The NFL playoffs: when they are on, where to watch and who you should be supporting

The season has reached the knock-out stages, and we might see the first Irish-born NFL player in almost 40 years

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are among the favourites to lift the Lombardi Trophy. Photograph: Chris Unger/Getty Images

Thu Jan 12 2023 - 13:25

What is it?

The NFL playoffs, a 13-game, four-week bonanza culminating in one of the biggest games in sports, the Super Bowl. 14 teams have survived the 17-game NFL season and will battle it out to reach the title decider on February 12th in Arizona.

How does it work?

The NFL is split into two conferences: the AFC and NFC, each with four divisions. Each division winner qualifies for the playoffs, alongside the next three sides with the best record in the conference. That means seven teams per conference advance, 14 overall. Teams play against rivals from their own conference to determine the AFC and NFC champions, who then play each other in the Super Bowl.

Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles finished up as the best side in the NFC. Photograph: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

There are three rounds of matches to get to Arizona. Each game is a knockout, winner-takes-all clash.

First up, it’s the wild card round. The two teams in each conference with the best record are exempt from this and receive a bye – this year, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs (AFC) and the Philadelphia Eagles (NFC).

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That leaves six games to be played this weekend. The Jaguars, Chargers, Bengals, Ravens, Bills and Dolphins are the AFC teams playing, the Buccaneers, Cowboys, Vikings, Giants, 49ers and Seahawks are the NFC representatives.

After this weekend, it’s the divisional round, essentially the quarter-finals, then the conference championships which are the semi-finals to determine the Super Bowl participants.

Can I watch?

You can, all the games are on Sky Sports. However, given we are talking about matches taking place stateside, there will be a few very late nights if you want to watch all of them live. However, there are some games on at reasonable times. On Saturday night, the 49ers vs the Seahawks starts at 9.30pm, that should wrap up before 1am with games lasting roughly three hours. If you feel the need to hit the hay, it’s worth knowing that the NFL channel on YouTube does excellent highlights packages, that crucially don’t give away the result in the description – ideal for watching the following morning.

On Sunday, the Bills’ clash with the Dolphins is at a much more social hour, starting at 6pm.

My team didn’t make the playoffs, who should I support?

For Irish neutrals, there’s only one real answer. Dublin-born kicker James McCourt (who also happens to be a cousin of Leinster and Ireland’s Garry Ringrose) is on the practice squad – essentially a reserve player – at the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has yet to play a pro game in his first year out of college, but he is only one injury away from becoming the first Irish-born player in the NFL since 1985.

James McCourt has yet to appear in a regular season game for the Jaguars. Photograph: David J Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Sadly for him and those on this island with parochial interests, kicker injuries are rare enough. However, there are some concerns over the man ahead of him in the Jags’ pecking order. Riley Patterson, their first choice kicker, didn’t practice on Tuesday due to a knee issue. Watch this space…

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The Jags do have a good young quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, but they are not favoured to make a deep playoff run.

If you want to back a more likely winner, you can’t go wrong with the Bills. They have a perennial MVP candidate at quarterback in Josh Allen, one of the game’s most exciting talents at wide receiver in Steffon Diggs, not to mention one of the league’s best defences.

What’s more, the Bills have all the good will in the world behind them after the terrifying incident involving their own player Damar Hamlin. Last week in a match against the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest.

He had to be resuscitated twice and spent much of the next week in hospital. The league has responded with a “Love for Damar” campaign with teams wearing warm-up t-shirts featuring his playing number, 3.

[ NFL player Damar Hamlin leaves Cincinnati hospital a week after cardiac arrestOpens in new window ]

Brandon Graham of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up for a match while wearing a shirt in support of Damar Hamlin. Photograph: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Thankfully, Hamlin has been released from hospital and will continue his rehabilitation with the Bills – a tragedy was averted. The traumatic incident clearly had a profound effect on the entire Bills squad ... what a story it would be to go from that to Super Bowl champions.

Allen isn’t the only superstar quarterback in action. Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) already has a Super Bowl ring, while Joe Burrow (Bengals), Justin Herbert (Chargers), Jalen Hurts (Eagles) and Lamar Jackson (Ravens) are all trying to earn their first titles. Tom Brady, aged 46, is aiming for his eighth, but his Buccaneers squad isn’t heavily fancied.