The regular season has officially ended for the New England Patriots, and now all attention turns towards the postseason. With the conclusion of the afternoon games, the Patriots now know exactly who they will be playing, along with when they will be playing.
So without further ado, here’s what you need to know about the Patriots’ playoff schedule
Patriots’ Next Opponent: Who Will New England Play in the NFL Playoffs?
The Patriots will host the Chargers in the Wild Card round after Los Angeles lost to the Denver Broncos. The Buffalo Bills, who defeated the New York Jets despite having benched their starters, secured the sixth seed and will face the Jacksonville Jaguars. And then, it’ll be the Houston Texans against the winner of the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers matchup on Sunday night.
As for the Broncos, they secured the No. 1 seed, earning a first-round bye.
What Time Will The Patriots Game Be At?
With the way Drake Maye has been playing combined with Justin Herbert’s talent, it’s no surprise that the NFL wants to make sure extra eyes are on this matchup. So with that, they decided to put them in primetime.
During Sunday Night Football, it was announced that the Patriots will play on Jan. 11 at 8:15 p.m. ET.
What Did Mike Vrabel Have To Say About Facing The Chargers?
After the Patriots’ 38-10 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, head coach Mike Vrabel spoke to reporters, and one of the first questions he was asked was about his thoughts on having to face Los Angeles next week.
“We’ll get ready and get rolling and try to do what we do every week, which is prepare and figure out who we have available and what we feel like the keys are going to be and try to practice and be ready to go,” he said. “That’s all we’ve done all year, and that’s all we’ll be able to do this week in the playoffs.”
Vrabel was also asked about what it means to put together a 14-win season in his first year as head coach, but he made it clear that his focus is on the Chargers.
“It means we are the second seed and we’re going to host the Chargers, and we start over,” he responded. “The only wins that matter are going to be the ones that we can get moving forward.”
Maye, on the other hand, was a little more reflective of the turnaround.
“We’ve come a long way,” the quarterback said. “It takes everybody. It took everybody in that locker room, took every coach. It starts now. This was one of the goals, host home playoff games, and this is what we wanted. It’s win or go home, and the mentality, nothing changes from that standpoint, but really, we’ve just got to stay playing like us. We’ve built this identity and play to it, and I think good things happen.”
Here Is The Full Wild Card Weekend Schedule
Saturday, January 10
Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers – 4:30 ET on FOX
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears – 8 ET on Amazon
Sunday, January 11
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars – 1 ET on CBS
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles – 4:30 ET on FOX
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots – 8:15 ET on NBC
Monday, January 12
Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers/Baltimore Ravens – 8:15 ET on ABC/ESPN
What Time & Day Will the Patriots Wild Card Game Be?