Super Wild Card Weekend is behind us now. After three days of playoff action from January 13th through January 15th, my focus has shifted to what lies ahead – Super Bowl LVIII.
In a hurry? You can watch five of these six games with these streaming services:
- Fubo: The best streaming service for international sports also provides 150+ well-selected channels. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
- DIRECTV STREAM: Get a great channel lineup with the best selection of RSNs in the industry. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
- Hulu + Live TV: This total entertainment streaming service provides a great on-demand selection and all the essential live TV channels with a 3-day free trial.
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Table Of Contents
2024 Super Wild Card Weekend Schedule
For the first time ever, one of the Wild Card games will be available via streaming only. It is the Saturday Night game and it will be on Peacock. You will also be able to watch the two games broadcast on NBC with Peacock.
The NFL playoff picture is set. Two teams will skip the Wild Card Round: Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. Here is the Super Wild Card Weekend game schedule with all the information:
- Sat Jan 13 : Cleveland Browns (14) at Houston Texans (45) (NBC/Peacock)
- Sat Jan 13 : Miami Dolphins (7) at Kansas City Chiefs (26) (Peacock)
- Sun Jan 14 : Green Bay Packers (48) at Dallas Cowboys (32) (Fox)
- Sun Jan 14 : Los Angeles Rams (23) at Detroit Lions (24) (NBC/Peacock)
- Mon Jan 15 : Pittsburgh Steelers (17) at Buffalo Bills (31) (CBS/Paramount+)
- Mon Jan 15 : Philadelphia Eagles (9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32) (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN+)
NFL Wild Card Basics
At the end of the NFL season, the 7 top teams in each conference go to the playoffs. These consist of the 4 division winners and then the 3 best teams conference-wide.
This often results in wild card teams having significantly better records than division winners. For example, in the 2022-23 season, the NFL East saw every team in the conference outperforming the winner of the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In that case, the Bucs did not disappoint, being crushed by the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card game.
The top-seed team in the AFC and NFC gets a bye for Super Wild Card Weekend. That means they don’t play and go directly to the Divisional Round. So of the 14 playoff spots, only 12 are featured in the Wild Card Round.
The remaining six teams are paired by their seed with the top team against the bottom team. Like this:
- #7 Seed at #2 Seed
- #6 Seed at #3 Seed
- #5 Seed at #4 Seed
Last season, for example, the San Francisco 49ers were the #2 seed in the NFC and the Seattle Seahawks were the #7 seed. They just happen to be in the same division but this had nothing to do with their being paired.
How to Live Stream NFL Wild Card Games
Five of the six Wild Card games will air on ESPN, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, or some combination of them. One of the games will be streaming-only on Peacock. If you want to watch that game, you will need to sign up for Peacock but at just $7.99/month, that shouldn’t be a problem.
The following streaming services give you access to all the other games. Some offer free trials so you can watch some NFL games for free as you check if it is right for you.
- Fubo (formerly FuboTV): It offers all the channels you need to watch the NFL regular season to the playoffs including all major local channels like Fox. For $79.99/month you get 150+ live channels, unlimited cloud DVR storage, and the ability to stream on 10 devices at once. (Fubo review)
- DIRECTV STREAM: Get 75+ channels including ESPN, Fox, NBC, and CBS — all for $86.99/month. The base plan also offers unlimited cloud DVR and watching on unlimited devices. (DIRECTV STREAM review)
- Hulu + Live TV: Only offers one package for $82.99/month. The plan provides local channels ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. You also get ESPN+ and Disney+. An unlimited cloud DVR is also included. (Hulu Live review)
- YouTube TV: You get all major local channels and ESPN for $82.99/month.
These services are missing CBS but you could combine them with Paramount+:
- Sling TV ($40.00/month) allows you to watch the non-CBS games. Sling Orange offers ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3 and Sling Blue offers ABC, Fox, and NBC in select markets.
Stream Outside the US
Those in Canada can watch all the NFL playoffs with DAZN. In almost all other countries, you can stream all of the playoffs with NFL Game Pass International. The one exception is China, which doesn’t have a simple way to watch.
Devices for Streaming NFL Wild Card Games
The streaming services are accessible through several streaming devices. Here are a list of devices you can use to watch the game through all the streaming services:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android Mobile
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- iOS Devices (eg, iPhone)
- Roku
- Samsung TVs
- Web Browsers
Many of these services support other devices such as the Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles as well as different smart TVs.
2024 NFL Wild Card Matchup Analyses
Here’s a general overview for each game.
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans
The Browns are generally thought of as a better team and are expected to defeat the Texans despite being seeded lower. It’s due to the AFC North being a much stronger division than the AFC South.
Given the home-field advantage, the Texans are being given 1.5 points in a game with an over/under of 43 points.
Rookie quarterback CJ Stroud is leading the Houston offense while veteran quarterback Joe Flacco leads Cleveland. But the two teams’ offenses are comparable. This game will likely come down to defense and that is where the Browns shine (at least outside the red zone).
Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs
This should be a good matchup in that it features two very different teams. The Chiefs have taken a beating from analysts but this says more about expectations than facts on the ground. Both teams are excellent.
According to the sportsbooks opening lines, Kansas City is expected to win by 1.5 points with a total of 47.5 points. So this should be a high-scoring game and either team could win.
Tua Tagovailoa leads Miami with what used to be arguably the best offense in the NFL. But the team has struggled with injuries. Patrick Mahomes continues as quarterback with Kansas City but it is the team’s defense that has been most impressive this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills
This game is not expected to be close. The opening line has the Bills winning by 7.5 points with an over/under of 43 points. But the Steelers have been playing well recently.
Due to Kenny Pickett’s injury, quarterback Mason Rudolph is leading the Steelers’ offense. Josh Allen had one of his best seasons with the Bills.
Buffalo has one of the best offensive and defensive rankings in the NFL. Pittsburgh is in the bottom third of the rankings.
Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys
Two of the most popular NFL teams compete in this Wild Card game. But the Cowboys were the number 2 seed (the top seed in the Wild Card Round) and the Packers were the seventh — only making the playoffs with their Week 18 win over the Chicago Bears.
The sportsbooks have set the Cowboys as a one-touchdown favorite in this game. And it is expected to be a high-scoring affair with a total of 47.85 points.
Green Bay’s new starting quarterback Jordan Love has had a good season and has kept the team toward the top of the best offenses in the league. It’s on defense that the Packers struggle. But it will be an uphill battle against a stronger Cowboys’ defense and one of the best quarterbacks in the league with Dak Prescott.
Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions
On first pass, the Lions look a lot stronger than the Rams. But the odds-makers only favor the Lions at home by 3.5 points in a high-scoring game with an over/under of 50.5.
The reason for the disconnect is that Detroit has been particularly bad with their pass coverage. And Los Angeles is a good passing team.
That said, overall, the Lions have a stronger offense and defense. So this could easily be a close game.
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs get home-field advantage in this contest by winning the weak NFC South. This is expected to keep the game close. The opening line for the game was Eagles by a field goal. And the total was 45.5 points.
Jalen Hurts leads the Eagles’ offense, which is one of the best in the NFL. Baker Mayfield is good leading the Buccaneers offense, but the team really struggles running the ball. But this could work out for them since the Eagles have a good rushing defense but has been terrible against the pass.
Wrapping Up
You can stream all the NFL Wild Card Games with live TV along with Peacock. Our top pick for live TV is Fubo, which will allow you to watch at least 5 of the 6 games of the 2024 NFL playoffs Wild Card round. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
FAQs
What happens if two teams are tied in the standings?
Unlike the NCAA, which bases playoffs on rankings, the NFL bases playoff seeds entirely on objective measures and has established tiebreak rules when necessary. They involve 12 different steps — ending in a coin flip. But it is fairly intuitive. The first step is the teams’ head-to-head record. If those are the same, the teams’ records in the division or conference are used. If those are tied, they look at common opponents. And so on.
My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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