NFL playoff preview: Why the road to the Super Bowl is the ‘strangest’ in years

The Rams begin the Wildcard weekend at Carolina, which became the seventh team ever to make the playoffs with a losing record (8-9) after falling short of the NFC South title.

Los Angeles should hit the road but Stafford led the league in passing yards and touchdown passes while Puka Nakoa posted a career-high 1,715 yards. The Rams are also hoping to have fellow receiver Davante Adams back from injury.

A rash of late-season injuries, most notably to Micah Parsons, halted Green Bay’s momentum, but they will get quarterback Jordan Love (concussion) back for only the third playoff game in the NFL’s oldest and most played rivalry.

Although Chicago exceeded preseason expectations by winning the NFC North, the pressure is on to avoid crashing out of the playoffs with what would be a third straight defeat.

The NFC’s other wildcard game sees injury-hit San Francisco visit defending champion Philadelphia, which rested most of its starters last Sunday after recovering from an upset to win the NFC East.

After being eliminated by Kansas City in four of the past five years, Buffalo’s reigning MVP Josh Allen is hoping to finally reach the Super Bowl, but the Bills will have to hit the road after New England ended its recent dominance of the AFC East.

And they should visit a Jacksonville team that’s on an eight-game winning streak, where Trevor Lawrence looks like the “generational talent” he described when the Jaguars made him the No. 1 pick in 2021.

The Patriots are aiming to avoid an upset at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, whose quarterback Justin Herbert is hoping for his first playoff win in his sixth year in the NFL.

Houston’s league-leading defense is sure to put four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers under pressure, but the 42-year-old, who could retire at the end of the season, could target DK Metcalf again with Pittsburgh’s top receiver returning from suspension for Monday’s game.