NFL 2025 playoffs: Teams, players, statistics, opponents and 2024 records on road to Super Bowl 59

The NFL playoffs get under way this weekend, live on Insportly - here is your guide to the final eight teams battling for a place at Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.

The reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs and high-flying Detroit Lions join the action in the Divisional Round this weekend having enjoyed first-round byes as the respective AFC and NFC No 1 seeds.

This coming weekend will see eight become four to determine the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the winners of which will meet at the Caesars Superdome in February.

Next game: Divisional Round vs Houston Texans

Andy Reid's Chiefs enter the playoffs as back-to-back defending champions amid their bid to become the first team to win three successive Super Bowls in NFL history. Having marched out to a 9-0 start, they were dealt their first defeat of the campaign in Week 11 as Josh Allen inspired the Buffalo Bills to a 30-21 victory over their fierce AFC rivals, after which the Chiefs went on to win six straight while clinching the No 1 seed against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day.

As was the case last season, this is a different Chiefs team operating with a different identity to the high-octane aerial offensive juggernaut that tormented teams behind Patrick Mahomes during his early years as starter. Steve Spagnuolo's defense has again played a defining roll, ranking second in scoring while spearheaded by star corner Trent McDuffie and veteran defensive tackle Chris Jones.

Three-time Super Bowl MVP Mahomes has experienced the least prolific season of his NFL career as pilot to an offense ranked down in 16th in total yards, 14th in passing, 22nd in rushing, 15th in scoring and ninth in EPA/play. The Chiefs and their stuttering offense had been dealt an early-season blow when wide receiver Rashee Rice was ruled out for the year through injury after four games having already seen offseason addition Hollywood Brown sidelined, placing an added emphasis on rookie receiver Xavier Worthy. It would later prompt Kansas City to trade for three-time First-Team All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins as support for tight end Travis Kelce.

Injury to starting running back Isiah Pacheco meanwhile paved the way for the return of Kareem Hunt, who would play a starring role behind one of the league's top interior rushing schemes, led by three Pro Bowlers in Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Pacheco, Brown and defensive end Charles Omenihu have since returned in time to hand the Chiefs a boost in the playoffs. The story of the Chiefs' season, though, has tight finishes, with 11 of their wins this year coming by one score.

Next game: Divisional Round vs Baltimore Ravens

Questions had loomed for the Buffalo Bills entering the new season as you wondered whether their Super Bowl window might be narrowing on the back of three straight Divisional Round exits and an AFC Championship defeat in 2020, the offseason departure of Stefon Diggs leaving a mix of youthful and unproven weapons at the disposal of Josh Allen.

That was until Josh Allen reminded the league that the Bills will always remainder contenders so long as he is still under center, reeling off another MVP-calibre campaign while becoming the first player in NFL history to record five straight 40-touchdown seasons after producing 18 scores to just one turnover in December alone.

Khalil Shakir emerged as his most favoured target with support from rookie receiver Keon Coleman, while Amari Cooper arrived from the Cleveland Browns as welcome veteran help ahead of the trade deadline. James Cook has also been instrumental to Joe Brady's offense with 1,267 yards and 18 touchdowns from scrimmage.

Buffalo opened the year 3-0 before suffering a heavy 35-10 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens and a 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans, sparking a seven-game winning streak to take control of the AFC East until they were stunned 44-42 in a thriller against the Los Angeles Rams. A week later they out-scored the Detroit Lions 48-42 to underline their Super Bowl credentials as one of 12 teams yet to lift the Lombardi Trophy.

Allen went 20 of 26 for 272 yards and two touchdowns while Cook rushed for 120 yards and a score as the Bills cruised to a 31-7 victory over the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card round.

Next game: Divisional Round @ Buffalo Bills

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens continue to knock on the Super Bowl door as one of the NFL's nearly powerhouses after losing out to the Chiefs in last season's AFC Championship Game and twice seen their star quarterback named MVP. Jackson returned to the playoffs as one of the favourites to win a third MVP award alongside Buffalo's Josh Allen after throwing for 41 touchdowns to just four interceptions with the highest passer rating among starters in the league, having also rushed for 915 yards after breaking Michael Vick's NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in history.

Derrick Henry has been as advertised after signing in the offseason, the former Tennessee Titans running back bulldozing his way to 1,921 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns to rival the likes of Saquon Barkley and Ja'Marr Chase for Offensive Player of the Year as part of the league's top-ranked running attack.

Zay Flowers earned his first Pro Bowl selection after a maiden 1,000-yard campaign, though sat out Baltimore's Wild Card 28-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a knee injury, while Rashod Bateman has enjoyed a career year with 756 yards and nine touchdowns.

Baltimore ranked second with 54 sacks on the year after seeing both Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh hit double figures, their defense recovering from a disappointing start to the year to rank No 1 in yards, passing and scoring from Week 11 onwards. John Harbaugh's side lost by the toe of Isaiah Likely against the Chiefs in Week One before suffering a shock defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders to fall to 0-2, responding with a five-game winning run that saw them outmuscle the Bills in a 35-10 statement win as well denying the Bengals in an overtime epic. They were dealt another unlikely setback against the Cleveland Browns in Week Eight, but won seven of their last nine to edge out the Steelers for the AFC North title.

Next game: Divisional Round @ Kansas City Chiefs

It has been an indifferent year for DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans, who may have clinched the AFC South comfortably but entered the postseason deemed one of the more favourable matchups. That was until they intercepted Justin Herbert four times on the way to dismantling the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 during Wild Card weekend. CJ Stroud finished the regular season with 3,677 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to 12 interceptions following his glittering rookie year, while being sacked 52 times - second only to Caleb Williams' 67 across the league amid concerns over Houston's pass protection.

The Texans opened their campaign 6-2 in a run that included an impressive win over the Bills, before having to wait over a month until their next win streak in December as they won just three of eight heading into the final weekend. In the process they have had to overcome a season-ending injury to offseason acquisition Diggs, while also missing star wide receiver Nico Collins for over a month due to a hamstring injury, with the Texans offense ranked 22nd in total yards, 21st in passing, 15th in rushing and 19th in scoring. Collins led the team with 1,006 yards and six touchdowns, while veteran running back Joe Mixon posted 1,325 yards and 12 touchdowns from scrimmage heading into the playoffs.

Houston's defense has meanwhile been among the sternest in the league, with Danielle Hunter (12) and Will Anderson Jr (11) combining for 23 sacks and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr breaking up a second-most 18 passes alongside his five interceptions.

Next game: Divisional Round

The Lions flexed their Super Bowl credentials on the final day of the regular season by cruising to a 31-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings to cement the No 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye with a record of 15-2. It was nothing less than they deserve as the most consistent and explosive offense across the league all season long, as much set to see offensive coordinator Ben Johnson become one of the most in-demand head coaching candidates over the next month.

Jared Goff finished second only to Joe Burrow in passing yards this season while throwing for 37 touchdowns with a second-ranked passer rating among starting quarterbacks. He has been an unflappable focal point to an offense loaded with talent, led by Amon-Ra St Brown and Jameson Williams on the outside and with running back Jahmyr Gibbs contributing 1,929 yards and 20 touchdowns from scrimmage, compensating for the loss of backfield partner David Montgomery to injury down the stretch. Detroit finished the regular season ranked second in total yards, second in passing, sixth in rushing and first in scoring.

Dan Campbell's side lost Defensive Player of the Year candidate Aidan Hutchinson after just five games, but continued to spread the workload across Aaron Glenn's unit as Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph asserted themselves as one of the most formidable safety duos in the league.

The Lions kickstarted the campaign with a 26-20 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams before being pegged back by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week Two. From there they won 11 straight games to surge to the top of the NFC standings, twice defeating the Green Bay Packers as well as putting up 47 points on the Dallas Cowboys, 52 points on the Tennessee Titans and 52 points on the Jacksonville Jaguars. They were then reminded of the challenge that could await down the line when they were out-scored 48-42 in a thriller against Buffalo in Week 15, which could yet prove a Super Bowl preview.

Next game: Divisional Round vs Los Angeles Rams

The Eagles emerged as one of the hottest teams in the NFL over the second half of the season with a 10-game winning streak that saw them topple the Washington Commanders, Rams and Ravens across three straight weeks in November and December. Their run then came to an end in a 36-33 loss to the Jayden Daniels-inspired Commanders as Philly lost starting quarterback Jalen Hurts to a concussion that would also keep him out in Week 17 as the Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys to clinch the NFC East title.

Saquon Barkley has been central to the success of Nick Sirianni's side following the running back's arrival in free agency on the back of six seasons with the New York Giants. The former No 2 overall pick became just the ninth player to pass 2,000 rushing yards in a season having moved within 101 of beating Erick Dickerson's all-time single-season record, his impact coming from behind what remains one of the league's most potent offensive lines including center Cam Jurgens as what appears a perfect successor to Jason Kelce.

He starred yet again with 119 rushing yards in Philadelphia's 22-10 Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers, during which quarterback Jordan Love was intercepted three times.

Barkley's influence has coincided with Hurts finishing with a career-high completion percentage and passer rating while throwing 18 touchdowns to five picks - a tandem AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith feasting yet again - in addition to 630 rushing yards and 14 scores. On the other side of the ball, the Eagles boast the NFL's top-ranked defense in yards and passing as well as finishing second in scoring, linebacker Zack Baun asserting himself as a Defensive Player of the Year contender and Quinyon Mitchell ascending as one of the most gifted young corners in the league.

The Eagles were beaten by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round last season, having come up shy in a 38-35 defeat to the Chiefs at Super Bowl LVII the prior year.

Next game: Divisional Round @ Philadelphia Eagles

Write off the Los Angeles Rams at your peril. An advert for how dangerous Sean McVay's side can be in the playoffs arrived in Week 14 when they fended off the Bills 44-42 in what, at the time, marked the highest-scoring game of the season. In doing so it also reiterated the threat the Rams pose when their star quartet of quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Kyren Williams and wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua is healthy and on the field together. Williams rushed for 1,299 and 14 touchdowns in the regular season, while Kupp and Nacua combined for 1,700 receiving yards and nine touchdowns having missed nine games between them through injury.

Having previously built their Super Bowl-winning team are marquee veteran trades and free agency additions, the success of the 2024 Rams has been largely built on youth. Particularly on defense where first-round pick edge rusher Jared Verse has asserted himself as Defensive Rooke of the Year favourite, and where second-round rookie Braden Fiske is tied-first on the team with eight sacks with key contributions from Kobie Turner (8 sacks) and Byron Young (7.5 sacks) as success stories from the 2023 Draft in the post Aaron Donald era.

Chris Shula's Rams defense played a defining role again to lead the Rams to a 27-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Monday's Wild Card matchup, Turner accounting for two of nine sacks on Sam Darnold while Verse scored 57-yard fumble return touchdown.

The Rams had found themselves in the thick of a wide-open NFC West race with the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals during the season, eventually nudging themselves in front to clinch the title with nine wins in 11 following their bye week having opened 1-4.

Next game: Divisional Round @ Detroit Lions

The standout story of the season in Washington has been a scintillating rookie year for quarterback Jayden Daniels, who took the reins on a new era for the Commanders as the No 2 overall pick at the Draft. Daniels has fast-tracked Dan Quinn's side into surprise contention as the string-puller to a Kliff Kingsbury offense that has helped repair the former Arizona Cardinals head coach's reputation in the NFL. Daniels completed 331 of 480 passes for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns to nine interceptions while carrying the ball 148 times for 891 yards and six scores, in turn setting a new NFL record for single-season rushing yards by a rookie quarterback.

Daniels' early impact even thrust him into MVP contention as Washington opened their year 7-2, before Quinn's team were pegged back by a three-game skid including defeats to the Cowboys and Eagles. They followed up with four straight wins to secure a Wild Card spot, their first since 2020 and just their second playoff berth since 2015.

Brian Robinson Jr has also starred alongside Daniels as part of the league's No 3-ranked rushing offense, carrying the ball 187 times for 799 yards and eight touchdowns, while Terry McLaurin leads Washington through the air with 82 catches for 1,096 and 13 touchdowns ahead of Zach Ertz's 66 receptions for 654 and seven scores. All-action linebacker Frankie Luvu has meanwhile been a cruel Pro Bowl snub after managing 99 tackles, eight sacks, 12 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Washington booked their spot in the Divisional Round with a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers thanks to Zane Gonzalez's game-winning field goal.

Wildcard weekend took place from Saturday January 11 - Monday January 13 before the playoffs enter the Divisional Round on Saturday January 18 and Sunday January 19, at which point the respective No 1 seeds will join the action following their bye.

It is then onto the AFC and NFC Championship Games on Sunday January 26, before Super Bowl LIX takes place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9.

It will be the 11th time the Super Bowl has been hosted in New Orleans, the first time since 2013, and the eighth game to be held at the Caesars Superdome.

Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl half-time show.