NFL PLAYOFFS: WILD CARD WILD WEEKEND
Various Networks, 1:00 p.m. ET
Yesterday, one of the three wild card playoff games was a nail-biter to the end: the Indianapolis Colts-Buffalo Bills game, which the Bills emerged victoriously 27-24 after a long series of challenges and twists and turns. Today, once again, three games are played in a rare post-season tripleheader – but today, you may have to go farther afield to find the right field, or, at least, the right network. The day’s opening game at 1 p.m. ET, for example, between the 11-5 Baltimore Ravens and 11-5 Tennessee Titans, isn’t televised by one of the broadcast networks. Instead, you can watch it on ESPN, ESPN+, and, for some corporate synergy reason that escapes me, Freeform. At 4:30 p.m. ET, the game pitting the 12-4 New Orleans Saints against the 8-8 Chicago Bears is available on CBS – but, in another bit of sister-network sharing, also is available on Nickelodeon. The final game, though, is in a standard and familiar place and time: the contest between the 12-4 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 11-5 Cleveland Browns will be the prime time showcase game on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, which last season was the No. 1 series on all of television.