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PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 15
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Date:2025-04-08 21:02:17
The PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank CenterNFL's wild-card weekend comes to an end in Buffalo and Tampa Bay on Monday night.
The Pittsburgh Steelers-Buffalo Bills AFC wild-card game was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to extreme weather in the Buffalo area. Monday's nightcap is an NFC battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday's NFL playoff games:
How to watch Steelers vs. Bills playoff game
- The Steelers and Bills kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on CBS and live streamed on Paramount+.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
How to watch Eagles vs. Buccaneers playoff game
- The Eagles and Buccaneers kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN. It can also be streamed on ESPN+.
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) at Buffalo Bills (11-6)
The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills game was rescheduled from Sunday to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.
The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the best interest of public safety, the NFL announced Saturday.
The Steelers slid into the playoffs as a wild-card team and will battle the AFC East champion Bills in Monday's first playoff battle. Josh Allen and company are riding a five-game win streak heading into the matchup.
About the Steelers
The Steelers and Bills received their playoff road map on the last day of the regular season.
Pittsburgh snuck into the postseason by beating a resting Baltimore Ravens team and getting some help. Head coach Mike Tomlin has led the team to the postseason in 11 of his 17 seasons. The Steelers haven't made it past the wild-card round since the 2017 season.
Mason Rudolph will helm the Steelers with Kenny Pickett completing recovery from an ankle injury. Pittsburgh's defense will be without star T.J. Watt, who suffered a knee injury in the regular-season finale.
About the Bills
Buffalo captured the AFC East with a win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 18. The Bills have been to the playoffs six of the past seven years and have gotten as far as the AFC championship game during the 2020 season.
Josh Allen threw a career-high 18 interceptions this season and will be hungry to fulfill a promise to get Bills Mafia a Super Bowl. The Bills finished their 2023 campaign going 6-1 after firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and starting .500.
The Bills had the fourth-ranked offense in the NFL this year. Buffalo ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak, the longest active winning streak in the NFL.
Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8)
The Bucs clinched a playoff berth after winning the NFC South. Tampa Bay enters this postseason as the No. 4 seed in the NFC.
The Eagles finished the regular season second in the NFC East and earned the NFC’s top wild-card spot as the fifth seed.
Tampa Bay has made the playoffs four consecutive seasons, including in the 2020 season during which the franchise won Super Bowl 55 (the franchise’s second Super Bowl title).
The Eagles have advanced to the playoffs for three straight seasons. Philadelphia won the NFC championship and made a Super Bowl 57 appearance last year. This season, though, they aren’t entering the playoffs flying high. The defending NFC champions have lost five of their past six games.
About the Eagles
Since 2000, the Eagles have earned the third-most postseason appearances in the NFL (16). This year, the Eagles finished the regular season with an 11-6 record, giving them back-to-back seasons with at least 11 wins.
The Eagles are led by quarterback Jalen Hurts who broke a franchise record with 38 total touchdowns this season. On the outside, wide receivers A.J. Brown (1,456) and DeVonta Smith (1,066) each tallied over 1,000 receiving yards in 2023. Brown will be inactive for Monday's game.
Philadelphia’s defense ended the regular season ranked 26th in the league. They had the 31st-ranked pass defense. Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick had a team-high 11 sacks this season, giving him four consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks.
The Eagles defeated the Bucs 25-11 in Week 3 in Tampa Bay.
About the Buccaneers
The Bucs are the only NFC team to make the playoffs in each of their past four seasons. Todd Bowles is the first head coach in franchise history to earn a playoff berth in each of his first two seasons.
The Bucs won five of their last six games to reach the postseason. On offense, Tampa Bay is led by veteran wide receiver Mike Evans. Evans has produced at least 1,000 receiving yards for 10 consecutive seasons, the longest such streak to begin a career.
Running back Rachaad White tallied 1,539 yards from scrimmage this year, which was tied for seventh in the NFL. Quarterback Baker Mayfield had his first career 4,000-yards-passing season to go with a 94.6 quarterback rating.
Tampa Bay’s defense is led by linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. The three combined for 338 tackles, 13 sacks, 28 tackles for loss and five interceptions this season.
Predictions for Sunday's NFL wild card games
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff’s predictions for Sunday's playoff games:
- Jarrett Bell: Bills, Buccaneers
- Chris Bumbaca: Bills, Eagles
- Nate Davis: Bills, Buccaneers
- Safid Deen: Bills, Buccaneers
- Tyler Dragon: Bills, Eagles
- Victoria Hernandez: Bills, Eagles
- Jordan Mendoza: Bills, Eagles
- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Bills, Eagles
- Lorenzo Reyes: Bills, Eagles
veryGood! (2)
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