2017–18 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2017 season began with the wild-card round on January 6, 2018, and concluded with Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018, when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Several teams broke long playoff droughts, as the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams,Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans each qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2008, respectively.
This was the first postseason since 2008–09 to not feature Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and the first since 2001–02 without the Manning name.
The playoffs were also notable for the Patriots reaching a seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game, extending their own NFL record, and the Eagles snapping a 57-year championship drought and claiming their first in the Super Bowl era.
For the first time since 2013–14, no games went to overtime.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
Source:| Round | Away team | Score | Home team | Date | Kickoff | TV | Viewers | TV rating |
| Wild card playoffs | Tennessee Titans | 22–21 | Kansas City Chiefs | January 6, 2018 | 4:35 p.m. | ABC/ESPN | 22.2 | 13.0 |
| Wild card playoffs | Atlanta Falcons | 26–13 | Los Angeles Rams | January 6, 2018 | 8:15 p.m. | NBC | 22.8 | 12.8 |
| Wild card playoffs | Buffalo Bills | 3–10 | Jacksonville Jaguars | January 7, 2018 | 1:05 p.m. | CBS | 25.3 | 15.2 |
| Wild card playoffs | Carolina Panthers | 26–31 | New Orleans Saints | January 7, 2018 | 4:40 p.m. | Fox | 31.2 | 17.5 |
| Divisional playoffs | Atlanta Falcons | 10–15 | Philadelphia Eagles | January 13, 2018 | 4:35 p.m. | NBC | 27.1 | 15.5 |
| Divisional playoffs | Tennessee Titans | 14–35 | New England Patriots | January 13, 2018 | 8:15 p.m. | CBS | 26.7 | 14.5 |
| Divisional playoffs | Jacksonville Jaguars | 45–42 | Pittsburgh Steelers | January 14, 2018 | 1:05 p.m. | CBS | 31.4 | 18.3 |
| Divisional playoffs | New Orleans Saints | 24–29 | Minnesota Vikings | January 14, 2018 | 4:40 p.m. | Fox | 35.6 | 19.3 |
| Conference Championships | Jacksonville Jaguars | 20–24 | New England Patriots | January 21, 2018 | 3:05 p.m. | CBS | 44.1 | 24.3 |
| Conference Championships | Minnesota Vikings | 7–38 | Philadelphia Eagles | January 21, 2018 | 6:40 p.m. | Fox | 42.3 | 21.7 |
| Super Bowl LII U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis, Minnesota | Philadelphia Eagles | 41–33 | New England Patriots | February 4, 2018 | 6:30 p.m. | NBC | 103.4 | 43.1 |
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 6, 2018
AFC: Tennessee Titans 22, Kansas City Chiefs 21
The Tennessee Titans overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 22–21 and won their first playoff game since the 2003 season.Kansas City opened the scoring on their second possession of the game. After Alex Smith connected with Tyreek Hill for 45 yards and Travis Kelce for a 27-yard completion, Kareem Hunt ran in for a one-yard touchdown. On their next drive the Chiefs drove 76 yards in five plays, with Smith completing a 26-yard pass to Hill and an 18-yard pass to receiver Albert Wilson. Following an 18-yard run by Hunt, Smith hit Kelce for a 13-yard touchdown. Smith finished the quarter with 154 passing yards, a career high.
In the second quarter, Tennessee advanced to Kansas City's 21-yard line before Marcus Mariota was intercepted by Marcus Peters, who returned the ball 28 yards to the Chiefs' 37-yard line. Following a punt, tight end Delanie Walker's 22-yard reception sparked a drive to the Chiefs' 22-yard line; however, on 3rd and 4, linebacker Derrick Johnson sacked Mariota and forced the team to settle for a 49-yard Ryan Succop field goal. The Chiefs increased their lead to 18 points by the end of the half, however, with a nine-play, 79-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard scoring pass from Smith to Demarcus Robinson with three seconds left in the half. Kansas City went into halftime with a 21–3 lead, with more total yards and more first downs. However, Kelce got an injury while catching a 12-yard pass on the final drive.
Tennessee opened the second half with a 15-play, 91-yard drive that consumed 8:29 off the clock. On a third-down play from the Kansas City 6-yard line, Mariota attempted a pass, which was deflected by Darrelle Revis, back to Mariota, who ran it in for a touchdown, making him the first quarterback to complete a touchdown pass to himself in a postseason game. The Chiefs were forced to punt on their next drive, but Adoree' Jackson muffed the catch and Keith Reaser recovered for Kansas City. They were unable to capitalize on the turnover, however, as they lost two yards over their next three plays and Harrison Butker hit the upright from a 48-yard field goal attempt. Tennessee took the ball back and drove 62 yards in six plays, scoring on a 35-yard run by Derrick Henry on the second play of the fourth quarter to cut the score to 21–16 after a failed two-point conversion.
Again forcing a Kansas City punt, Tennessee drove 81 yards in 11 plays to take their first lead of the game. Mariota converted three third downs on the drive, completing a 9-yard pass to Walker on 3rd and 3 scrambling 17 yards for a first down on 3rd and 8, and then connecting a 10-yard pass to tight end Jonnu Smith on 3rd and 2. Eventually, Mariota finished the drive by throwing to Eric Decker for a 22-yard touchdown, giving Tennessee a 22–21 lead following another failed two-point conversion with 6:06 remaining. Kansas City then drove into Tennessee territory, but Alex Smith was sacked on third down by Derrick Morgan and then missed a pass to Wilson on fourth down with 2:09 left. On the second play of Tennessee's drive, Johnson recovered a Henry fumble and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown, but Henry was ruled down by contact upon review. One play later, Kansas City had one last chance to get the ball back on a 3rd and 10 situation. Mariota handed the ball off to Henry, who started to run to the middle, but then switched direction and ran to the left. Aided by a key block from Mariota against linebacker Frank Zombo, Henry raced 22 yards down the left sideline for a first down, and the Titans ran out the rest of the clock, having held the Chiefs to 41 yards and three first downs in the second half.
Alex Smith finished as the leading passer with 264 yards and two touchdowns, but only 110 yards after the first quarter. Mariota threw for 205 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his first playoff start; touchdown pass made him the first player since at least 1950 to throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same playoff game. Henry gained 156 yards on 23 carries and 191 total yards from scrimmage, while Hunt, the league's leading rusher during the regular season, gained just 42 yards on 11 carries. Chiefs coach Andy Reid faced criticism for not relying on Hunt to protect their lead in the second half, as Hunt only carried the ball five times after halftime.
Tennessee became the first road team to erase an 18-point deficit to win a postseason game since the 1972 playoffs. The loss was Kansas City's sixth consecutive home playoff loss, extending a league record.
NFC: Atlanta Falcons 26, Los Angeles Rams 13
In the first playoff game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since the 1993 NFL season, and the first Rams playoff hosted at the venue since the 1978 NFL season, Matt Ryan threw for 218 yards and a touchdown, and kicker Matt Bryant kicked four field goals to beat the Rams.Atlanta got an early scoring opportunity when Blake Countess muffed a punt that Falcons linebacker LaRoy Reynolds recovered on the Rams' 17-yard line, leading to Matt Bryant's 29-yard field goal. Then, after a punt, Atlanta receiver Julio Jones caught a 27-yard pass and rushed for 13 yards on an end-around play as the team drove 57 yards in nine plays to go up 6–0 on Bryant's 51-yard field goal. Damontae Kazee forced a fumble from Pharoh Cooper on the ensuing kickoff, which Kemal Ishmael recovered for Atlanta on the Rams' 32-yard line. This time, the Falcons were able to take the ball to the end zone, scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run by Devonta Freeman as a result of center Alex Mack literally dragging him across the goal line.
Late in the second quarter, the Rams finally managed to get on the board, sparked by a 26-yard run by Todd Gurley. Jared Goff finished the drive with passes to Cooper Kupp, the first for 15 yards and the second a 14-yard touchdown completion that made the score 13–7. The next time they had the ball, only 1:15 remained in the half, but they were able to convert a 38-yard completion from Goff to Robert Woods into a 35-yard Sam Ficken field goal, making the score 13–10 at halftime.
The Falcons took up more than half the third quarter with their opening drive, moving the ball 76 yards in 16 plays. Freeman carried the ball six times for 42 yards, while quarterback Matt Ryan converted a 4th and 1 with a QB sneak. Bryant finished the possession with his third field goal, this one from 25 yards, increasing their lead to 16–10. After a Rams punt, Ryan's completions to Jones for gains of 12 and 16 yards set up Bryant's fourth field goal, a 51-yard kick, to put the team up 19–10. The Rams quickly struck back, with Gurley rushing twice for gains of 14 and 33 yards, along with Goff completing an 18-yard pass to Woods. Ficken's 32-yard field goal at the end of the drive cut the deficit to 19–13 with just over 10 minutes left. However, Atlanta came back with an eight-play, 83-yard drive featuring a 52-yard completion from Ryan to Mohamed Sanu. On the last play, Ryan's 8-yard touchdown pass to Jones put his team up 26–13. The Rams responded with one last drive to try and get back in the game, moving the ball to a 3rd and goal situation on Atlanta's 5-yard line. Goff then appeared to complete a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Higbee, but the call was reversed when replays showed the ball hit the ground as Higbee was going to the turf. On the next play, Goff threw an incomplete pass, causing a turnover on downs with 2:05 left. The Rams received the ball one more time, but this resulted in another turnover on downs.
Ryan completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown, while Jones caught nine passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Goff finished the day 24-for-45 for 259 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Woods, who caught nine passes for 142 yards. Gurley was the game's top rusher with 101 yards on 14 carries, while also catching four passes for 10 yards.
This was the first Atlanta road playoff win since 2002.