The National Football League playoffs for the 2020 season began with the Wildcard Round on January 9, 2021, and concluded with Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 7, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9. This marked the first time a team has played the Super Bowl at their home field, as the Buccaneers reached the title game after winning three playoff games on the road.
The league expanded its playoff system from a 12-team to a 14-team tournament, adding a third wild card team for each conference for the first time since the 2001 season, and only awarding each conference's division winner with the best record a first round bye. The Wild Card round was thus extended from two to three games per day.
The playoffs were played during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and each game's attendance was limited due to local health restrictions . Had a serious outbreak occurred during the regular season, the league had contingency plans to delay the postseason, eliminate the bye week before the Super Bowl and postpone the game itself to as late as February 28. NFL owners also approved an additional alternative plan to implement a 16-team playoff format, with no teams getting a bye, if "meaningful" regular season games were canceled because of the virus.
The Cleveland Browns and eventual Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had not made it to the playoffs since 2002 and 2007, respectively, and thus held the two longest playoff appearance droughts in the league at the time, both qualified for the postseason in 2020, giving the New York Jets, who had not appeared since 2010, the longest active playoff appearance drought. Conversely, the New England Patriots missed the postseason for the first time since 2008, ending the longest playoff appearance streak in NFL history.
With the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens facing each other in the AFC Divisional playoffs, Buffalo became the third team in NFL history (joining the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles) and the first AFC team to face every team within their respective conference in the postseason at least once.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule In the event of a COVID-19 outbreak, the league stated playoff games or entire postseason rounds could be postponed, the bye week after the Conference Championships could be eliminated, and the Super Bowl could be moved up to three weeks later to February 28. None of these contingency plans were necessary.
Round Away team Score Home team Date Kickoff(ET / UTC–5) TV Viewers (millions) TV ratingWild-card round Indianapolis Colts 24–27 Buffalo Bills January 9, 2021 1:05 p.m. CBS 20.1 11.6 Los Angeles Rams 30–20 Seattle Seahawks 4:40 p.m. Fox 24.6 12.7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–23 Washington Football Team 8:15 p.m. NBC 21.4 11.5 Baltimore Ravens 20–13 Tennessee Titans January 10, 2021 1:05 p.m. ABC/ESPN 24.8 14.2 Chicago Bears 9–21 New Orleans Saints 4:40 p.m. CBS/Nickelodeon 30.6 16.4 Cleveland Browns 48–37 Pittsburgh Steelers 8:15 p.m. NBC 26.0 13.4Divisional round Los Angeles Rams 18–32 Green Bay Packers January 16, 2021 4:35 p.m. Fox 26.5 14.1 Baltimore Ravens 3–17 Buffalo Bills 8:15 p.m. NBC 26.3 13.7 Cleveland Browns 17–22 Kansas City Chiefs January 17, 2021 3:05 p.m. CBS 34.3 18.3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30–20 New Orleans Saints 6:40 p.m. Fox 35.5 18.1Conference championships Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–26 Green Bay Packers January 24, 2021 3:05 p.m. Fox 44.8 23.0 Buffalo Bills 24–38 Kansas City Chiefs January 24, 2021 6:40 p.m. CBS 41.8 21.1 Super Bowl LVRaymond James StadiumTampa, Florida Kansas City Chiefs 9–31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers February 7, 2021 6:40 p.m. CBS 96.4 38.2
Wild-card round Saturday, January 9, 2021 AFC: Buffalo Bills 27, Indianapolis Colts 24
Buffalo built up a 24–10 second half lead and held off an Indianapolis fourth quarter rally to earn their first playoff win since the 1995 season.
In the first quarter, Colts quarterback Philip Rivers made completions to T. Y. Hilton and Michael Pittman Jr. for gains of 23 and 22 yards that set up the first score on a 30-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship. Buffalo responded with an 8-play, 85-yard drive, featuring a 36-yard completion from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs. Allen finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox, giving the Bills a 7–3 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the quarter.
On a second quarter drive, Rivers completed a 32-yard pass to Pittman, while running back Jonathan Taylor caught a 6-yard pass and rushed four times for 17 yards, the last carry a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Colts up 10–7. Then after a punt, Indianapolis drove to a first and goal from the Bills 4-yard line; after a 2-yard pass and a 1-yard run, Taylor was tackled for a 3-yard loss by Tre'Davious White and Taron Johnson. Deciding to attempt a fourth-down conversion, Indianapolis turned the ball over as Rivers' pass to Pittman Jr. was incomplete. Taking the ball back with 1:46 left in the half, Allen completed passes to Gabe Davis for gains of 37 and 19 yards, while also picking up 16 yards on a scramble as he led the team 96 yards in 10 plays to score on a 5-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left before halftime, giving Buffalo a 14–10 lead.
Buffalo took the second half kickoff and drove 44 yards in 9 plays, with Allen completing two passes to Cole Beasley for 23 yards and a 16-yard pass to Diggs. Tyler Bass finished the possession with a 46-yard field goal, that increased the team's lead to 17–10. Indianapolis responded with a drive to the Bills' 15-yard line, only to have Blankenship miss a 33-yard field goal attempt. Buffalo then drove 77 yards in 9 plays to go up 24–10 on Allen's 35-yard touchdown completion to Diggs, with 14:17 left.
On the second play of the Colts' next possession, Nyheim Hines took off for a 29-yard run, and then Taylor rushed for 20 yards. The Colts were on the move and did not stop until Rivers finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zach Pascal, making the score 24–16. After a Bills penalty moved the ball to the 1-yard line on the extra point attempt, the Colts decided to try a 2-point conversion. Linebacker Matt Milano broke up the play by getting through the line and dropping Taylor for a 1-yard loss. Buffalo then responded with a pair of 16-yard receptions by Diggs and Beasley that set up Bass' 54-yard field goal, increasing the Bills' lead to 27–16 with just over 8 minutes left. Faced with 3rd and 7 on their ensuing drive, the Colts fooled Buffalo's defense with a draw play, in which Hines took a delayed handoff and ran 33 yards to the Bills' 27-yard line. On the next play, Rivers completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jack Doyle; Rivers threw the ball to Doyle again on a 2-point conversion, making the score 27–24.
Buffalo took the ball back and drove to the Colts' 34-yard line, but Colts defensive end Denico Autry sacked Allen and forced a fumble. Bills offensive tackle Daryl Williams recovered the ball, but the team lost 18 yards and ended up having to punt with 2:38 left, giving the Colts a chance to drive for a winning or tying score. The Colts proceeded to drive to the Buffalo 46-yard line, converting two fourth downs along the way. On the second one, Pascal made a diving catch for 17 yards on fourth and 10, then appeared to fumble the ball as he got up, which Buffalo recovered. However, officials ruled him down by contact after making the catch, and this was upheld by replay review. Still, Buffalo's defense managed to hang on after this, forcing a 1-yard loss and two incompletions to set up a 4th down at the 47 yard line. Rivers flung a desperation pass to the end zone as time expired, but the pass was batted away safely to the ground for an incompletion to end the game.
Allen finished the game 26-for-35 for 324 yards and two touchdowns, while also leading the Bills in rushing with 11 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. Diggs caught 6 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Rivers was 27-for-46 for 309 yards and two touchdowns in what would end up being his final NFL game prior to announcing his retirement. Taylor was the top rusher for the game with 21 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Hines had 75 yards on 6 rushes and Pittman caught 5 passes for 90 yards. Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard had 9 solo tackles and 3 assists. The Bills won despite being outgained in total yards 472 to 397.
NFC: Los Angeles Rams 30, Seattle Seahawks 20
Rams starting quarterback Jared Goff came into this game as a backup to John Wolford – due to a broken thumb on his throwing hand suffered in week 16 – but a neck injury suffered by Wolford on the Rams' second possession resulted in Goff returning to the starting lineup. Though Goff completed less than half his passes, he led the Rams to victory, with rookie running back Cam Akers accumulating 176 scrimmage yards.
Seahawks' safety Jamal Adams landed an illegal low helmet-to-helmet hit on Wolford, knocking him out of the game during the Rams' second possession, after he completed a pair of passes to Cooper Kupp for gains of 15 and 13 yards that set up Matt Gay's 40-yard field goal, giving the team a 3–0 lead. In the second quarter, Michael Dickson's 48-yard punt pinned the Rams back on their own 5-yard line. Following a three-and-out, Johnny Hekker's 44-yard punt gave Seattle good field position on their own 49-yard line, where they proceeded to drive 19 yards and tie the game on a 50-yard field goal by Jason Myers. Los Angeles struck back with Goff's 44-yard completion to Kupp setting up Gay's second field goal, a 39-yard kick. Then they increased their lead to 13–3 when Darious Williams intercepted a pass from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Wilson quickly recovered, leading the team 79 yards in five plays and scoring on a 51-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf. On Los Angeles' next possession, Akers had a 44-yard reception and a 20-yard carry before taking the ball into the end zone on a 5-yard run, giving the Rams a 20–10 lead with 2 minutes left in the half.
Seattle cornerback D. J. Reed returned the second half kickoff 58 yards to Los Angeles' 41-yard line, setting up a 52-yard field goal by Myers that cut the score to 20–13. After six consecutive drives resulted in punts, Goff's 20-yard completion to Robert Woods started up a 9-play, 52-yard drive that ended on a 36-yard field goal from Gay, giving the Rams a 23–13 lead with 11:37 remaining. Then after a punt from each team, Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam forced a fumble from Reed on a punt return, which Micah Kiser recovered for Los Angeles on the Seahawks' 36-yard line, where the Rams went on to a 30–13 lead on Goff's 15-yard touchdown pass to Woods. Wilson responded with a 23-yard scramble and a 28-yard completion to Freddie Swain before throwing a 12-yard touchdown completion to Metcalf, with 2:34 left.
Goff was 9-for-19 for 155 yards and a touchdown, while defensive tackle Aaron Donald had two sacks, despite having to leave the game with a rib injury. Wilson was held to 11-for-27 for 174 yards, with two touchdowns – both to Metcalf, who had five receptions for 96 yards – and an interception, as well as 50 yards on 4 carries; linebacker Bobby Wagner had 11 solo tackles, 5 assists, and 1 sack. It would be Wilson's final playoff game as a Seahawk.
This was the second meeting between the Rams and Seahawks. The Rams had also won the previous meeting on the road in the 2004 Wild Card Round.
NFC: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Washington Football Team 23
Tampa Bay racked up 507 yards of offense, 3 sacks, and forced 2 turnovers as they earned their first postseason victory since winning Super Bowl XXXVII.