2023–24 NFL Playoffs

The National Football League playoffs for the 2023 season began on January 13, 2024, and will conclude with Super Bowl LVIII on February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. This is the first postseason since 1998 not to feature quarterbacks Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, as they both played their final NFL games in the 2015 and 2022 seasons, respectively.

In the Wild Card round, the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers defeated the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys, becoming the first No. 7 seed ever to win a playoff game. The Detroit Lions won their first playoff game since 1991 by defeating the Los Angeles Rams.

Participants

Bracket

Schedule

The playoffs began with Wild Card Weekend on January 13–15, 2024. The Divisional round is scheduled for January 20–21, with the winners of those games advancing to the Conference Championship games on January 28. Super Bowl LVIII is scheduled for February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

Wild Card playoffs

Saturday, January 13, 2024

AFC: Houston Texans 45, Cleveland Browns 14

This was the first postseason meeting between the Browns and Texans. During the regular season, the Browns defeated the Texans 36–22 in Houston in Week 16. Deshaun Watson, who was the starting quarterback for Cleveland since 2022, suffered a season-ending injury in Week 10. He was the starting quarterback for Houston from 2017 to 2020. In the third quarter, Joe Flacco threw back-to-back interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. This was the Texans' first playoff win since the 2019 season.

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 26, Miami Dolphins 7

This was the fourth postseason matchup between the Dolphins and Chiefs, with Miami winning all three previous contests. The most recent playoff meeting between these two teams was in the 1994–95 Wild Card round, which Miami won 27–17. It was the first postseason clash between the two teams in Kansas City since Christmas Day 1971, which remains the longest NFL game played; the Dolphins won that game 27–24 after two overtime periods. During the regular season, the Chiefs defeated the Dolphins 21–14 in a neutral-site game in Frankfurt, Germany in Week 9. This was the first game where Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill returned to Arrowhead; the last time that he played in Arrowhead was in the 2021 AFC Championship Game, in which the Chiefs lost 27–24 to the Bengals in overtime. With a kickoff temperature of , this became the fourth coldest NFL game in history. With the Lions winning their playoff game against the Rams the next day, Miami now holds the longest playoff game win drought.

Sunday, January 14, 2024

NFC: Green Bay Packers 48, Dallas Cowboys 32

Coming in as huge underdogs, the Packers stunned the Cowboys and won 48–32.

After getting the ball first after electing to receive the opening kickoff, the Packers drove 75 yards in almost 8 minutes, capping the drive with an Aaron Jones touchdown run from 3 yards out to go up 7–0. After the teams traded punts, cornerback Jaire Alexander intercepted a ball off of Dak Prescott deep in Cowboys' territory. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Packers cashed in on the turnover with another Aaron Jones touchdown run, which came from one yard out, to go up 14–0. Following a Cowboys' punt, the Packers drove 93 yards and capped it when Dontayvion Wicks caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love, although the extra point was missed, leaving the score at 20–0. On the next drive, Prescott threw another interception that was returned 64 yards for a touchdown by Darnell Savage with 1:50 remaining in the 1st half to extend the Packers' lead to 27–0. The Cowboys did rebound to score a touchdown on the last play of the half when Jake Ferguson caught a 1-yard pass from Prescott, cutting the lead to 27–7.

In the second half, Packers extended their lead to 32 points, 48–16, with 10:23 left in the 4th quarter, before Cowboys managed to score back-to-back touchdowns and two successful 2-point conversions to reduce the deficit to 16 points. However, the Cowboys eventually turned the ball over on downs on the last drive with less the :20 left, sealing the Packers victory. With the win, the Packers improved to 6-0 at AT&T Stadium all-time (which included their win in Super Bowl XLV) and becoming the first seventh seed to beat a two-seed since the playoffs expanded to 14 teams in the 2020 season. The loss snapped the Cowboys' streak 16 straight wins at home.

This was the ninth overall postseason matchup in the rivalry between the Cowboys and Packers. The postseason series between the two teams is tied 4–4, with the most recent meeting being in the 2016 NFC Divisional Playoffs, which the Packers won 34–31 in Arlington. The teams did not meet in the 2023 regular season. The last time these teams met was week 10 during the 2022 NFL season, with the Packers winning 31–28 in overtime.

NFC: Detroit Lions 24, Los Angeles Rams 23

This was the second overall postseason meeting between the Rams and Lions. The first came in the 1952 National Conference Championship, which the Lions won 31–21 in Detroit. It was the Lions' first home playoff game since 1993 and only their third since winning their last NFL title in 1957. It was also their first playoff game at Ford Field. This game was also notable for being the first postseason clash between Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff, the starting quarterbacks for the Rams and Lions respectively. Each had previously played for the other team before being traded for each other prior to the 2021 season. The Rams and Lions did not meet during the regular season. The last time they met was during the 2021 NFL season, with the Rams defeating the Lions 28–19.

The Lions wound up victorious by a final score of 24–23, their first victory in a postseason game in 32 years. In his first game in Detroit as an opposing player, Stafford completed 25 of 36 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Goff completed 22 of 27 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown. Los Angeles Pro Bowl receiver Puka Nacua set a rookie record for receiving yards in a postseason game with nine catches for 181 receiving yards while also scoring a touchdown. Amon-Ra St. Brown was Detroit's leading receiver with seven catches for 110 receiving yards. Although neither team turned the ball over, the Rams were undone by an ineffective red zone offense: zero touchdowns in three red zone trips, while Detroit converted all three of its red zone trips into touchdowns.

Monday, January 15, 2024

AFC: Buffalo Bills 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 17

This was the fourth playoff matchup between these two teams; Pittsburgh won two out of the first three. The most recent playoff meeting occurred during the Divisional Round of the 1995–96 postseason, which Pittsburgh won 40–21. The Steelers and Bills did not meet during the regular season. The last time the Steelers and the Bills met each other was week 5 in the 2022 NFL season, with the Bills defeating the Steelers 38–3 in Buffalo. The game was originally scheduled to be played on January 14 at 1:05 p.m. EST, but was delayed due to a state of emergency and travel ban declared in Western New York as a result of a massive snowstorm, marking the first time a NFL playoff game was postponed since the 2016–17 playoffs, a game that also featured the Steelers.

The first half was dominated by Buffalo, with a Josh Allen touchdown pass to both Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid respectively. Allen also had a career-long and franchise playoff record 52-yard touchdown run to put the Bills up 21-0. The Steelers made it a closer game in the second half, getting as close as 24-17 off of a blocked field goal and several touchdowns, before the Bills took a two score lead on a Khalil Shakir touchdown grab to secure the victory, 31-17.

NFC: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32, Philadelphia Eagles 9

This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Eagles and Buccaneers, with the Buccaneers winning three of the previous five. The most recent postseason meeting between two teams came in the 2021 NFC Wild Card Game, which the Buccaneers won 31–15 in Tampa. In the regular season, the Eagles defeated the Buccaneers in Tampa by a score of 25–11 during Week 3.

The Buccaneers made the only scoring plays in the first quarter, off a Chase McLaughlin field goal and David Moore touchdown for 10 unanswered points. The Buccaneers and Eagles traded field goals in the second quarter, after which Dallas Goedert scored a touchdown for Philadelphia. The Eagles attempted a two-point conversion using their signature " tush push", but the Buccaneers were able to pull them away. Tampa Bay's defense prevented the Eagles from scoring for the rest of the game, with the Buccaneers scoring two times in the third quarter off a safety on Jalen Hurts and a touchdown from Trey Palmer, in which the Eagles' poor tackling efforts facilitated his 56-yard run to the end zone. Chris Godwin scored a touchdown for Tampa Bay in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers completed their 23-point blowout of the defending NFC Champions.

Divisional playoffs

This is the first time that a team seeded below No. 2 (in this case, the No. 3 Detroit Lions) has hosted a divisional playoff game.

Saturday, January 20, 2024

AFC: Baltimore Ravens 34, Houston Texans 10

The Ravens outscored the Texans 24–0 in the second half and advanced to their first AFC Championship game since 2012 with a 34–10 rout. Lamar Jackson had two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns as he improved to 2–3 in playoff games and 1–2 in home playoff games.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Ravens and Texans. The Ravens won the first matchup, the 2011 AFC Divisional Game, by a score of 20–13 in Baltimore. In the regular season, the Ravens defeated the Texans by a score of 25–9 in Baltimore in Week 1.

NFC: San Francisco 49ers 24, Green Bay Packers 21

After losing Deebo Samuel to injury early in the first quarter, the 49ers narrowly edged out the Packers 24–21.

In the third quarter, the Packers benefitted off a 41-yard pass interference penalty on Ambry Thomas and a 73-yard punt return from Keisean Nixon, leading to two touchdowns and a successful two-point conversion to take a 21–14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Following a field goal from Jake Moody, Anders Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal with six minutes left in the game, and the 49ers were able to capitalize on the opportunity as Brock Purdy led his team on a game-winning drive. Although he had a sluggish performance throughout the game, Purdy completed 6-of-7 passes on the drive before Christian McCaffrey delivered the game-winning touchdown. With a minute left on the clock, Jordan Love attempted a final drive but was intercepted by Dre Greenlaw to seal the 49ers' third consecutive NFC Championship Game appearance (and their fourth in the last five seasons). Greenlaw caught Love's two interceptions of the night.

The 49ers got their first win when they entered the fourth quarter trailing by five points or more under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

This was the tenth postseason meeting in the rivalry between the Packers and 49ers, an NFL record for the most playoff matches between two teams in the Super Bowl Era. The most recent postseason matchup came in the 2021 NFC Divisional Game, which the 49ers won 13–10 in Green Bay. The 49ers and Packers did not meet in the regular season.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

NFC: Detroit Lions 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23

This was the second postseason meeting between the Buccaneers and Lions. The Buccaneers won the first meeting, which came in the 1997 NFC Wild Card Game, by a score of 20–10 at Houlihan's Stadium in Tampa. In the regular season, the Lions won the meeting between the two teams by a score of 20–6 in Week 6 in Tampa.

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 27, Buffalo Bills 24

This was the sixth postseason meeting in the rivalry between the Bills and Chiefs. The Chiefs lead the postseason series 4–2 against the Bills. The last meeting between the two came in the 2021 AFC Divisional Game, which the Chiefs won 42–36 in overtime in Kansas City after the Chiefs offense drove down the field in the final 13 seconds of regulation to score the game–tying field goal. In the regular season, the Bills defeated the Chiefs 20–17 in Kansas City during Week 14.

Conference Championships

''As per an annual rotation used by the NFL since 1997 and made official in 2002, the AFC Championship Game will be the first game being played at 3:05 p.m. EST, followed by the NFC Championship Game at 6:40 p.m. EST.''

Sunday, January 28, 2024

AFC Championship Game: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens

This will be the first time the Baltimore Ravens have hosted an AFC Championship game in franchise history.

This is the second postseason meeting between the Chiefs and Ravens. The first meeting came in the 2010 AFC Wild Card, which the Ravens won 30–7 in Kansas City. The two teams did not meet in the regular season, with their most recent meeting being during Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season, which the Ravens won 36–35 in Baltimore.

NFC Championship Game: Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers

This is the third postseason meeting between the 49ers and Lions. The postseason series is split 1–1 between the two teams. The most recent postseason matchup between the two came in the 1983 NFC Divisional, which the 49ers won 24–23 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The 49ers and Lions did not meet in the regular season, with the most recent overall meeting coming in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, which the 49ers won 41–33 in Detroit.

This is the fourth time in five years that the 49ers have reached the NFC Championship Game. This is also their third straight NFC Championship game appearance. The previous results were: a 31–7 loss to the Eagles last season, a 20–17 loss to the Rams

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