Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II against the Los Angeles Rams.
There will be no NFL Thursday Night Football game on January 5, 2023 with all the Week 18 matchups taking place this weekend. While there is no TNF contest, all indications are the entire slate of NFL games for Week 18 will be played as scheduled on January 7-8.
The league announced the schedule will go on as planned after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during the team’s Monday Night Football matchup against the Bengals. The NFL has not revealed a decision on how the league will handle the postponed Bills-Bengals matchup.
The one unique part of this week’s NFL schedule is there are two games on Saturday, January 7. The day is headlined by the Jaguars hosting the Titans at 8:15 p.m. Eastern on ABC/ESPN with the winner clinching the AFC South title and a playoff berth. The Chiefs square off against the Raiders in the earlier Saturday game at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC/ESPN.
Here is a look at the the full Week 18 schedule for Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8. All times are listed in Eastern Standard.
NFL Schedule for Saturday, January 7, 2023
Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders 4:30 p.m. Eastern ABC/ESPN
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars 8:15 p.m. ABC/ESPN
NFL Schedule for Sunday, January 8, 2023
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons 1 p.m. FOX
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills 1 p.m. CBS
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears 1 p.m. FOX
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals 1 p.m. CBS
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts 1 p.m. CBS
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins 1 p.m. FOX
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints 1 p.m. FOX
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers 1 p.m. CBS
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos 4:25 p.m. CBS
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles 4:25 p.m. CBS
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers 4:25 p.m. FOX
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks 4:25 p.m. FOX
Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders 4:25 p.m. FOX
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers 8:20 p.m. NBC
How Will the NFL Handle the Bills-Bengals Game?
The NFL has yet to announce how the league plans to handle the Buffalo-Cincinnati matchup that was postponed from Week 17. Given the playoffs start on Saturday, January 14, it appears unlikely that the game will be resumed barring a last-minute change to push back the postseason.
The NFL could leave the game unplayed and use winning percentage to determine the AFC seeding. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the two most likely options are for the NFL to either rule the game a tie or no contest.
“The simplest scheduling option for the NFL is proceeding with the full slate of Week 18 games, which the league announced Tuesday it planned to do, and then ultimately ruling the Bills-Bengals game a no contest or a tie,” Jones wrote on January 4.
“…If it’s ruled a no-contest, that would require a manipulation of the playoff seeding qualifications that would be carried out by Goodell in consultation with club ownership groups.
“Would the AFC seeding be based off winning percentage? That seems to be the clearest path forward.”
NFL Playoff Schedule 2023
While we do not know the specific NFL playoff matchups, the time slots have been revealed for the first three days of postseason games. There are expected to be two games on Saturday, January 14, three games on Sunday, January 15 and one Monday Night Football game on January 16.
Here is a look at what we know about the NFL playoff schedule so far, per FBSSchedules.com.
Saturday, January 14, 2023
AFC/NFC Wild Card 4:30 p.m. Eastern TV TBD
AFC/NFC Wild Card 8:15 p.m. TV TBD
Sunday, January 15, 2023
AFC/NFC Wild Card 1 p.m. TV TBD
AFC/NFC Wild Card 4:30 P.M. CBS
AFC/NFC Wild Card 8:15 P.M. NBC
Monday, January 16, 2023
AFC/NFC Wild Card 8 p.m. ESPN