Sports: NFL playoff bracket 2022: Full schedule, TV channels, scores for AFC & NFC games

NFL standings: Updated AFC, NFC playoff picture for Week 17 of 2021 season

As the NFL's playoff picture begins to come into focus, here are the updated AFC and NFC standings for Week 17.The league kept its expanded playoff field, with 14 of its 32 teams (43.8 percent) set to qualify for the latest postseason. That includes 7 each from the AFC and NFC, with only the No. 1 seeds getting byes on top of home-field advantage.

With the NFL's inaugural Week 18 wrapped up, it's time for the playoffs to kick off.

The path to the postseason in Week 18 was wild. The Colts, who were widely expected to earn one of the two Wild Card berths that had yet to be clinched, were defeated by the Jaguars. That knocked them out of the AFC playoff picture while opening the door for the Steelers to make it in after their win over the Ravens. So long as the Chargers and Raiders don't tie on "Sunday Night Football", the Steelers will go to the postseason in what is presumed to be Ben Roethlisberger's final season.

MORE: SN predicts the entire 2022 NFL playoff bracket

NFL playoff picture: Projecting the seeds & matchups for AFC, NFC brackets for Week 18

Here's everything to know about the 2022 NFL playoff picture entering Week 18, including the projected seeds and matchups for every division champion and wild-card teams.There's a few more shufflings that could take place this weekend, but the NFL must be glad with the way the lengthened season worked out: Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, there are still several playoff spots left open in the AFC and one in the NFC, with divisional matchups

On the NFC side of the bracket, it looked like the Saints would clinch the lone remaining NFC spot early on. However, the 49ers roared back from a 17-0 deficit in the second half against the Rams and earned a 27-24 win in overtime. The 49ers will be the No. 6 seed because of their win while the Rams dropped to No. 4 but still won the NFC West thanks to the Cardinals' 38-30 loss to the Seahawks.

The wild-card games begin Saturday, Jan. 15 with 12 teams competing across three days. Two teams, the Packers and the Titans, earned first-round byes and won't compete until the divisional rounds the following weekend.

Below is all you need to know about the NFL playoff bracket in 2022, including a complete postseason schedule, TV channels for all the playoff games and scores/results as they come.

How many teams make the NFL playoffs? Updated standings for 2022 playoff bracket

Here's a look at how the NFL playoffs are shaping up for the 2021 season, including number of teams and current standings.The NFL expanded the postseason format from 12 to 14 teams in 2020, and that is the case again in 2021, with seven teams from each conference reaching the postseason and the top seed from each getting a first-round bye.

MORE: Watch NFL playoff games live with fuboTV (free trial)

NFL playoff bracket 2022

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Here's a look at the complete NFL playoff bracket for 2022:

AFC

1. Tennessee Titans (BYE)

2. Kansas City Chiefs vs. 7. Pittsburgh Steelers

3. Buffalo Bills vs. 6. New England Patriots

4. Cincinnati Bengals vs. 5. Las Vegas Raiders

NFC

1. Green Bay Packers (BYE)

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. 7. Philadelphia Eagles

3. Dallas Cowboys vs. 6. San Francisco 49ers

4. Los Angeles Rams vs. 5. Arizona Cardinals

POWER RANKINGS: Every NFL playoff team's real chances to win Super Bowl 56

NFL playoff schedule 2022

Wild-card round

Saturday, Jan. 15

Matchup	Start time	TV channel	Live stream
Raiders vs. Bengals	4:35 p.m. ET	NBC	Peacock, fuboTV
Patriots vs. Bills	8:15 p.m. ET	CBS	Paramount+, fuboTV

Sunday, Jan. 16

Matchup	Start time	TV channel	Live stream
Eagles vs. Buccaneers	1:05 p.m. ET	Fox	fuboTV
49ers vs. Cowboys	4:40 p.m. ET	CBS, Nickelodeon	Paramount+, Amazon Prime, fuboTV
Steelers vs. Chiefs	8:15 p.m. ET	NBC	Peacock, fuboTV

Monday, Jan. 17

Matchup	Start time	TV channel	Live stream
Cardinals vs. Rams	8:15 p.m. ET	ESPN	ESPN App, fuboTV

Divisional round

Saturday, Jan. 22

Matchup	Start time	TV channel	Live stream
AFC Divisional Round	TBA	TBA	fuboTV
NFC Divisional Round	TBA	TBA	fuboTV

Sunday, Jan. 23

Matchup	Start time	TV channel	Live stream
AFC Divisional Round	TBA	TBA	fuboTV
NFC Divisional Round	TBA	TBA	fuboTV

Conference championships

Sunday, Jan. 30

Matchup	Start time	TV channel	Live stream
AFC Championship Game	3:05 p.m. ET	CBS	Paramount+, fuboTV
NFC Championship Game	6:40 p.m. ET	Fox	Fox Sports app, fuboTV

Super Bowl 56

Sunday, Feb. 13

Matchup	Start time	TV channel	Live stream
Super Bowl 56	6:30 p.m. ET	NBC	NBC Sports app, fuboTV

TV channels, live streams for NFL playoff games

This year, CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC and ESPN will each broadcast games throughout the playoffs. NBC is the home for Super Bowl 56 in February.

NFL playoff schedule: Dates, times, TV channels for every 2022 postseason game

Here is the complete 2022 NFL playoff schedule, beginning with Wild Card weekend and spanning through Super Bowl 56. Included is information about the TV channels, start times, final scores and more.Brady and the Bucs are hoping to be the first repeat Super Bowl winners since Brady's Patriots did it in 2003 and 2004. This year, Tampa Bay will enter the postseason as the NFC South winner — they were a Wild Card team last year — but they won't have the advantage of playing the Super Bowl on home soil.

Viewers can watch all the NFL playoff games in 2022 live with fuboTV, which offers a free trial.

In Canada, all NFL playoff games are available for live-streaming via DAZN with a subscription.

When do the NFL playoffs end 2022?

• Start date: Saturday, Jan. 15
• End date: Sunday, Feb. 13

The first weekend of the playoffs begins on Saturday, Jan. 15 with the wild-card round. The divisional round games take place the weekend after, with the conference championships happening on Sunday, Jan. 30.

The 2022 Pro Bowl will take place on Saturday, Feb. 6, which is the weekend before the Super Bowl. The NFL season will end on Sunday, Feb. 13 when the Super Bowl takes place.