The NFL has announced the wild-card weekend schedule for Jan. 10-12:
Saturday, Jan. 10
4:30 p.m. 5 Los Angeles Rams at 4 Carolina Panthers (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Green Bay Packers at 2 Chicago Bears (Prime Video)
Sunday, Jan. 11
1 p.m. 6 Buffalo Bills at 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, Paramount+)
4:30 p.m. 6 San Francisco 49ers at 3 Philadelphia Eagles (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at 2 New England Patriots (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday, Jan. 12
8 p.m. 5 Houston Texans at 4 Baltimore/Pittsburgh (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+)
Jordan Love didn’t play for the Packers on Sunday. Neither did Malik Willis.
Third-string quarterback Clayton Tune started what was a glorified preseason game for the Packers as they did not start 16 key contributors in a 16-3 loss to the Vikings.
With the Packers already locked in as the seventh seed, coach Matt LaFleur decided to call it a regular season after Week 17. He learned his lesson in Week 18 last season when wide receiver Christian Watson tore an anterior cruciate ligament.
“I think we did the right thing today,” LaFleur said Sunday, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “And we’ll see. Time will tell. But I feel better about this certainly than I did a year ago after the game. It was a double whammy when we lose the game and you lose a key player for us to go into that run. I thought this was the best decision.”
Love, who was cleared from concussion protocol, served as the backup with Willis inactive with right shoulder and hamstring injuries. If Love had to play, though, LaFleur said Love would not have attempted a pass.
The Packers finished with minus-7 passing yards, their fewest in a game since 1976. They ended the regular season with a four-game losing streak, becoming only the fourth playoff team in NFL history to end the regular season with a losing streak that long or longer.
The 1986 Jets (five losses), 2024 Steelers (four) and 1999 Lions (four) entered the postseason on a losing streak of four games or longer, according to ESPN Research, and of that group, only the 1986 Jets won a playoff game.
In a largely disappointing season, the Vikings finished strong.
Minnesota concluded the 2025 regular season today with a 16-3 win over Green Bay that improved the Vikings’ record to 9-8 on the season. That’s not good enough to make the playoffs, but after a rough start, the Vikings ended the season on a five-game winning streak.
It helped that the Packers weren’t trying to win, as they were already locked into the No. 7 seed in the playoffs and rested many of their most important players. Third-string quarterback Clayton Tune started for the Packers and showed why he’s a third-stringer.
For Vikings fans, the best moments came when they recognized two longtime respected veterans, safety Harrison Smith and fullback C.J. Ham, both of whom got loud ovations in what may have been their last game in Minnesota.
The bad news for the Vikings was that quarterback J.J. McCarthy aggravated his right hand injury, raising more concerns that he’s simply not capable of staying healthy. McCarthy’s status as the franchise quarterback is the biggest question facing the Vikings in the offseason.
The Packers have bigger fish to fry. After treating today like a preseason game, the Packers will now get ready to travel to either Chicago or Philadelphia for the wild card round of the playoffs.
As noted on Saturday, the signs in Cleveland were pointing to the team moving on from coach Kevin Stefanski, after six seasons and two coach of the year awards. The indications are now becoming stronger and stronger that Stefanski will be out.
Depending on how the postseason goes, Stefanski could land on his feet with one of the teams the Browns upset this year.
Back in Week 3, the Browns stunned the Packers, 13-10. And while the Packers have still made the playoffs, they’re the No. 7 seed for the third straight year. Without expansion of the postseason field in 2020, the Packers would be on a four-year streak of no playoff appearances.
That could make the wild-card round critical for coach Matt LaFleur and G.M. Brian Gutekunst. New team president Ed Policy, who grew up a Browns fan, made it clear in June 2024 that neither LaFleur nor Gutekunst would get contract extensions before the end of the 2025 season. And with both signed through 2026, Policy added that he’s not a fan of lame-duck arrangements.
Which means it’ll likely be new contracts or pink slips for the Packers coach and G.M. once the 2025 campaign ends
Making it to the playoffs usually is good enough, seven seed or not. In 2023, they advanced to the divisional round. Last year, they were one-and-done, with a 22-10 loss at the Eagles. What would another early exit trigger?
The situation will hit a full boil next weekend, when the Packers go to either Chicago or Philadelphia. A loss could prompt Policy to explore his options. And Stefanski, who spent all of his career in the NFC North with the Vikings before getting the Cleveland job in 2020, could end up being the guy when the dust settles on what could be the first Green Bay coaching search since 2019.
The Falcons had a handful of key players listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Saints, but the Panthers will be glad to hear that all of them are in the lineup.
Wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Darnell Mooney, and cornerback A.J. Terrell will all play in Atlanta’s final game of the season. London, Pitts, and Mooney have knee injuries while Terrell was added to the report on Saturday with an illness.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins, defensive lineman David Onyemata, and linebacker Ronnie Harrison were also added to the report due to illness on Sunday. Harrison is the only one who will miss the game.
The result of the Falcons-Saints game will determine the NFC South champion. A Falcons win gives the Panthers the title while a Saints road victory will give the Bucs their fourth straight division crown.
Saints at Falcons
Saints: S Ugo Amadi, QB Spencer Rattler, WR Chris Olave, RB Alvin Kamara, OT Xavier Truss, DT Bryan Bresee, DT Nathan Shepherd
Falcons: P Trenton Gill, LB Ronnie Harrison, DL Brandon Dorlus, OL Michael Jerrell, WR Casey Washington, WR Malik Heath
Colts at Texans
Colts: CB Sauce Gardner, DT Eric Johnson, S Reuben Lowery, TE Will Mallory, S George Odum, QB Philip Rivers
Texans: WR Nico Collins, OT Trent Brown, RB Nick Chubb, WR Braxton Berrios, QB Graham Mertz, LB Jamal Hill, CB Kamari Lassiter
Cowboys at Giants
Cowboys: LB DeMarvion Overshown, CB Shavon Revel, S Alijah Clark, DT Jay Toia, DT Perrion Winfrey
Giants: S Jevon Holland, WR Ryan Miller, WR Jalin Hyatt, RB Dante Miller, LB Caleb Murphy, TE Theo Johnson, QB Russell Wilson
Browns at Bengals
Browns: TE Harold Fannin Jr., OT Jeremiah Byers, C Kingsley Eguakun, WR Jamari Thrash, TE David Njoku, DT Sam Kamara
Bengals: QB Jake Browning, WR Charlie Jones, CB Josh Newton, S Daijahn Anthony, DE Joseph Ossai, TE Cam Grandy, DT Jordan Jefferson
Packers at Vikings
Packers: QB Malik Willis, LB Quay Walker, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Dontayvion Wicks, S Xavier McKinney, OT Zach Tom, LB Edgerrin Cooper
Vikings: WR Myles Price, QB John Wolford, CB Dwight McGlothern, QB Brett Rypien, RB Aaron Jones, OL Walter Rouse, TE T.J. Hockenson
Titans at Jaguars
Titans: S Amani Hooker, EDGE Arden Key, OL Drew Moss, OL Garrett Dellinger, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Gunnar Helm
Jaguars: CB Keith Taylor, OL Patrick Mekari, TE Hunter Long, TE Patrick Herbert, DL Emmanuel Ogbah, DT Maason Smith
