The National Football League playoffs for the 2022 season began on January 14, 2023, and concluded with Super Bowl LVII on February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles.
This was the first postseason under a new rule in which both teams will be assured one possession in overtime, even if the first team with possession scores a touchdown. However, no game went into overtime.
With Jacksonville and Kansas City facing each other in the AFC Divisional Round, Kansas City became the fourth team in NFL history (the other three being the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia, and Buffalo) to face every team within their respective conference in the postseason at least once.
Participants
Unused format changes following Week 17 canceled Bills–Bengals game
During the Week 17 game on January 2 between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and remained motionless after making a tackle on Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins. At the time of Hamlin's collapse, there was 5:58 remaining in the first quarter with Cincinnati leading 7–3. It was later revealed that he had suffered cardiac arrest and was in critical condition. The remainder of the game was then postponed for the rest of the night, and on the following day, the NFL initially said that it would not be resumed that week. Then on January 5, the league announced that the game would be canceled entirely, and both teams would finish the regular season with only 16 regular season games, saying that it was "difficult, but necessary" under the "extraordinary circumstances".
The cancellation of the Bills–Bengals game, however, affected the playoff implications involving four teams: the Bills, Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens. Going into the game, Cincinnati held an 11–4 record and only needed a win to clinch the AFC North division title over Baltimore (which was 10–6 after finishing their week 17 game and losing the conference record tiebreaker to the 10–6 Los Angeles Chargers for wild card seeding). The Bengals and the 12–3 Bills were also both fighting the 13–3 Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC.
Had Buffalo won the canceled game to go to 13–3, and both the Bills and Chiefs then ended the regular season at 14–3, Buffalo would have held the head-to-head victory tiebreaker over Kansas City. In addition, a Cincinnati loss to go to 11–5 would have resulted in the AFC North championship being decided by the Week 18 Ravens–Bengals game, with Baltimore having the head-to-head victory tiebreaker if both teams finished at 11–6. Had Cincinnati won the canceled game instead, not only would have they clinched their division title, but the Bengals would have held head-to-head victory tiebreakers over both the Bills and Chiefs if all three clubs ended at 13–4.
The league confirmed that to determine playoff matchups, seeding would still be determined by winning percentage, which the NFL has always formally used to rank teams. By canceling the game, the Bengals automatically clinched the AFC North division championship based on winning percentage. The Chiefs were then put into a position in Week 18 to clinch the AFC top seed with a win to go to 14–3, or for the Bills to finish at 12–4 with a loss.
Therefore during a special league meeting on January 6, NFL owners approved the following changes for this postseason to compensate for the missing aforementioned playoff implications of the canceled game: The AFC Championship Game would be held at a neutral site in the three circumstances: Buffalo and Kansas City both win or tie in Week 18, and both teams advance to the AFC Championship. Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati loses or ties in Week 18, and both Buffalo and Kansas City advance to the AFC Championship. Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins in Week 18, and Kansas City and either Buffalo or Cincinnati advance to the AFC Championship. The site of the Wild Card game between Baltimore and Cincinnati would be determined by coin flip if: Baltimore and the Los Angeles Chargers both won in Week 18.
After Week 18 was played, only the first scenario—caused by wins by both Buffalo and Kansas City—could happen. Meanwhile, Cincinnati won their game against Baltimore. The league then announced on January 12 that Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was selected to host a Buffalo–Kansas City AFC Championship Game if both teams advanced that far. This plan went unused after the Bengals defeated the Bills in the Divisional Playoffs by the score of 27–10.
New postseason overtime rule
As approved by NFL owners at their meeting on March 28, 2022, this is the first postseason in which both teams are assured of one possession in overtime, even if the first team with possession scores a touchdown. This change was made in response to several recent games in both the regular season and the postseason in which the first team to possess the ball in overtime scored a touchdown and the other team did not have a chance to respond.
Bracket
Schedule The playoffs began on January 14–16, 2023 with the Wild-Card Round, with three wild-card games played in each conference. In the Divisional Round, played January 21–22, the top seed in the conference played the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining teams played each other. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference Championship Games which were played on January 29. Super Bowl LVII was played on February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Round Away team Score Home team Date Kickoff(ET / UTC–5) Network Viewers (millions) TV ratingWild-card round Seattle Seahawks 23–41 San Francisco 49ers January 14, 2023 4:35 p.m. Fox 27.5 13.5 Los Angeles Chargers 30–31 Jacksonville Jaguars 8:15 p.m. NBC 20.6 10.5 Miami Dolphins 31–34 Buffalo Bills January 15, 2023 1:05 p.m. CBS 30.9 16.1 New York Giants 31–24 Minnesota Vikings 4:40 p.m. Fox 33.2 16.3 Baltimore Ravens 17–24 Cincinnati Bengals 8:15 p.m. NBC 28.6 13.8 Dallas Cowboys 31–14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers January 16, 2023 8:15 p.m. ABC/ESPN 31.2 16.5Divisional round Jacksonville Jaguars 20–27 Kansas City Chiefs January 21, 2023 4:35 p.m. NBC 34.3 16.0 New York Giants 7–38 Philadelphia Eagles 8:15 p.m. Fox 28.6 13.6 Cincinnati Bengals 27–10 Buffalo Bills January 22, 2023 3:05 p.m. CBS 39.3 20.1 Dallas Cowboys 12–19 San Francisco 49ers 6:40 p.m. Fox 45.6 21.8Conference championships San Francisco 49ers 7–31 Philadelphia Eagles January 29, 2023 3:05 p.m. Fox 47.5 22.7 Cincinnati Bengals 20–23 Kansas City Chiefs 6:40 p.m. CBS 53.1 25.5 Super Bowl LVIIState Farm StadiumGlendale, Arizona Kansas City Chiefs 38–35 Philadelphia Eagles February 12, 2023 6:40 p.m. Fox 115.1 40.0
Wild-card round Saturday, January 14, 2023 NFC: San Francisco 49ers 41, Seattle Seahawks 23
San Francisco racked up 505 yards of offense, as they overcame a first-half deficit by scoring 25 unanswered points during the second half.
Seattle gained 9 yards on the first play, but still had to punt as Kenneth Walker III was tackled for a 1-yard loss by Talanoa Hufanga and quarterback Geno Smith was sacked by Arik Armstead over the next two plays. 49ers' quarterback Brock Purdy then completed a 19-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel ran for a 22-yard gain as the team drove 48 yards in 7 plays to take a 3–0 lead on Robbie Gould's 34-yard field goal. The Seahawks went three-and-out again on their next drive, and San Francisco advanced the ball upfield for another touchdown, taking advantage of a 68-yard run by Christian McCaffrey and an 18-yard reception by running back Elijah Mitchell. Purdy finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey, giving San Francisco a 10–0 lead with 5:11 left in the first quarter.
Seattle responded by moving the ball 78 yards in 14 plays; Walker rushed the ball 5 times for 22 yards, the last carry a 7-yard touchdown run that cut the score to 10–7. The 49ers countered with Purdy completing 3 passes for 51 yards and rushing for 13 to push their lead up to 13–7 on Gould's 33-yard field goal halfway through the second quarter. The Seahawks took the ball back and drove to a 14–13 lead, advancing 71 yards in 5 plays and scoring on Smith's 50-yard pass to DK Metcalf. Following a punt from each team, Purdy completed a 31-yard pass to Aiyuk and an 18-yard pass to Samuel, setting up Gould's 46-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the half. Seattle receiver Colby Parkinson returned the ensuing squib kick 14 yards to the Seahawks' 38-yard line. On the next play, Smith rushed for 9 yards, with an unnecessary roughness penalty against Jimmie Ward adding another 15 yards and enabling Jason Myers to kick a 56-yard field goal that gave the Seahawks a 17–16 lead at halftime.
However, the 49ers started the second half with three touchdowns and a field goal over their next four possessions. On their first drive of the half, the 49ers had a 15-play, 75-yard drive with Purdy completing passes to George Kittle and Samuel for gains of 23 yards and 21 yards, respectively, before taking the ball into the end zone himself a 1-yard run. Seattle's ensuing possession ended when Charles Omenihu forced a fumble from Smith that Nick Bosa recovered for the 49ers at their 30-yard line. San Francisco then drove 70 yards in 8 plays, the longest a 33-yard catch by Jauan Jennings. Purdy finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell, and then threw a pass to Kittle for a 2-point conversion, giving the team a 31–17 lead. Following a Seattle punt, Purdy threw an 8-yard pass to Samuel, and with blocking from Kittle and Aiyuk, he took it to the end zone for a 74-yard touchdown. On the first play of Seattle's next possession, Deommodore Lenoir intercepted a pass from Smith and returned it 6 yards to the Seahawks' 37-yard line. The 49ers then drove 24 yards and scored on Gould's fourth field goal, this one a 31-yard kick that gave the team a 41–17 lead with less than 5 minutes left. Seattle then drove 76 yards in 15 plays, the longest a 24-yard catch by Cade Johnson, and scored the final points of the game on Smith's 3-yard touchdown pass to Metcalf.
Purdy—a rookie in his 6th NFL start—finished the game 18-for-30 for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also rushing 4 times for 16 yards and a touchdown; McCaffrey rushed 15 times for 119 yards, while also catching 2 passes for 17 yards and a touchdown; Samuel was the team's top receiver with 6 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing 3 times for 32 yards and Omenihu had 2 sacks and a forced fumble. For the Seahawks, Smith finished the day 25-for-35 for 253 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception, while also rushing 4 times for 28 yards; Metcalf was his top receiver with 10 receptions for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns.
AFC: Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Los Angeles Chargers 30
Jacksonville overcame five first-half turnovers and a 27–0 deficit to win on Riley Patterson's walk-off field goal. This was the third largest comeback in NFL postseason history.Jacksonville Jaguars engineer third-largest postseason comeback in pro football history , Touchdown Wire, January 15, 2023