7:15 AM ET
ESPN staff
The opening weekend of the NFL playoffs has arrived, with six games on the wild-card round slate. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the keys to every game, a bold prediction for each matchup and final score picks.
Additionally, ESPN Stats & Information provides a stat to know for each game, and the Football Power Index (FPI) goes inside the numbers with a matchup rating (on a scale of 1 to 100) and a game projection. ESPN Chalk‘s Dave Bearman hands out helpful nuggets as well. It’s all here to help get you ready for a loaded weekend of NFL football.
Jump to a matchup:
IND-BUF | LAR-SEA | TB-WSH
BAL-TEN | CHI-NO | CLE-PIT
Saturday, 1:05 p.m. ET | CBS
Matchup rating: 73.9 | Spread: BUF -6.5 (51)
What to watch for: The Bills are in the playoffs for the third time in four years after a 17-year postseason drought, but they haven’t won a playoff game since the 1995 season. This Buffalo team is scorching hot, however, outscoring opponents 229-110 since Week 12. Can a Colts defense that ranked in the top 10 this season in both points