losing Super Bowl LIII 13–3 to the New England Patriots after the 2018 season.

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.

The Vikings have played their home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis since 2016. The team previously played at Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 to 2013.

The Vikings have appeared in five Super Bowls: IV (1970), VIII (1974), IX (1975), XI (1977), and XIV (1982). They are the only team to have played in all five of the NFL’s prime-time television packages: Monday Night Football (1970–71), NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football (2012–13), ESPN’s Sunday Night Football (2014–15), NBC’s Sunday Night Football (2016–present), and Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football (2017–18).

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 club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Saints were founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966. The team played their home games at Tulane Stadium through the 1974 NFL season. They played their home games at the Louisiana Superdome from 1975 to 2005.

The franchise was founded on November 1, 1966.[2] The team’s primary colors are old gold and black; their logo is a simplified fleur-de-lis.[3] They played their home games in Tulane Stadium through the 1974 NFL season. The following year, they began play in the newly completed Louisiana Superdome. For most of their first 20 years, the Saints were barely competitive, only getting to .500 twice but never finishing a season with a winning record. In 1987, they finished 12–3—their first-ever winning season—and qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history.[4] In 2010, when they won Super Bowl XLIV 31–17 over the Indianapolis Colts, they notched their first and only championship in franchise history and helped redeem what had been considered one of professional football’s most star-crossed franchises;[5][6][7] since joining the league as an expansion team in 1967 (along with fellow 1967 expansion club, the Seattle Seahawks), they had only posted thirteen winning seasons out of forty-three.[8]

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are currently in first place in the NFC West with a 10-2 record. They have clinched a playoff spot and are currently in the running for a first-round bye. The 49ers have one of the best defenses in the NFL, led by All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner. On offense, they have a potent rushing attack led by running back Raheem Mostert, who has over 1,000 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns this season.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team 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, along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 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 (formerly Qwest Field), located south of downtown Seattle. The Seahawks previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium (1994, 2000–2001).

The Seahawks have been members of the NFC West division of the NFL since their founding in 1976, sharing the division with three other teams: the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers. Since 2002, they have played their home games at CenturyLink Field (formerly Qwest Field), located south of downtown Seattle. They previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium (1994, 2000–2001).

Seattle has won ten division titles and three conference championships. They are the current NFC champions after defeating the Carolina Panthers 28-24 in NFC Divisional Playoff game on January 17th, 2016; they narrowly defeated the Green Bay Packers 22-20 in NFC Championship game on January 24th to earn their berth into Super Bowl XLIX where they will face off against AFC Champions New England Patriots on February 1st at University of Phoenix Stadium.