The field for the NFL playoffs is set with 12 of the remaining 14 teams in the hunt for the Super Bowl taking part in the Super Wild Card slate this weekend.
There are two games on Saturday, three on Sunday and one on Monday night, with the winners advancing to join the top seeds in each conference, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, in the divisional round next week.
The winners of the last four Super Bowls are in action, with defending champions the Kansas City Chiefs, who also won in 2020, hosting the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night, while the Los Angeles Rams (2022) visit the Detroit Lions on Sunday and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2021) will play the Philadelphia Eagles in Florida on Monday to round off an exciting weekend.
We have picked out an accumulator featuring four of the six games which you can read below.
Recommended four-fold: Browns to beat Texans, Chiefs -4.5 v Dolphins, Steelers +10 at Bills, Rams +3 at Lions
- Cleveland Browns to beat Houston Texans
- Kansas City Chiefs -4.5 v Miami Dolphins
- Pittsburgh Steelers +10 at Buffalo Bills
- Los Angeles Rams +3 at Detroit Lions
- Saturday 9:30 pm - Browns at Texans
Browns @ Texans
The first wild-card game features two teams who did not make the playoffs last season as the Cleveland Browns visit the Houston Texans.
The interesting matchup features two candidates for the NFL Coach of the Year award. Cleveland's Kevin Stefanski has coped adeptly with hardship throughout the year, including the loss to injury of star running back Nick Chubb and quarterback Deshaun Watson, and he has won games with four different QBs.
His counterpart, DeMeco Ryans, has had a fantastic first season with the Texans, who were one of the worst teams in the league last year and had a 3-13-1 record. They were vastly improved to win the AFC South title this year at 10-7 with rookie quarterback CJ Stroud looking to have an extremely bright future.
The Browns had a better record than the Texans at 11-6, but have to play on the road as the top wild-card team as they finished second to AFC top seeds the Ravens in their division.
Stefanski's squad went 4-0 against the AFC South in the regular season, including a comfortable win in Houston on Christmas Eve, when they raced into a 36-7 lead before winning 36-22.
The Texans didn't have Stroud available for that game and should put up a stronger effort this time, but they can still be expected to struggle again when facing the Browns' impressive defence, which ranked top in the NFL in yards allowed per game in the regular season.
Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper had a team record 265 receiving yards in that recent meeting and while he has been sidelined by a heel injury since that game, he is expected to be available to lead the visiting offence on Saturday.
The Texans have had a great year, but with veteran QB Joe Flacco having provided a spark for the Browns late in the season, they can advance to the next round with a repeat road win at the NRG Stadium on Saturday.
Joe Flacco has given the Browns a spark
Dolphins @ Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs have not displayed the swagger they had when reaching the Super Bowl in three of the last four years for much of this season, but they are still fighting to return to the big game and may not be finished yet as they prepare to host the Miami Dolphins.
The Chiefs were still able to win the AFC West division for an impressive eighth successive season but their 11-6 record was their worst performance for six years.
For much of the Chiefs' successful era under head coach Andy Reid and inventive quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the team have relied on a high-scoring offence while their defences have often struggled.
The pattern is entirely different this year, though, as they have leaned more heavily on a running game led by Isiah Pacheco and their much-improved defence to win games while their offence has been plagued by dropped catches by their wide receivers.
Even reliable tight end Travis Kelce has been having a down year, with rookie WR Rashee Rice providing hope for the future.
Despite all that, the Chiefs have got a lucky break by facing the Miami Dolphins this week. The game is set to be played in freezing temperatures, which should allow the home defence to have a major say on the outcome, and the Dolphins defence has been badly affected by injuries in recent weeks, with star pass-rushers Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips and Andrew van Ginkel all ruled out, along with defensive back Xavien Howard.
There is better news on offence for Miami with running back Raheem Mostert and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle hoping to play in support of Tyreek Hill as the speedy wideout returns to face his former team, but conditions may not allow the creative offence of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel to be seen at its best.
The Chiefs won 21-14 when the teams met in Frankfurt, Germany, in early November and they should be able to win by at least five points at Arrowhead Stadium.
Steelers @ Bills
Sunday's first wild-card game could be a sight to behold but not necessarily because of the quality of play from the two teams.
A winter storm is forecast to be taking place when the Buffalo Bills host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium with freezing temperatures and snow squalls likely. The biggest obstacle for the offences to overcome, however, could be high winds, with gusts of up to 40 miles per hour likely to make passing extremely difficult.
In perfect conditions, the Bills would be expected to make their superior quality count and that is why the AFC second seeds are the biggest favourites of the weekend as they host the seventh seeds.
The conditions could turn this into an attritional battle and that is exactly the sort of scenario in which the Steelers thrive. They have two talented running backs in Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris to lean on if passing is too difficult and their opportunistic defence can pounce on any errors by the home team.
The Steelers will be without their star defensive player TJ Watt, who was injured last week, but with scoring looking likely to be extremely difficult for both teams, the big handicap start for Pittsburgh has great appeal.
Star defensive player TJ Watt injured
Rams @ Lions
One of the best storylines of the wild-card games is the clash between the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions, in which both starting quarterbacks will be playing against the teams that traded them away in a 2021 deal.
The Rams traded for QB Matthew Stafford, who had spent his first 12 seasons with the Lions, and the move paid off as he led them to a Super Bowl success in his first season. In doing so they turned their back on their former first overall pick Jared Goff, sending him to the Lions where he has had something of a career revival as the team improved overall under head coach Dan Campbell.
The Lions are the third seeds in the NFC but the Rams are coming in as one of the hottest teams in the league after a slow start to the season and a great game is in prospect.
Taking the handicap start with the Rams is preferred after they have won seven of their last eight games, with the only loss coming to the Ravens in overtime.
With Stafford able to target veteran Cooper Kupp and rookie sensation Puka Nacua, with Kyren Williams leading their ground game, the Rams are capable of slugging it out with the Lions in an attractive matchup and at least pushing them all the way.
