The much anticipated 2023 NFL playoffs got underway on Saturday (Jan. 13) and continued through Monday.
Fans were treated first to a glimpse of the league’s future through C.J. Stroud, who spearheaded an epic rout for the Houston Texans. Then, viewers turned to the streaming service Peacock to witness another dominating rookie performance out of Rashee Rice of the Kansas City Chiefs.
But on Sunday, the league witnessed the first upset of the postseason down in Arlington, Texas as the Green Bay Packers dominated the No. 2-seeded Dallas Cowboys. Then on Monday, the Buffalo Bills proved there was no rust on their end after a long layover due to inclement snowy weather. Then, the Buccaneers took care of business at home.
Current NFL Playoff Bracket and Results
Let’s look at the results from Wild Card Weekend and what that means regarding the 2023 NFL playoff bracket.
NFL Playoffs Wild Card Results
Cleveland Browns (14) at Houston Texans (45)
In the early minutes of the game, this had the making of a potential high-scoring back-and-forth that saw both teams exchanging touchdowns after their third offensive possession. Stroud and Joe Flacco began to put on an aerial show.
But Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans got his defenders snatching Flacco passes. Steve Nelson returned his interception 82 yards back to the end zone to make it 31-14. Christian Harris then put the game away for good with his 36-yard pick-six on the ensuing Browns drive.
Stroud was eventually pulled in favor of Davis Mills early in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. The rookie finished 16 of 21 passing for 274 yards and tossed three touchdowns in the rout.
The Texans will await their next destination after the AFC Wild Card slate wraps up Monday.
Miami Dolphins (7) Kansas City Chiefs (26)
The Super Bowl defending champions began their title defense in frigid temperatures. Then turned to a rookie to heat up the offense.
Before kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium, temperatures dipped to -1 degrees with the wind chill factor as low as -30. By kickoff, the temps dipped to -4 with a wind chill of -27, making it the fourth coldest playoff game in history. The game also marked the return of Chiefs icon Tyreek Hill, who is now catching passes for Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins.
Rice, however, became hotter than the special pipes that tried to keep the playing surface heated at Arrowhead — catching eight passes for a Chiefs-record 130 yards and scoring the opening touchdown in the 19-point romp.
Miami’s season ends at 11-7 overall. The Dolphins, though, ended up closing the 2023 campaign with three straight losses.
Green Bay Packers (48), Dallas Cowboys (32)
These two iconic franchises were set to write a new chapter in their storied postseason rivalry, but the Packers continued to show how one-sided this playoff matchup has been in recent history.
This time, Aaron Jones scored three touchdowns while Jordan Love tossed three more in the 48-32 romp.
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The Packers have now won the last three playoff meetings versus Dallas. Only this time, names like Love and Romeo Doubs now know what it’s like to lead Green Bay to a victory over the Cowboys in the postseason. And, their 48 points is a new playoff record for the Packers.
Los Angeles Rams (23), Detroit Lions (24)
Matthew Stafford returned to the Motor City. So did past Detroit Lions legends Barry Sanders and Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.
The latter two joined the rest of the city in witnessing 32 years of playoff failures come to an end.
Jared Goff threw for 277 and tossed one touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown. The wideout delivered 110 yards and the Lions brought a long-awaited celebration to Detroit.
Pittsburgh Steelers (17), Buffalo Bills (31)
This game got moved to Monday afternoon due to heavy amounts of snow — enough to stretch all the way to a human’s hip.
Still, “Bills Mafia” was ready to go. And their fans saw Josh Allen blow through the Steelers defense through his legs including on his 52-yard touchdown run. The QB1 combined for four of the Bills’ touchdowns.
Khalil Shakir ended up icing the game after taking advantage of a botched tackle to rumble in 17 yards for the final touchdown.
Philadelphia Eagles (9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32)
The NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers not only shocked the world by making the playoffs, but they have now defeated the Super Bowl runner-ups from last year, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the Wild Card Round.
QB Baker Mayfield had another impressive game, as he cemented his spot as QB1 for this Tampa Bay team. In the 2023 regular season, Mayfield passed for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown.
But besides the stats, Mayfield simply looked poised and confident, as he led this Buccaneers team up and down the field.
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles just couldn’t get anything going. You know it is a rough night when even the unstoppable Tush Push failed at the 1-yard line. QB Jalen Hurts was clearly still dealing with his finger injury, and Tampa Bay’s defense just made every play difficult.
Now, the Buccaneers will travel down to Detroit to take on the Lions in the Divisional Round.
NFL Divisional Round Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 20
- Houston is officially slated for the first Saturday contest at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Texans now get the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens here. Because Houston is the fourth seed, they head to Charm City as the lowest-seeded AFC team left.
- Green Bay will travel to the Bay Area to face the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers for the nightcap contest set for 8 p.m. ET Saturday. With the Packers as the seventh seed, they automatically face the best team in the conference.
Sunday, Jan. 21
- The Lions will now face the Buccaneers. They get rewarded one more playoff game inside Ford Field after holding off the Rams. Detroit gets the early Sunday contest at 3 p.m. ET.
- The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills will be rewriting one more chapter in their fast-growing playoff rivalry. Both teams will meet for the third time since the 2020 season AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. Their contest is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
KEEP READING: NFL Divisional Round Bracket
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!