For the first time since the 2019 NFL postseason, the New England Patriots are set to host a Wild Card game after emerging from the regular season as AFC East division champions.
The Patriots have not won a playoff game since winning the Super Bowl one season prior, but they are aiming to change that this Sunday night as the No. 2 seed in a matchup against the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Chargers.
Because the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills won earlier on Sunday on the road against the No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s also safe to assume that, if the Patriots win, their Divisional Round matchup will be scheduled to take place on Sunday, rather than Saturday. Here’s why.
Would the Patriots play next Saturday or Sunday?
Editor's note: With their win against the Chargers, the Patriots are set to host either the Texans or Steelers, and that game has indeed been scheduled to take place next Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
This marks the fifth season of the NFL scheduling a Monday night Wild Card game, and in each of the previous four postseasons, the winner of that game has gone on to play its Divisional Round game the following Sunday, rather than the following Saturday.
Monday night’s game is set to feature the No. 5 seed Houston Texans and the No. 4 seed Pittsburgh Steelers.
Because Buffalo beat Jacksonville, a Patriots win tonight would guarantee that the Bills are the team with the lowest remaining seed in the AFC after Wild Card weekend, which would send them to Denver to take on the Broncos.
The other AFC Divisional Round game would feature the Patriots and the Texans-Steelers winner, and because the latter would have played in the Monday night Wild Card game, we can assume that their game would be scheduled for Sunday rather than Saturday.
Additionally, the NFL has historically scheduled one AFC Divisional Round game and one NFC Divisional Round game on both the Saturday and the Sunday of the second round. So with that game on Sunday, the game featuring the Bills and Broncos would likely be contested on Saturday.
Of their two possible opponents for next weekend – the Texans and Steelers – the Patriots only faced the Steelers this season. The Steelers won in Foxborough in a Week 3 contest.
UPDATE:
After the Patriots' big win, the NFL announced they will host either the Steelers or Texans on Sunday, January 18.
NFL announces that the Patriots will play on Sunday (time TBD — 3p ET or 6:30p ET).
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 12, 2026