Calvin Austin caught the game-winning 26-yard touchdown pass as the Steelers clinched the AFC’s last playoff spot with a 26-24 win over the Ravens on Sunday night. Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images
By The Athletic Staff
Jan. 4, 2026Updated Jan. 5, 2026 2:00 am EST
The NFL playoff schedule was released at halftime of Sunday night’s Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game, and the rivals were fighting at Acrisure Stadium for the last postseason spot.
The Steelers will get an extra day of rest for holding on to beat the Ravens 26-24 and win the AFC North to make the playoffs. They will host a Monday night showdown on Jan. 12 against the Houston Texans to close out the wild-card round.
The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks will receive byes into the divisional round as the top seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively, while the rest of the field will play in the wild-card round next Saturday through Monday. Two wild-card games are set for Saturday, three for Sunday and one on Monday night.
The divisional round playoffs will be on Jan. 17-18, the conference championship games on Jan. 25 and Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Here’s a look at the wild-card matchups (all times Eastern):
AFC
No. 1 Denver Broncos (14-3) first-round bye
No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) at No. 2 New England Patriots (14-3), 8 p.m. Sunday, NBC
No. 6 Buffalo Bills (12-5) at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4), 1 p.m. Sunday, CBS
No. 5 Houston Texans (12-5) at No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7), 8 p.m. Monday, ESPN/ABC
NFC
No. 1 Seattle Seahawks (14-3) first-round bye
No. 7 Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) at No. 2 Chicago Bears (11-6), 8 p.m. Saturday, Amazon Prime
No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (12-5) at No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6), 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox
No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (12-5) at No. 4 Carolina Panthers (8-9), 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Fox