With the 2023 NFL regular season coming to a close, the road to Super Bowl LVIII starts as the playoffs commence. Seven American Football Conference and seven National Football Conference teams will battle for the right to play in the sport’s grandest stage.

The Baltimore Ravens clinched the AFC’s top seed with a 13-4 record. Their NFC counterparts, the number one San Francisco 49ers are at 12-5. Both teams will get a Wild Card Round bye and home-field playoff advantage starting in the Divisional Round.

In the AFC, the Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC East and the number two seed after defeating the Miami Dolphins in their season finale. The Bills will face the seventh-seed Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that got in after Buffalo’s victory.

Meanwhile, the loss dropped the Dolphins to number six. While they still compete in the playoffs, they must start on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs clinched the third seed after getting their eighth consecutive AFC West division title.

As for the third AFC Wild Card matchup, the AFC South champions and fourth-seed Houston Texans will host the fifth-seed Cleveland Browns.

In the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys won the NFC East after a Week 18 win over the Washington Commanders. They also earned the second seed, giving them the right to host the seventh-seed Green Bay Packers, a team that got in after winning in Week 18 versus the Chicago Bears.

The Detroit Lions are number three and will host the sixth-seed Los Angeles Rams. Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff will face their former teams after the trade that switched their places before the 2021 season started.

Finally, the fourth-seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South after defeating the Carolina Panthers. They will host the fifth-seed Philadelphia Eagles during the Wild Card Round. Philadelphia lost their division after losing five of their last six games.

-Lance Fernandez