It's the final week of the NFL season ahead of the playoffs, but who's playing and when? What games matter? When do the playoffs start? See here.
While some playoff spots and seeds have been clinched as the road to Super Bowl 60 nears, many NFL games matter as the final week of the 2025 NFL season kicks off with a doubleheader today, Saturday, Jan. 3, and ends in an epic "Sunday Night Football" showdown between the Ravens and Steelers.
AFC and NFC titles and final playoff spots are on the line in a slate of important NFL games Saturday, Jan. 2 and Sunday, Jan. 3, including tonight's Seahawks vs. 49ers game — with the winner taking home the NFC West title and the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC, meaning a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will be forced to head to the wild card rounds which kick off in mid-January.
Once the Ravens and Steelers battle for the AFC North title on "Sunday Night Football," the entire playoff scenario will be set, seeding included. Here's who's playing this weekend, what games matter, and how the playoffs and wildcard picture is setting up.
What are today's NFL games, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026?
Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season kicks off today, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, with two televised NFL games: Panthers at Buccaneers at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC and Seahawks at 49ers at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC.
What NFL games today, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026?
There are 14 NFL games on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, to conclude the 2025 NFL season, ending with the Ravens at Steelers at 8:20 p.m. ET. Here's the TV schedule for Sunday:
- Packers at Vikings, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Browns at Bengals, 1 p.m. (CBS)
- Colts at Texans, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Cowboys at Giants, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
- Saints at Falcons, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
- Titans at Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
- Chargers at Broncos, 4:35 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Chiefs at Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Commanders at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Jets at Bills, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Dolphins at Patriots, 4:35 p.m. ET (Fox)
- Lions at Bears, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
- Cardinals at Rams, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
- Ravens at Steelers, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
How to watch NFL games today; TV channel, what time
To watch the NFL games this weekend, tune to your local TV channels like ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox or NBC, depending on what game is on. Check out the schedule above, and stream the games on services like Fubo,ESPN+, Paramount+, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, Sling, and Hulu + Live TV.
What NFL games matter? Week 18
AFC and NFC titles, playoff spots, No. 1 seeding and wild card games are on the line with many important NFL games this weekend, including the Seahawks and 49ers game today, Saturday, Jan. 3, where the winner takes home the NFC West title and No. 1 overall seed in the NFC.
On Sunday, the Buccaneers vs. Panthers game could decide the NFC South. If the Panthers win, they clinch the division title, but if the Bucs win, they'll need the Falcons to lose to the Saints on Sunday to clinch the division.
Don't dismiss a massive showdown in the Ravens vs. Steelers game Sunday night: The final game of the season will also determine who will clinch the AFC North title, along with the final playoff spot in the AFC. Pittsburgh toppled Baltimore, 27-22, when they met in Week 14.
The No. 1 seed in the AFC will also be decided Sunday: The Broncos will host the Chargers, and if they win, they'll clinch the top seed. If the Broncos lose, the Patriots could sneak in and take the top seed, should they beat the Dolphins. However, if the Broncos and Patriots both lose, and the Jaguars win? Jags get No. 1 seed.
And for seeding purposes, if the Bears beat the Lions (already eliminated), they secure No. 2 seed, and if the Texans beat the Colts (also eliminated), they win the AFC South, provided a Jaguars loss.
Who's playing Sunday Night Football?
The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Baltimore Ravens at 8:20 p.m. ET on "Sunday Night Football" in the final 2025 NFL regular season game. The winner snags the AFC North championship, and No. 4 seed. The loser goes home.
Is there a Monday Night Football game?
No, there is no Monday Night Football game on Jan. 5, 2026, with Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season concluding with NBC's "Sunday Night Football."
When are the NFL playoffs?
The NFL postseason is split into four rounds before we head to Super Bowl 60 on Feb. 8, 2026. Week-by-week, here's how it'll play out as we await Week 18 winners and losers:
NFL Wild Card games
The NFL Wild Card round will have six games over three days from Jan. 10-12, 2026, with the No. 2 through No. 7 seeds facing off:
- Saturday, Jan. 10: Two games, played at 4:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
- Sunday, Jan. 11: Three games, played at 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
- Monday, Jan. 12: One game (ESPN and ABC) at 8:15 p.m.
NFL divisional round, conference championship games
The NFL divisional round will have four games, two on each weekend day: Saturday, Jan. 17 (4:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.) and Sunday, Jan. 18 (3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.).
The final two NFL conference championship games will be held on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
What day is Super Bowl 2026? Date, location
Super Bowl 60, or Super Bowl LX, is Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET with Bad Bunny as the halftime show headliner, with Charlie Puth singing the National Anthem and Brandi Carlile singing "America the Beautiful."
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What NFL games are this weekend? Who plays, important games, playoffs
Category: General Sports
