What time are NFL playoff games today? TV schedule, channels for AFC, NFC championship games

Billy Heyen

What time are NFL playoff games today? TV schedule, channels for AFC, NFC championship games image

By the end of Sunday, Jan. 24, the two NFL teams facing off in Super Bowl 55 will be known.

That's because Sunday is the day for two conference championship games: The NFC championship between the Packers and Buccaneers, followed by the AFC championship between the Chiefs and Bills. Two winners will matchup in two weeks for the right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Green Bay and Tampa Bay meet up in the early game at Lambeau Field with two of the greatest quarterbacks ever on display in the forms of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. They'll be supplemented by strong rushing attacks and wide receiving corps for what could be a shootout unless one of the defenses has something to say about that. The major storyline entering Kansas City's hosting of Buffalo is Patrick Mahomes' health — last season's Super Bowl MVP was concussed in the divisional round against Cleveland. He cleared concussion protocol, setting up a top-notch QB matchup between Mahomes and Josh Allen.

With the participants in the big game on the line, below you'll find all the information you need about how to watch the conference championship games Sunday.

MORE: Watch today's NFL playoff games live with fuboTV

What time are the NFL playoff games today?

Game 1

  • Date: Sunday, Jan. 24
  • Matchup: Green Bay Packers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Location: Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin
  • Start time: 3:05 p.m. ET

Game 2

  • Date: Sunday, Jan. 24
  • Matchup: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills
  • Location: Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
  • Start time: 6:40 p.m. ET

The early game will feature two of the greatest quarterbacks ever, the 37-year old Aaron Rodgers against the 43-year old Tom Brady. Both are shoo-ins for the Hall of Fame when their time comes, but they'll both be looking to add another ring to their resume first. Unlike some seasons, both Rodgers and Brady have strong running games they can count on to supplement their still dangerous right arms. Green Bay features a three-headed backfield attack of Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and AJ Dillon, while it's Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette splitting time behind Brady. Especially if it's a cold, wintry day at Lambeau Field, don't be surprised if it's the stronger rushing attack that heads to the Super Bowl.

The nightcap showcases two of the league's best young quarterbacks in Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo's Josh Allen. Mahomes was concussed in the divisional round against the Browns, but was cleared to start after going through the league's five-step concussion protocol. The Bills have no such worries with Allen, who at this point is both the team's best passer and best rusher. He'll be asked to do it all once again to keep Buffalo's dream season alive, and he's got a receiving quartet of Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley, John Brown and Gabriel Davis to make it happen. The outcome of this game will most likely come down to Mahomes' health, though.

What channel are Sunday NFL games on?

Packers vs. Buccaneers

This will be the final Fox NFL broadcast of the season, and so we'll get the top team on the call once more. Joe Buck will do play-by-play, while Troy Aikman will be the color commentator.

New Fox hire Tom Rinaldi should join Erin Andrews in sideline reporting duties to fill out the same crew that worked the Buccaneers vs. Saints game in the divisional round. 

Chiefs vs. Bills

The top CBS broadcast team will call the AFC Championship Game on Sunday night. That means Jim Nantz will handle play-by-play duties with Tony Romo as his color commentator and Tracy Wolfson doing the sideline reporting.

CBS is the broadcaster of Super Bowl 55 on Feb. 7, so this crew will work the final two games of the 2020 NFL season to conclude the 2021 playoffs. 

NFL live streams for playoffs

The two networks broadcasting the games Sunday both have streaming services that will also show the game, with the NFC's Fox broadcast being shown on Fox Sports Go and the AFC's CBS broadcast on CBS All Access. 

For those without cable, there are several options for streaming the NFL playoffs:

Streaming option Cable subscription needed? Free? Cost Free trial?
NFL App Yes Yes - -
CBS All Access Yes No $5.99 Yes
Yahoo! Sports App No Yes - -
fuboTV No No $60/month Yes
AT&T TV Now No No $55/month Yes
Hulu Plus Live TV No No $55/month Yes
Sling TV No No $30/month Yes
YouTube TV No No $65/month Yes

NFL playoff schedule 2021

Wild-card round

Saturday, Jan. 9

Results
Bills 27, Colts 24
Rams 30, Seahawks 20
Buccaneers 31, Washington 23

Sunday, Jan. 10

Results
Ravens 20, Titans 13
Saints 21, Bears 9
Browns 48, Steelers 37

Divisional round

Saturday, Jan. 16

Matchup
Packers 32, Rams 18
Bills 17, Ravens 3

Sunday, Jan. 17

Matchup
Chiefs 22, Browns 17
Buccaneers 30, Saints 20

Conference championships

Sunday, Jan. 24

Matchup Start time TV channel Live stream
Buccaneers at Packers 3:05 p.m. ET Fox fuboTV
Bills at Chiefs 6:40 p.m. ET CBS fuboTV

Super Bowl 55

Sunday, Feb. 7

Matchup Start time TV channel Live stream
AFC champion vs. NFC champion 6:30 p.m. ET CBS fuboTV

When is Super Bowl 55 in 2021?

  • Date: Sunday, Feb. 7
  • Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.

Super Bowl 55 stays in Florida in 2021, returning to Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Super Bowl has been to Raymond James Stadium twice before, in 2000 and 2008. 

Super Bowl 54 was played in Hard Rock Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Billy Heyen