After 17 weeks of regular season football, we are ready for some Playoff action. January is the month where the good are separated from the great. Let’s take a look at the matchups in the Wild Card weekend in the AFC.
New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs will have a bye week during the Wild Card Weekend. Patriots finished the season 14-2 after handling the Dolphins in Miami, while the Chiefs beat the Chargers on the road to complete the year 12-4, good enough for AFC West title and a second seed.
Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans – In the first matchup in the AFC, the Oakland Raiders will be visiting Texas and the Houston Texans will again host a Playoff game. Last year’s loss to the Chiefs still haunts them, and they will be looking to write the wrong from that match.
Raiders will likely be without their two best quarterbacks, and both Derek Carr and McGloin will miss that duel. Carr will miss it for sure, while McGloin’s status is still up in the air. This is NFL AFC Wild Card Round, and the game will take place Saturday, January 7, 10:35 PM ET.
Miami Dolphins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – Steelers will again host a Playoff duel, but they will have to do it on a Wild Card Weekend. Last year, they had beaten the Bengals in the first match of the postseason but were beaten by the Broncos in Denver as they were way too banged up to beat a team as good as Denver.
Miami is back in the Playoffs after eight years. Tannehill is out, but this squad hopes that their defense can make an impact against Pittsburgh. This is NFL AFC Wild Card Round, and the game will take place Sunday, January 8, 7:05 PM ET at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
