By Lydia Jane Allison

1 11 2025

NEW YORK — Jan. 7, 2025 — The NFL playoffs begin with Wild Card Weekend powered by Verizon (Jan. 11-13), which for the fourth-consecutive year will conclude with a Monday night game.

All 14 teams that qualified for the postseason had at least 10 wins this season, marking the first time since 2012 that every postseason team won 10-or-more games.

The AFC No. 1 seed and back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) won the AFC West for the ninth-consecutive season and can become the first team ever to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Kansas City head coach Andy Reid has 26 postseason wins, the second-most in NFL history, and is one of five coaches all-time with three Super Bowl victories.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has 15 career postseason wins, trailing only Tom Brady (35 postseason wins) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana (16) for the most postseason wins by a quarterback all-time. Mahomes ranks fifth in postseason touchdown passes (41) and eighth in postseason passing yards (5,135) entering the 2024 postseason.

Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce has the most receptions (165) and second-most receiving yards (1,903) and touchdown receptions (19) among all players in postseason history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (2,245 receiving yards, 22 touchdown receptions).

The Detroit Lions earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time in franchise history after recording a franchise-record 15 wins this season. The Lions led the NFL with 33.2 points per game and their 564 points scored were the fourth-most in a season in NFL history.

Four teams – Denver, the Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota and Washington – qualified for the postseason after missing the playoffs in 2023. Since 1990 – a streak of 35 consecutive seasons (1990-2024) – at least four teams every season have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the postseason the year before.

The Vikings, Chargers and Commanders each clinched playoff berths after finishing in last place or tied for last place in their divisions in 2023. In 26 of the past 29 seasons (1996-2024), at least one team has made the playoffs the season after finishing in last or tied for last place.

Washington (quarterback Jayden Daniels, No. 2 overall) and the Los Angeles Chargers (tackle Joe Alt, No. 5 overall) each made a top five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and qualified for the postseason. In six consecutive seasons (2019-24) and in 21 of the past 23 seasons (2002-24), a team that chose in the top five of the NFL Draft has qualified for the postseason.

There were two new division winners – Philadelphia (NFC East) and the Los Angeles Rams (NFC West) and there have been at least two new division winners in every season since 2003, a streak of 22 consecutive seasons. In the 23 seasons since realignment in 2002, 31 of the 32 NFL teams have won a division title at least once.

How the 2024 playoff teams have fared in the 23 seasons since realignment in 2002 (2024 division winners in bold/italics):

Eight of this season’s 14 playoff teams have won at least one Super Bowl since 2000, capturing 13 of the past 24 Vince Lombardi Trophies, including each of the past five. Those teams are the Chiefs (LIV, LVII, LVIII), Buccaneers (XXXVII, LV), Ravens (XXXV, XLVII), Steelers (XL, XLIII), Broncos (50), Eagles (LII), Packers (XLV) and Rams (LVI).

The Green Bay Packers (.587) and Baltimore Ravens (.567) have the third- and fourth-highest postseason winning percentages in NFL history, while the Packers (37 wins) and Steelers (36) are two of the five teams with at least 35 postseason victories all-time.

The 14 playoff teams and their postseason records:

Quarterback Breakdown: Eleven of the 14 expected starting quarterbacks in the 2024 postseason are under the age of 30, tied with 2000, 2022 and 2023 for the most in a postseason all-time.

• Five of the quarterbacks in the 2024 playoffs have started at least one Super Bowl, with three having won at least one:
  • Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of five quarterbacks to start and win at least three Super Bowl titles, joining Tom Brady (seven Super Bowl wins) as well as Pro Football Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw (four), Joe Montana (four) and Troy Aikman (three). He is also one of three players ever to win three Super Bowl MVP awards, along with Brady (five) and Montana (three).
  • Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will make his ninth career postseason start and led the Rams to the Super Bowl LVI title following the 2021 season. During the 2021 postseason, Stafford recorded 1,188 passing yards in four starts, the second-most passing yards in a single postseason all-time.
  • Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson will make his 17th career postseason start and previously led the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl XLVIII title following the 2013 season. He has 3,786 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes and a 95.3 rating in his first 16 postseason starts, all with Seattle.
  • Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, who led the NFC and ranked second in the league in passing yards (4,629), passer rating (111.8) and completion percentage (72.4) during the 2024 regular season, can make his 10th career postseason appearance (ninth start) in the Divisional round. Goff led the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl LIII appearance following the 2018 season.
  • Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts can make his sixth career playoff start and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl LVII appearance following the 2022 season. He has 10 touchdowns (five passing, five rushing) in his playoff career.

• The first round of the 2018 NFL Draft is responsible for four starting quarterbacks on Wild Card Weekend:
  • Buffalo’s Josh Allen has 2,723 passing yards, 21 touchdown passes, 563 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns and one touchdown reception in his first 10 career playoff starts. Among quarterbacks with at least 10 playoff starts, Allen’s 328.6 combined passing and rushing yards per game is the highest in NFL history.
  • Minnesota’s Sam Darnold will make his postseason debut after becoming the first quarterback to win 14 regular-season games in his first season with a team.
  • Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson is expected to make his seventh postseason start after recording 41 touchdown passes and four interceptions in the regular season, becoming the first player with at least 40 touchdown passes and fewer than five interceptions in a season in NFL history. Jackson has nine touchdowns (six passing, three rushing) in his first six postseason starts, including rushing for at least 50 yards in five of six games.
  • Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield can make his fifth career postseason start after registering career-highs in passing yards (4,500) and touchdown passes (41) in the regular season. He has 1,153 passing yards (288.3 per game) and 10 touchdown passes in his first four playoff starts.
• Along with Hurts, two other members of the 2020 NFL Draft can start in the first round of the playoffs:
  • Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert can make his second career postseason start after becoming the second player in NFL history with at least 500 passing attempts and three-or-fewer interceptions, joining Aaron Rodgers (2018 with Green Bay). He passed for 273 yards and one touchdown in his lone previous playoff appearance (2022 Wild Card at Jacksonville).
  • Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love can make his third postseason start after helping lead the Packers to a victory on Wild Card Weekend last season, the first No. 7 seed to win a playoff game. He has multiple touchdown passes in each of his first two playoff appearances.

• Three quarterbacks in their first or second season are expected to start on Wild Card Weekend:
  • Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and Denver rookie quarterback Bo Nix are each expected to make their playoff debuts on the road. Only three rookie quarterbacks have won their first career playoff start on the road: Joe Flacco (2008 Wild Card with Baltimore at Miami), Mark Sanchez (2009 Wild Card with the New York Jets at Cincinnati) and Russell Wilson (2012 Wild Card with Seattle at Washington).
  • Houston second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud will make his third career playoff start and can become the sixth quarterback to start a playoff game for a division-winning team in each of his first two seasons, joining Pat Haden (1976-77 with the Los Angeles Rams), Lamar Jackson (2018-19 with Baltimore), Bernie Koser (1985-86 with Cleveland), Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (1983-84 with Miami) and Brock Purdy (2022-23 with San Francisco).

Wild Card notes:

• No. 5 L.A. Chargers (11-6) at No. 4 Houston Texans (10-7) (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+): The Chargers led the NFL in scoring defense (17.7 points per game allowed) and were one of four AFC teams to win at least six road games this season, along with Kansas City (seven road wins), Baltimore (six) and Cincinnati (six). Houston defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. (11 sacks) and Danielle Hunter (12) were the only pair of AFC teammates each with 11 sacks this season.
• No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (12-5) (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, Prime Video): The Ravens became the third team since 2000 to lead the NFL in both rushing offense (187.6 yards per game) and rushing defense (80.1 yards per game allowed), joining the 2007 Minnesota Vikings and 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers. Both Pittsburgh and Baltimore played on Saturday in Week 16, Wednesday in Week 17 and Saturday in Week 18 and will become the first teams to play four consecutive games on a day other than Sunday, including the postseason, since the 2005 Denver Broncos. The AFC North rivals split their 2024 regular-season meetings, with the Steelers defeating the Ravens, 18-16, in Week 11 in Pittsburgh and the Ravens earning a 34-17 win over the Steelers in Baltimore in Week 16.
• No. 7 Denver Broncos (10-7) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-4) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+): The Broncos led the NFL with 63 sacks and ranked third in scoring defense (18.3 points per game allowed) while the Bills allowed the fewest sacks (14) and ranked second with 30.9 points per game. It will mark the seventh postseason game since 1970 and second since 2000 between the team with the most sacks and the team to allow the fewest sacks in the regular season (last time: 2018 AFC Divisional playoffs on Jan. 12, Indianapolis at Kansas City).
• No. 7 Green Bay (11-6) at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) (Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX/FOX Deportes): The Eagles defeated the Packers, 34-29, on Kickoff Weekend in the first-ever regular-season game played in Brazil. Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley totaled 132 scrimmage yards (109 rushing, 23 receiving) and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) in the win, part of his NFL leading 2,283 scrimmage yards and 2,005 rushing yards, the eighth-most rushing yards in a season in NFL history. The 25 combined regular season wins between Philadelphia and Green Bay are the most ever in a Wild Card game.
• No. 6 Washington Commanders (12-5) at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7) (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock/Universo): The Buccaneers defeated the Commanders, 37-20, in Week 1 at Raymond James Stadium as Baker Mayfield passed for four touchdowns in the win. Tampa Bay ranked fourth in scoring offense this season (29.5 points per game) while Washington ranked fifth (28.5). It will mark the first Wild Card game since 2020 to feature two teams that averaged over 28 points per game in the regular season
• No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (14-3) at No. 4 L.A. Rams (10-7) (Monday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC): The Rams defeated the Vikings, 30-20, at SoFi Stadium in Week 8 as Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes in the victory. The last time the Rams and Vikings met in the postseason, it was the highest scoring NFC Divisional playoff game of all-time, a 49-37 win by the St. Louis Rams on Jan. 16, 2000, a game in which Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner threw five touchdown passes and four other Pro Football Hall of Famers (Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce and running back Marshall Faulk, and Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter and Randy Moss) each recorded at least 100 scrimmage yards and a scrimmage touchdown.

BEST NFL PLAYOFF PERFORMANCES

(Single postseason)

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