Current:Home > reviewsNFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 21 -GrowthSphere Strategies
NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 21
View
Date:2025-04-16 20:23:02
We’ve got two former No. 1 draft picks, and two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL taking center stage in two NFL playoff games on Sunday.
First up, Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions – fresh off their first postseason win in 31 seasons – will host another playoff game, this time against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And in prime time, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen could deliver another instant classic when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Buffalo Bills.
Both games will decide who will meet the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game next week.
Here’s what you need to know about the NFL playoff games on Jan. 21:
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
How to watch Buccaneers vs. Lions game?
The Buccaneers and Lions will kickoff at 3 p.m. inside Ford Field on NBC.
How to watch Chiefs vs. Bills game?
The Chiefs and Bills will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. inside Highmark Stadium on CBS.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions
Talk about an unlikely matchup, but it will be one to deliver.
The Lions feel like a team of destiny this postseason behind coach Dan Campbell, and their first playoff win in three decades last week was somewhat poetic.
Goff got some subtle revenge last week against the Rams – the team that drafted him No. 1 in 2016 and traded him. Goff also beat Rams quarterback Matt Stafford, the player he was traded for who happened to be Detroit’s former No. 1 pick in 2009.
Meanwhile, Mayfield’s journey as the 2018 No. 1 pick has landed him in Tampa Bay where he scored the Buccaneers’ first playoff win since Tom Brady retired.
While some Buccaneers players have recent playoff experience, the Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL all season. They’ll play with a chance to reach the NFC championship game on the line.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills
Sunday’s main event is must-watch TV, just because of how these recent matchups have unfolded.
Chiefs receiver Kadarius Toney lining up offsides earlier this season. The Chiefs forcing overtime in a matter of 13 seconds in the 2021 playoffs. Their first matchup in the AFC championship game in 2020.
This will be Mahomes’ first playoff road game in the NFL, and the third matchup in the playoffs between these teams in the last four seasons.
The Bills have won the last two games in the series during the regular season, but the Chiefs have won the two playoff games.
Overall, Allen and Mahomes are 3-3 against each other. But the stakes are simple in this one: Winner advances to the AFC championship game and is one step closer to a Super Bowl.
Predictions for Sunday's NFL divisional games
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff’s predictions for Sunday's playoff games:
- Jarrett Bell: Lions, Chiefs
- Chris Bumbaca: Lions, Chiefs
- Nate Davis: Lions, Chiefs
- Safid Deen: Lions, Bills
- Tyler Dragon: Lions, Chiefs
- Victoria Hernandez: Lions, Bills
- Jordan Mendoza: Lions, Bills
- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Lions, Bills
- Lorenzo Reyes: Lions, Bills
veryGood! (42)
Related
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Elon Musk says he will resign as Twitter CEO once he finds a replacement
- Michael Cohen plans to call Donald Trump Jr. as a witness in trial over legal fees
- These 7 charts show how life got pricier (and, yes, cheaper!) in 2022
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Polluting Industries Cash-In on COVID, Harming Climate in the Process
- Europe Seeks Solutions as it Grapples With Catastrophic Wildfires
- Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan Respond to Criticism of Their 16-Year Age Gap
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Fortnite maker Epic Games agrees to settle privacy and deception cases
Ranking
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- These could be some of the reasons DeSantis hasn't announced a presidential run (yet)
- Why the proposed TikTok ban is more about politics than privacy, according to experts
- Global Carbon Emissions Unlikely to Peak Before 2040, IEA’s Energy Outlook Warns
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Russia's economy is still working but sanctions are starting to have an effect
- Eric Adams Said Next to Nothing About Climate Change During New York’s Recent Mayoral Primary
- Fiancée speaks out after ex-boyfriend shoots and kills her husband-to-be: My whole world was taken away
Recommendation
Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
Starbucks workers plan a 3-day walkout at 100 U.S. stores in a unionization effort
Hotels say goodbye to daily room cleanings and hello to robots as workers stay scarce
How inflation expectations affect the economy
Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
Need an apartment? Prepare to fight it out with many other renters
Can America’s First Floating Wind Farm Help Open Deeper Water to Clean Energy?
Missouri man convicted as a teen of murdering his mother says the real killer is still out there