Current:Home > NewsJohnathan Walker:NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 21 -Visionary Wealth Guides
Johnathan Walker:NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 21
NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-06 16:33:35
We’ve got two former No. 1 draft picks,Johnathan Walker 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! (894)
Related
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- EU summit to look at changes the bloc needs to make to welcome Ukraine, others as new members
- Giraffe feces seized at the border from woman who planned to make necklaces with it
- Zimbabwe announces 100 suspected cholera deaths and imposes restrictions on gatherings
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Stricter state laws are chipping away at sex education in K-12 schools
- Britney Spears' Dad Jamie Spears Hospitalized With Bacterial Infection
- Ukraine says more than 50 people killed as Russia bombs a grocery store and café
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Mortgage rates haven't been this high since 2000
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Police identify vehicle and driver allegedly involved in fatal Illinois semi-truck crash
- Kentucky had an outside-the-box idea to fix child care worker shortages. It's working
- Harvesting water from fog and air in Kenya with jerrycans and newfangled machines
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Police issue arrest warrant for 19-year-old acquaintance in death of Philadelphia journalist
- Getting a $7,500 tax credit for an electric car will soon get a lot easier
- Police officers won't face charges in fatal shooting of protester at 'Cop City'
Recommendation
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
Rifts in Europe over irregular migration remain after ‘success’ of new EU deal
Mortgage rates haven't been this high since 2000
Trump campaign says he raised $45.5 million in 3rd quarter, tripling DeSantis' fundraisng
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
3 bears are captured after sneaking into a tatami factory as northern Japan faces a growing problem
How to make sense of the country's stunningly strong job market
Giraffe feces seized at the border from woman who planned to make necklaces with it