6 questions that will be answered in the first weekend of the NFL playoffs Hannah Keyser, CNNJanuary 10, 2026 at 8:01 PM 15 Packers cornerback Nate Hobbs tackles Bears wide receiver DJ Moore during the teams' last meeting in December. Kamil Krzaczynski/AP The threeday football extravaganza known as "Super Wild Card Weekend" kicks off on Saturday as the NFL playoffs officially get underway and the road to the Bay Area begins. Here are the games we'll be watching: 4:30 p.m. ET, Saturday: Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers on Fox 8 p.m.
- - 6 questions that will be answered in the first weekend of the NFL playoffs
Hannah Keyser, CNNJanuary 10, 2026 at 8:01 PM
15
Packers cornerback Nate Hobbs tackles Bears wide receiver DJ Moore during the teams' last meeting in December. - Kamil Krzaczynski/AP
The three-day football extravaganza known as "Super Wild Card Weekend" kicks off on Saturday as the NFL playoffs officially get underway and the road to the Bay Area begins.
Here are the games we'll be watching:
4:30 p.m. ET, Saturday: Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers on Fox
8 p.m. ET, Saturday: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears on Amazon Prime
1 p.m. ET, Sunday: Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars on CBS
4:30 p.m. ET, Sunday: San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles on Fox
8 p.m. ET, Sunday: Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots on NBC
8:15 p.m. ET, Monday: Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers on ESPN
Those matchups will go a long way toward answering key questions and clearing the path to Super Bowl LX next month. Here are six questions we expect to have answered by the end of Monday night's game.
Should the Rams be Super Bowl favorites?
The oddsmakers will tell you that the Seattle Seahawks, who finished 14-3 and first in the NFC West, are the betting favorites to ultimately win the Super Bowl. And that makes sense because they secured the bye and have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
But the Rams might be the scariest wild-card team in a while and should demonstrate on Saturday why some experts think they're the smart pick to win it all.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has had one of his best seasons at the age of 37. - Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
It starts with Matthew Stafford. In his 17th NFL season, the QB has put together a compelling MVP case despite a balky back that required him to spend training camp not on the field but in a rejuvenation chamber. Stafford's original goal this year? "Make it to Week 1."
By the end of the regular season, he led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, aided by a couple of the best wide receivers in the game in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
The Rams are the favorites in the most lopsided game on wild-card weekend. But a quirk of the seeding means they'll head to Carolina to face the sub-.500 Panthers in North Carolina – arguably, the reason the Rams are here at all and not resting their near-geriatric quarterback is because of a Week 13 loss in exactly those circumstances.
Stafford surrendered three turnovers in that loss to the Panthers. Now, he'll either prove it was a fluke and erase that stain on his season, or we'll learn the Panthers' defense has a repeatable plan to stifle the Rams.
Could this be Josh Allen and the Bills year?
Now in his eighth season, Josh Allen holds a number of dubious records that essentially amount to a reputation as the best quarterback who hasn't won a Super Bowl. In fact, his seven playoff victories are the most ever for a QB without even a Super Bowl appearance.
By now, Bills fans know the drill: No matter how promising the season seems, it will likely end when Allen and Co. inevitably encounter Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen scrambles during a game against the Steelers in November. - Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
But this year, that ever-present obstacle is removed. With the Chiefs missing the playoffs entirely in a disappointing season, the way could be cleared for Allen to finally take his team to the title game.
Except… outside Allen himself, this isn't exactly a fearsome Bills squad. The passing game is questionable. The rushing defense is one of the worst in the league. And this weekend they'll face off against arguably the hottest team heading into the playoffs.
The Jaguars have won eight in a row and QB Trevor Lawrence has never looked better. The Bills could get booted early by a Jags squad peaking at exactly the right moment. Or, Allen could solidify his elite status by putting the team on his back much the same way that Jags fan did with Lawrence at a bar.
How will familiarity factor into the third Bears-Packers matchup this season?
The "oldest rivalry" in the NFL will meet in the playoffs for just the third time in history – but also the third time this season.
The Packers won in Week 14 amid a slew of victories over fellow NFC North teams that had them in first place. But the Bears ultimately took top spot in the division after an overtime win against Green Bay in Week 16.
In both games, Chicago started slow and mounted a comeback. On December 7, it wasn't quite enough. Two weeks later, it was. The combined score from those two games: 44-43, with the slight advantage to the Packers. Expect this one to be close, hotly contested, high-scoring (the defense is a weak spot for both teams), and down to the wire.
Bears wide receiver DJ Moore catches the game-winning touchdown pass against the Packers during their game in Chicago last month. - Michael Reaves/Getty Images
A key factor will be Packers QB Jordan Love — he hasn't played since the loss to the Bears in Week 16 and hasn't won since Green Bay beat Chicago in Week 14. He's back after missing time for concussion recovery and rest.
Love did struggle last season in the playoffs, but this will be his fourth playoff start compared to Bears QB Caleb Williams' first. That familiarity with his opponent and the stage itself could be a deciding factor.
Alternatively, what to watch: The location of Bears coach Ben Johnson's shirt relative to his torso.
Can the Eagles exploit a bad defense to get their offense back on track?
The reigning champions have looked lackluster this season, even as the defense has solidified into one of the best in the sport. The Eagles' inconsistency is all about their offense, which retains the talent that won the Super Bowl last year, but has frustrated fans for most of the season.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts looks to pass during a December game against the Bills. - Nic Antaya/Getty Images
This matchup, then, could be favorable for the Birds. The 49ers' 12-5 record is a testament to the successful offensive schemes of coach Kyle Shanahan and the incredible rise of a one-time Mr. Irrelevant in Brock Purdy. Because the defense is, frankly, not playoff caliber — especially in the injury absence of All-Pro defenders Fred Warner and Nick Bosa.
That could open up a lane for Eagles QB Jalen Hurts to erase the ugliness of the regular season with a performance worthy of the reigning Super Bowl MVP. He's got a legacy of rising to the moment in big games and a perfect 5-0 playoff record at home to defend.
If the Niners do topple the champs, they could get Warner back later in the month, bolstering their hopes of playing a Super Bowl at home. But they'll have to do it while playing hurt in Philly.
Could this be a new coach/QB dynasty in New England?
When he took over at this time last year, head coach Mike Vrabel inherited a Patriots team that won just four games and finished last in the division each of the previous two seasons. His young quarterback was promising but unproven. The New England Patriots – whose six Super Bowl victories in the 21st century are double the next-most decorated team – were languishing in the post-Brady/Belichick era.
Now, New England is once again atop the AFC East, their first division victory since Tom Brady departed Boston. Vrabel, who played alongside Brady for Bill Belichick before establishing himself as a coach in Tennessee, led them to a 14-3 record while coaxing a possible MVP performance out of now-sophomore QB Drake Maye.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel have had a great first season together. New England won the AFC East title for the first time in six years. - Winslow Townson/AP
In just his second season, Maye's league-leading 72.0% completion percentage broke Brady's franchise record. And at just 23 years old, he is the youngest player to lead the NFL in that stat.
Granted, the Pats were aided in the regular season by a soft schedule and now they'll face a Chargers team that also boasts a potentially dominant QB/coach combo in Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh. But if Maye and Vrabel play up to the expectations they've set so far this season, Pats fans might start to get real cocky again.
Do Rodgers and Tomlin have any magic left?
Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans have middling offenses and strong defenses which should make for a low-scoring, less action-packed matchup on Monday.
But in a playoff field full of newcomers, Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers packs a very specific punch – that of name recognition, experience and big performances on big stages. Now in his 21st season, the 42-year-old is making one last (probably) bid for football glory before he returns to being strictly a cultural lightning rod.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike Tomlin celebrate together after a win against the Ravens clinched the AFC North title. - Gene J. Puskar/AP
Four years removed from his most recent of four MVPs, Rodgers has made the most of an average offense in Pittsburgh, employing a quick trigger on short passes. It's allowed them to do just enough to win ugly games. Case in point: their final victory of the season, when the Steelers came one field goal away from missing the playoffs entirely.
If the Ravens' kicker had a better day last Sunday, Pittsburgh fans wouldn't be talking about how their fav squad matches up against the Texans, but about who the next head coach might be. Which is seemingly just how it goes for Mike Tomlin, who frustrates fans in the regular season only to eke out a playoff berth often enough to become the longest tenured coach in the sport.
But that's as far as they've gone lately. It's been nine years since the Steelers last won a playoff game — and maybe just round that up to a decade because now they'll face a Texans team that's riding a nine-game win streak into the playoffs.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: Sports
Published: January 10, 2026 at 05:27PM on Source: ANDY MAG
#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle