The 2025 NFL regular season is now over, and we’re heading into Wild Card Weekend, where we’ll see which team advances to the divisional round and takes on the Denver Broncos. Wildcard weekend has several big games, and the times and dates for those games have been announced.
Since the Broncos earned the top seed in the AFC, they will face the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round. The sixth-seeded Buffalo Bills will face the third-seeded Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, and the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers will face the second-seeded New England Patriots. Finally, the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers take on the fifth-seeded Houston Texans on Monday night.
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The lowest seed remaining in these games will travel to Mile High to face the Denver Broncos.
6 Buffalo Bills vs. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars
This will be an interesting matchup.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will travel to Duval to take on the suddenly hot Jacksonville Jaguars. This is an interesting matchup regardless of the outcome, but the Jaguars will likely be favored in this one. As good as Josh Allen is, this is probably the least talented team he’s taken into the playoffs, and the Jaguars are a more talented, balanced team with plenty of playmakers.
This game will be decided by whether the Bills defense can hold off the explosive offense of Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. The Jaguars have been overlooked and played the underdog card all season long and will have a chance to knock off one of the AFC’s top Super Bowl contenders over the past few seasons.
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If the Bills win, they’ll travel to Mile High only if the Chargers lose to the Patriots. However, if the Jaguars win, the Chargers, Texans or Ravens will face the Broncos.
7 Los Angeles Chargers vs. 2 New England Patriots
This could be the wild card game of the weekend.
Justin Herbert and the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Rams will travel to Foxborough to face Derek Meyer and the second-seeded New England Patriots. The game featured two of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, and the two teams looked evenly matched despite being seeded.
The Patriots have thrived this year thanks to quarterback Drake Maye’s MVP-level breakout under head coach Mike Vrabel, leading the team to a 14-3 record. The Chargers, meanwhile, have looked like one of the NFL’s top teams at times this season but have once again suffered multiple injuries on their roster this season.
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This may be the best, most complete team the Patriots have faced all season, and the Chargers need to take pressure off quarterback Justin Herbert and try to slow down quarterback Derek Meyer. It was a fun match and one I enjoyed watching.
If the Chargers want to pull off an upset, they’ll travel to Millhay to face the Broncos for the third time this season. However, if the Patriots win, we’ll see the Bills, Texans, or Steelers head to Mile High.
5 Houston Texans vs. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to the playoffs after the Ravens missed the game-winning field goal on the final game of the regular season.
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Their reward? Hosting the No. 1 ranked Houston Texans defense.
You could argue that the Texans are the better team, but since the Steelers won the division, they will get the home games while the Texans will continue to play on the road.
I think this is a very tough game for the Steelers. However, they will get back wide receiver DK Metcalf, who was suspended for two games. He is expected to be a key target in this game. Is Aaron Rodgers playing in his last Super Bowl?
As for the Texans, they need quarterback C.J. Stroud to step up and make plays and make their defense work. I think the Texans will be favored in this game, but I think it might be closer than some expect.
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If the Texans win, they will travel to Mile High if the Chargers and Bills both lose, while the Steelers will face the Broncos if the Steelers win and the Chargers and Bills lose.