David Brandt, an AP Sports Writer, reported.

After securing victories in Week 18, the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys are feeling confident as they head into the playoffs. However, the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles are struggling after experiencing setbacks towards the end of the regular season.

The NFL playoffs will start this weekend for 12 out of 14 teams, regardless of their previous momentum. The first games will be on Saturday with the Texans hosting the Browns and the Chiefs hosting the Dolphins.

The top-seeded teams, such as the AFC’s Baltimore Ravens and the NFC’s San Francisco 49ers, will have a week off before playing in the divisional round next week.

Out of the six wild-card games happening this weekend, two of them have especially interesting storylines.

Matthew Stafford, previously winless in three playoffs with the Lions, is returning to Detroit as a player for the Los Angeles Rams. The Lions matched their record of 12 regular season wins and are aiming for their first playoff win since defeating Dallas on January 5, 1992.

On Sunday, the Cowboys’ coach Mike McCarthy will go up against his previous team as Jordan Love leads the Packers to Dallas. After a dominant 38-10 victory over Washington, the Cowboys secured the NFC East title and are now preparing to face Green Bay at home with hopes of maintaining their undefeated record on their own turf this season.

Six teams, including the Browns, Lions, Packers, Texans, Rams, and Steelers, have made it to the playoffs this year after not making it last year. Since 1990, there has been a consistent pattern of at least four teams who did not qualify for the playoffs one season making it the following year.

SATURDAY

The fifth-ranked Browns will face the fourth-ranked Texans at 4:30 p.m. EST on NBC.

The 6th-ranked Dolphins will face off against the 3rd-ranked Chiefs at 8 p.m. EST on the streaming platform Peacock.

The upcoming NFL playoff match between the Dolphins and Chiefs will be the initial game to only be available for streaming on Peacock, a subscription service by NBC. However, viewers in Kansas City and Miami can still watch it for free on their local NBC channels.

SUNDAY

The Pittsburgh Steelers, ranked 7th, will face off against the Buffalo Bills, ranked 2nd, at 1 p.m. EST on CBS/Paramount+.

The Packers, ranked 7th, will face the Cowboys, ranked 2nd, at 4:30 p.m. EST on Fox.

The game between the sixth-ranked Rams and the third-ranked Lions will begin at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.

MONDAY

The Philadelphia Eagles, ranked 5th, will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ranked 4th, at 8:15 p.m. EST on ABC/ESPN.

This is the fourth installment of the current playoff format for the NFL. In 2020, the league increased the number of teams in the playoffs to 14 by including a third wild-card qualifier from both the AFC and NFC.

Weekend of wildcard games: January 12-14.

The divisional round will take place on January 20th and 21st.

Conference championships: Jan. 28

The 58th Super Bowl will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11th.

The top four seeds in each conference are given to the division winners, regardless of their record. The remaining three teams with the best record, who did not win their division, are chosen as wild-card selections. This often results in a wild-card team having a better record but a lower playoff seeding compared to a division winner.

The top-ranked team in each conference receives a pass into the second round, while the second-ranked team hosts the seventh-ranked team, the third-ranked team hosts the sixth-ranked team, and the fourth-ranked team hosts the fifth-ranked team during wild-card weekend.

After each round of playoffs, the NFL implements a re-seeding policy. This ensures that regardless of the initial bracket, the team with the lowest seed will always have to travel to the higher-seeded team in both the AFC and NFC.

The opening round is anticipated to have exciting matches according to the oddsmakers.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, there are two teams favored on the road for wild-card weekend. The Browns have a 2 1/2-point advantage over the Texans with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, while the Eagles also have a 2 1/2-point lead over the Buccaneers.

Every game does not have the same level of expected competitiveness. The Cowboys are favored by 7 1/2 points against the Packers, while the Bills hold a 10-point lead over the Steelers.

The favored team to win the Super Bowl is the top seeded 49ers with odds of +230, followed by the Ravens at +350.

Interested in taking a chance on an underdog? The Steelers (+13000) and Packers (+10000) have the potential to yield the highest payouts if they emerge victorious.

As always, there are also prop bets available. One example is a potential payout of +5000 if a touchdown is scored on the opening kickoff during wild-card weekend.

Source: wralsportsfan.com