For those who were going through NFL withdraws after not having a “Monday Night Football” game this week, the good news is that football action starts up again on Saturday, Jan. 10.
So, when do the NFL playoffs in the wild-card round get going this weekend?
NFL Wild-Card Schedule for Saturday, Jan. 10
The NFL wild-card games start on Saturday, Jan. 10, with a double-header.
At 4:30 p.m. ET the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams will play at the No. 4 Carolina Panthers, and the game will air on FOX and FOX Deportes. The, at 8 p.m. ET, the No. 7 Green Bay Packers will be at the No. 2 Chicago Bears, airing on Prime Video.
NFL Wild-Card Schedule for Sunday, Jan. 11
The NFL wild-card matchups continue on Sunday, Jan. 11, with three games.
First, at 1 p.m. ET, the No. 6 Buffalo Bills will head to the No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the game will air on CBS and Paramount+. Next, at 4:30 p.m. ET, the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers will go to the No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles, airing on FOX and FOX Deportes. Finally, at 8 p.m. ET, the No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers will take on the No. 2 New England Patriots, airing on NBC, Peacock and Universo.
NFL Wild-Card Schedule for Monday, Jan. 12
Finally, “Monday Night Football” returns on Jan. 12 with another playoff game.
At 8 p.m. ET, the No. 5 Houston Texans will play at the No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers, and the game will air on the usual “Monday Night Football” spots: ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
Stories to Watch For in These Games
So, what stories should you watch for here? The main thing is that the Seattle Seahawks are heavily favored to take it all. They have this weekend off, since they’re the top seed in the NFC, so they’ll have their first playoff game next weekend. It will be a big upset if they fall in either of their two games leading up to the Super Bowl.
After this weekend concludes, the NFL’s divisional round start on Saturday, Jan. 17, and continues on Sunday, Jan. 18. The AFC and NFC championship games are set for Saturday, Jan. 25, with the AFC Championship at 3 p.m. ET and the NFC Championship at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Then, the Super Bowl LX will pit the AFC champion against the NFC champion at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 8.
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According to NFL research and reported by ESPN, NFL viewership is up for the 2025-26 season. Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” had the largest gains at 16%.
“The NFL averaged 18.7 million viewers per game during the regular season, the second-highest since audience averages began being kept in 1988,” ESPN states in a piece out on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
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“The per-game average on TV and digital platforms was a 10% increase from last season’s 17.5 million and up 7% from 2023, according to the league and Nielsen,” they add. “It also was just off the record average of 19 million, which was set in 1989.”