NEW YORK — Jan. 14, 2025 — For the second time in NFL history, the same four teams – Baltimore, Buffalo, Houston and Kansas City in the AFC – are representing a conference in the Divisional playoffs in consecutive seasons. In the NFC, Detroit is the only team to qualify for the Divisional round in each of the past two years, joined by the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia and Washington. For the 12th consecutive season (2013-2024), at least three teams have reached the Divisional playoffs that were not in the Divisional round the year before.
Washington advanced to the Divisional playoffs after missing the playoffs last season. Since 1970 – a streak of 55 consecutive seasons (1970-2024) – at least one team advanced to the Divisional round that missed the playoffs the year before.
All eight of the starting quarterbacks in the Divisional playoffs were selected in the top two rounds of the NFL Draft – two were No. 1 overall selections – Detroit’s Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford – while six are starting for the team that drafted them: Buffalo’s Josh Allen (first round, 2018 NFL Draft), Washington’s Jayden Daniels (first round, 2024), Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts (second round, 2020), Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (first round, 2018), Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (first round, 2017) and Houston’s C.J. Stroud (first round, 2023).
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AFC Divisional playoffs notes:
- No. 4 Houston Texans (11-7) at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC): Kansas City is 2-0 against Houston in the postseason, earning a 30-0 win in the 2015 Wild Card round and a 51-31 victory in the 2019 AFC Divisional playoffs, one of three Divisional playoff games all-time with 80-or-more combined points. The Chiefs defeated the Texans, 27-19, in Week 16 in Kansas City and were 8-0 at home during the regular season.
- Houston defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 32-12, on Wild Card Weekend as quarterback C.J. Stroud became the sixth quarterback ever to win a playoff game in each of his first two career seasons. With a win, the Texans can advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.
- Kansas City can become the first team ever to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The Chiefs have won seven consecutive postseason games and can join the New England Patriots (10 consecutive postseason wins from 2002-06) and Green Bay Packers (nine from 1961-68) as the only teams all-time to win eight consecutive playoff games.
- The Chiefs have at least one postseason win in each of the past six seasons with head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The only team, head coach and quarterback to register at least one postseason victory in seven consecutive seasons were the 2011-18 New England Patriots (eight consecutive seasons), with head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
- Reid has 26 postseason wins, the second-most in NFL history, and is one of five coaches all-time with three Super Bowl victories. Saturday will mark Reid’s 43rd career postseason game, trailing only Bill Belichick (44 games) for the most by a head coach all-time.
- Mahomes has 15 career postseason wins, trailing only Tom Brady (35 postseason wins) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana (16) for the most postseason wins by a quarterback all-time. With a win, he can become the seventh quarterback all-time to register at least one win in seven different postseasons, joining Brady (16 seasons), Pro Football Hall of Famers Brett Favre (nine), Dan Marino (seven) and Joe Montana (seven) as well as Drew Brees (seven) and Aaron Rodgers (seven).
- Mahomes enters the 2024 postseason with the second-highest qualified playoff passer rating all-time (105.8) and completion percentage (67.9) and ranks fifth in postseason touchdown passes (41) and eighth in postseason passing yards (5,135).
- Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce has the most receptions (165) and second-most receiving yards (1,903) and touchdown receptions (19) among all players in postseason history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (2,245 receiving yards, 22 touchdown receptions). Kelce has eight career postseason games with at least 100 receiving yards, tied with Rice for the most such playoff games all-time.
- No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (13-5) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (14-4) (Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+): Buffalo defeated Baltimore, 17-3, in the 2020 Divisional playoffs, the only previous postseason meeting between the two clubs. In Week 4, the Ravens defeated the Bills, 35-10, in Baltimore.
- During the regular season, Buffalo led the AFC and ranked second in the NFL with 30.9 points per game, while Baltimore ranked third with 30.5. Sunday’s matchup will mark the fifth postseason game since 1950 between teams that averaged 30-or-more points per game in the regular season: 2020 NFC Championship [Green Bay (31.8 points per game) vs. Tampa Bay (30.8)], 2020 NFC Divisional [(Tampa Bay (30.8) vs. New Orleans (30.1)], 2018 NFC Championship [Los Angeles Rams (32.9) vs. New Orleans (31.5)] and 2015 NFC Championship [Carolina (31.3) vs. Arizona (30.6)].
- During the regular season, the Bills and Ravens tied atop the AFC and ranked third in the NFL with a +157-point differential. Their Divisional playoff meeting will mark the fourth playoff game in the past 10 seasons (2015-24) between teams that each had a point differential of 150-or-higher during the regular season: 2021 AFC Wild Card [Buffalo (+194) vs. New England (+159)], Super Bowl LII (Feb. 4, 2018 – New England (+162) vs. Philadelphia (+162)] and the 2015 NFC Championship [Carolina (+192) vs. Arizona (+176)].
- Buffalo defeated Denver, 31-7, on Wild Card Weekend and have scored at least 30 points in eight of its nine home games this season, tied with eight other teams for the most home games with at least 30 points, including the postseason, in a season all-time.
- For the seventh time since 2000, the Associated Press first-team All-Pro quarterback (Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson) and second-team All-Pro quarterback (Buffalo’s Josh Allen) will meet in a postseason game. Allen (609 rushing yards) and Jackson (602) have the most rushing yards by a quarterback in postseason history all-time.
- On Wild Card Weekend, Lamar Jackson became the first player in NFL postseason history with at least 175 passing yards (175), 75 rushing yards (81), two touchdown passes and a completion percentage of 75-or-higher (76.2 percent, 16 of 21) in a game. Jackson – who had three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and a 135.4 passer rating in Week 4 against Buffalo – has nine games with a passer rating of 125-or-higher this season and can join Matt Ryan (10 games in 2016) as the only players with 10 such games in a season, including the playoffs, all-time.
- Baltimore running back Derrick Henry – who rushed for a season-high 199 yards and one touchdown in Week 4 against Buffalo – rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns in the Ravens’ Wild Card win over Pittsburgh, his fourth career playoff game with at least 150 rushing yards, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis (four games) for the most such games in postseason history. Henry has 13 career games, including the playoffs, with at least 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown (13 games) for the most such games, including the postseason, all-time.
NFC Divisional playoffs notes:
- No. 6 Washington Commanders (13-5) at No. 1 Detroit Lions (15-2) (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, FOX): The Commanders, with their win on Wild Card Weekend at Tampa Bay, earned their first postseason victory since 2005 and look to advance to their first Championship game since 1991. Washington and Detroit will meet in the postseason for the fourth time ever (1982 Wild Card, 1991 Conference Championship and 1999 Wild Card), with the Commanders winning each matchup, all in Washington.
- Detroit earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time in team history with a franchise-record 15 wins during the regular season and looks to win a postseason game in consecutive seasons for the second time in franchise history (1952-53). The Lions led the NFL in scoring offense (33.2 points per game) and ranked second in total offense (409.5 yards per game) during the regular season.
- Last year, during the 2023 postseason, the Lions won multiple playoff games for the first time since 1957 and advanced to their first NFC Championship game since 1991. In three postseason starts last year, Detroit quarterback Jared Goff passed for 837 yards (279 per game) and four touchdowns with no interceptions and a 103.3 passer rating.
- Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had 304 yards (268 passing, 36 rushing), two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 110.2 passer rating in the Wild Card round and became the fourth rookie quarterback all-time to win his first career playoff start on the road.
- No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (11-7) at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (15-3) (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock): The Los Angeles Rams tied a playoff record with nine sacks in their Wild Card victory over Minnesota while Philadelphia defeated Green Bay for its first Wild Card win since 2018. Philadelphia is set to host a Wild Card game and Divisional playoffs game in the same season for the first time in franchise history. With a win, the Eagles would advance to the NFC Championship for the second time in three seasons, while the Rams can reach the Championship round for the third time in eight seasons under head coach Sean McVay.
- The Eagles and Rams will meet in the postseason for the fourth time and first since the 2001 NFC Championship, a 29-24 St. Louis Rams victory that featured two second-half rushing touchdowns by Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk. The teams also met in the 1989 NFC Wild Card (Rams 21, Eagles 7) and 1949 NFL Championship (Eagles 14, Rams 0).
- Philadelphia defeated Los Angeles, 37-20, in Week 12 as running back Saquon Barkley recorded a career-high 302 scrimmage yards (including a career-high and franchise-record 255 rushing yards) and became the sixth player in NFL history to record multiple rushing touchdowns of 70-or-more yards in a game, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Lenny Moore (1956) and Barry Sanders (1997) as well as John Fuqua (1970), Frank Gore (2009) and Maurice Jones-Drew (2009).
- Barkley rushed for 119 yards on Wild Card Weekend and including the postseason, has 2,124 rushing yards this season, the fifth-most rushing yards by a player in a season (including the playoffs) in NFL history.
- Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s Wild Card win and has six consecutive playoff games with at least 200 passing yards and two touchdown passes, tied for the fourth-longest such streak in postseason history.
- Rams rookie linebacker Jared Verse had a 57-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown on Wild Card Weekend, the longest fumble-return touchdown by a rookie in postseason history and the first rookie with a defensive touchdown in a playoff game since 2011 (J.J. Watt).
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