NFL Playoffs

How do the NFL playoffs work? A primer on the Divisional Round

The Ravens and Texans advanced with home wins on Saturday, but more games remain

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The NFL playoffs got underway this weekend as teams competed in the Wild Card round, but how do things work in the next stage of the postseason?

In all, six games will be contested across the NFL, with three games apiece taking place in the AFC and the NFC.

Meanwhile, the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions will await their playoff opponents in the next round after receiving byes.

Here’s how things work from here.

How are the Divisional Round opponents decided?

Under NFL rules, the lowest-seeded team that advances into the Divisional Round will take on the conference’s top-seeded team in a road matchup during that round.

That means the Chiefs will take on the Houston Texans, who were the No. 4 seed coming into the playoffs. Houston knocked off the 5th-seeded Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.

The No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills, by virtue of their win over the Denver Broncos, will host a Divisional Round game against the No. 3-seeded Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday.

The winners of those games will advance to the AFC Championship Game.

The Lions will have to wait until the NFC Wild Card round concludes Monday night with a showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium, which is hosting the game amid the ongoing wildfires in southern California.

Detroit will have home-field advantage in both the Divisional Round and for the NFC Championship game should they advance.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will battle in another Wild Card game, with the Sunday night game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders also on the docket. The Eagles would be guaranteed a home game in the Divisional Round if they beat the Packers on Sunday, while the third-seeded Buccaneers would need the Eagles to be upset to host a game in Florida.

The Rest of the Playoffs

The winners of the Divisional Round games will square off in conference championship games on Sunday, Jan. 26. The NFC Championship Game will air on Fox, while the AFC Championship Game will air on CBS.

Super Bowl LIX will take place Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. That game will air on Fox.

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