The wild-card playoff round for the 2024 NFL season has several great matchups, and we have you covered with what you need to know.

Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to all six games, and analytics writer Seth Walder makes a bold prediction for each matchup. NFL analyst Matt Bowen identifies a key matchup X factor to watch, and staff writer Kevin Seifert tells us what to know about the officiating. The ESPN Research team also provides a big stat to know and a betting nugget for each contest, while our Football Power Index (FPI) goes inside the numbers with a game projection. Finally, three analysts -- Kalyn Kahler, Eric Moody and Walder -- give us final score picks for every game.

Everything you want to know is here in one spot to help you get ready for a loaded weekend of NFL playoff football. Let's get into the wild-card slate:

Jump to a matchup:
DEN-BUF | GB-PHI
WSH-TB | MIN-LAR

Byes: DET, KC

(7) Broncos at (2) Bills

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET | CBS/Paramount+ | ESPN BET: BUF -8 (47.5 O/U)

Broncos storyline to watch: The Broncos, who ended an eight-year playoff drought, get another crack at one of the AFC's top quarterbacks. The Broncos didn't beat Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes (he didn't start last week's game), Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert this season. Now, they get Josh Allen, who has as many rushing touchdowns himself (12) as the Broncos do as a team. The Broncos have to limit Allen from what they call "the second act" plays -- the completions and runs after his initial reads are taken away. -- Jeff Legwold

Bills storyline to watch: The Bills have thrived in the wild-card round, going 4-1 with Allen starting. The big question for this team going into the playoffs, however, is whether the defense can get off the field. The Bills' defense is the fourth worst in third-down conversion percentage allowed (43.8%), and taking down the quarterback has been an issue (39 sacks, tied for 18th). On the other side, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has avoided sacks (24, tied for third fewest). "[Nix] seems extremely poised for a young quarterback, and I've been very impressed with his mobility, his ability to extend plays," Bills coach Sean McDermott said. -- Alaina Getzenberg

Stat to know: The Bills have turned over the ball only eight times in the regular season, which is tied with the 2019 Saints for the fewest since turnovers were first tracked in 1933. -- ESPN Research

Bold prediction: Allen will convert at least five first downs or score a touchdown with his legs. Cornerback Pat Surtain II might be able to shut down a receiver on most plays, but Allen has plenty of other ways to hurt a defense. I expect him to scramble a lot Sunday despite the Broncos allowing the third-least rushing yards per game (96.4). -- Walder

Matchup X factor: Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton. The Broncos can create open voids for Sutton to run the deep in-breaking concepts against a Bills defense that played zone coverage on more than 68% of opponent dropbacks. Sutton had 32 receptions of 15 or more yards this season, and the Broncos will need those types of plays to upset the Bills. -- Bowen

Injuries: Broncos | Bills

Betting nugget: Over the past 10 seasons, rookie quarterbacks are 0-5 outright and 1-4 against the spread (ATS) in road playoff games. Read more. -- ESPN Research

Officiating nugget: Referee Bill Vinovich's regular-season crews are historically one of the stingiest in the NFL, and 2024 was no exception. His crew averaged a league-low 12.9 flags per game. That's good news for both teams. The Bills (18th) and Broncos (21st) ranked in the upper half of the NFL in total flags this season. -- Seifert

Kahler's pick: Bills 28, Broncos 21
Moody's pick: Broncos 27, Bills 24
Walder's pick: Bills 28, Broncos 17
FPI prediction: BUF, 68.1% (by an average of 7.1 points)

(7) Packers at (2) Eagles

Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET | Fox | ESPN BET: PHI -4.5 (45.5 O/U)

Packers storyline to watch: The Packers finished with their highest defensive ranking (fifth) since their Super Bowl-winning season of 2010, but they've had trouble with Eagles running back Saquon Barkley before. Including the 2024 season opener, Barkley has three straight games against the Packers with at least 100 scrimmage yards and a touchdown -- tied for the longest streak by any player against Green Bay. -- Rob Demovsky

Eagles storyline to watch: Quarterback Jalen Hurts continues to progress through concussion protocol and is expected to play barring a setback. The question then becomes whether the passing offense can get into a rhythm early with Hurts playing in his first game since Dec. 22. Slow starts were a theme for the Eagles this season, particularly early on, as they failed to score in the first quarter 10 times. Early production has improved of late, but their progress will be tested against a team that has allowed just 19.9 points per game, the sixth-best mark in the NFL. -- Tim McManus

Stat to know: The Packers scored 30-plus points in five of their seven final games, including five straight contests in Weeks 12 through 16. That's the second-longest streak in franchise history after a seven-game streak in 1963. -- ESPN Research

The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract with reliever Andrew Kittredge, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke to the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because the agreement has not been announced. The deal includes a $9 million salary this year and a $9 million team option for 2026 with a $1 million buyout.

The 34-year-old right-hander went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA and one save last season with the St. Louis Cardinals, striking out 67 and walking 20 in 70 innings. He spent the previous seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays and has a 23-12 career record with a 3.44 ERA in 240 relief appearances and 15 starts.

Baltimore's bullpen could get a big boost this season from the return of closer Félix Bautista, who missed last season following Tommy John surgery. The Orioles signed Craig Kimbrel to replace him, but he struggled to the point that he was released before the end of the season.

Now Kittredge gives Baltimore another reliever who can be deployed in the late innings. He's become a bit less of a ground ball pitcher in recent years, but that could fit well at Camden Yards depending on how the new wall in left field plays after being moved in a bit for 2025.

The Orioles lost ace starter Corbin Burnes to free agency. They've been active themselves, but they haven't been too aggressive, signing Charlie Morton, Gary Sánchez, Tomoyuki Sugano and now Kittredge to one-year deals. Baltimore did make a three-year commitment to outfielder Tyler O'Neill, although that deal includes a player opt-out after 2025.

Fearnley is not the only Briton who will attract attention on day two at Melbourne Park.

British men's number one Jack Draper begins his campaign against Argentine clay-court specialist Mariano Navone on court three at about 16:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

Draper, seeded 15th, is looking to back up his run to the US Open semi-finals at the final major of 2024.

The 23-year-old left-hander has not played competitively since the end of October, having picked up a hip injury during the off-season.

In order to build up match sharpness, he practised against 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic and world number one Jannik Sinner last week on Rod Laver Arena.

"When I first came onto the tour, I remember putting my name down in Miami and no-one wanted to hit with me," Draper recalled.

"That is obviously a bit different now.

"It's really great to be able to spar with that kind of level of intensity and work ethic."

In the women's draw, British number seven Jodie Burrage returns to Grand Slam action against French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean on court 13 at 11:00 local time (00:00 GMT)

Burrage is using a protected injury ranking after missing six months of last season with wrist and ankle problems.

The 25-year-old contemplated quitting tennis because she did not know how much "fight" she had left.

Meanwhile, there is one more Briton who will be in the stands on Monday.

Former world number one Andy Murray retired from the sport in August, but has made a shock return to coach his long-time rival Djokovic.

Murray, 37, says he could not turn down the "unique opportunity" to help Serbia's Djokovic win a record-extending 11th men's title.

Another triumph for the 37-year-old Serb, who starts against American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy, will also be a standalone all-time record 25th major.

"Instead of conceding points, regrouping and working your way back into the game, it's almost like a panic mode hits in."

As Ian Humphreys sums up, and in a familiar story of Ulster's season, it was a disappointing night at the office against Leicester in the Investec Champions Cup.

It had started well for Ulster, too, as Richie Murphy's youthful side - chasing their first points in Europe this season - raced into a 10-point lead at Welford Road.

But after Leicester hit back, Josh Bassett scored in the final play of the half to give the English side a lead they would not relinquish.

What followed has become a worrying trend as Leicester scored five more tries to make it 38 points on the board without reply.

It is familiar territory for Ulster. Against Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship in October, they conceded 21 unanswered points as they squandered a 19-0 lead to lose 21-19.

After a hammering by European champions Toulouse, Bordeaux scored 26 points on the bounce to hand Ulster another defeat, despite Murphy's side having been in the game for much of the contest.

"It will be very disappointing, especially after such a good performance away to Connacht last week," Humphreys said on BBC Radio Ulster.

"They came here with high hopes and the first half looked really good. For me, the frustrating and concerning thing is how quickly they seem to snowball.

"I'm not sure if it's panic or a lack of experience in certain positions.

"They concede a try, they concede a penalty, they concede a try and then the game is gone within the space of five or 10 minutes."

BALTIMORE -- Safety DeShon Elliott didn't mince words after the Pittsburgh Steelers' 28-14 AFC wild-card loss Saturday night.

Despite being with the organization for only one season, Elliott was clear in his frustration with the Steelers' cycle of futility: a regular-season record above .500 followed by a one-and-done playoff stint.

"I know that in the past we've played well in the beginning of the season, and then we just s--- the bed at the end, and same s--- happened this year," Elliott said after the Steelers' sixth playoff loss in eight seasons. "Closed the season out on a five-game losing streak, including the playoffs. So we got to figure out what's the problem. We got to figure out how to get better. We got to figure out how to get past that point. We got to figure out how to finish strong in seasons to go into the playoffs."

The Steelers have taken different routes to get to this point each year, but the destination is the same. In their two most recent playoff appearances prior to the 2024 season, the Steelers rallied from slow starts to clinch a playoff berth in the last week of the season. In 2020, they started 11-0 before losing four of their final five. And in 2017, they won the AFC North and hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars after a first-round bye. Yet, each of those appearances ended the same way as the Steelers' season concluded Saturday night in Baltimore: a loss in their lone playoff game.

"I'm just assessing what transpired tonight," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said when asked about their pattern of one-and-dones in the playoffs. "As I told you guys earlier in the week, those are my bags, not this collective's bags. And so my energy is on that group in there and what they were willing to give and the journey that we've been on this year and certainly it came to a disappointing end tonight."

Saturday night was a rerun of the same nightmare that played out in each of those postseason losses. The Steelers fell behind early and trailed 21-0 at halftime, marking their second-largest halftime playoff deficit behind the 25-point hole to the Browns in 2020.

"Losing sucks," said edge rusher T.J. Watt, who didn't record a tackle or sack and had five quarterback pressures. "Losing five in a row to finish the season out sucks. Felt like we had a good week of prep. Felt like we were ready for this one. We weren't. We weren't able to stop the run. Haven't been able to stop the run. We weren't able to get it fixed. So, it's been rough last month of football."

Dating back to the 2016 AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots, the Steelers have been outscored by a combined 96 points and outgained by 641 yards in their past six playoff losses. "It's tough in a game, but can't whine about it," said defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, who has been on the team for the past six playoff losses. "They're going to make plays, but we have to make our own plays, and we did not do that."

The Ravens began making those plays in their opening possession when MVP candidate Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry combined for 71 rushing yards during a drive that ended with a 15-yard Rashod Bateman touchdown catch. The Ravens had even more success running the ball on their second scoring drive when they exclusively rushed the ball during the 98-yard series, which was capped by Henry's 8-yard touchdown. By the end of the night, the Ravens put up 299 rushing yards on a once-stout Steelers run defense.

"Having 300 yards rushing on you is worse than having 300 yards passing," Elliott said. "It was like a will. They definitely put belt to butt today."

As has been the case during the Steelers' four-game losing streak to end the regular season, the defensive players struggled to verbalize what needed to change, not only in Saturday night's loss, but also in a season-ending slide and the recent stretch of playoff losses.

"It's too fresh," Watt said. "I don't know. I don't have the answers. Clearly, if I had the answers, I would've done something differently this week. I felt like we had a good week, good week of prep. Felt like we had a relatively healthy set of guys, especially defensively, put the pads on. I felt like we had a physical practice week and didn't correlate."

Watt later added: "If I had the answer, we wouldn't be here right now. I'm going to have to take a look in the mirror and have some conversations, but I don't have the answers."

Though they couldn't put a finger on the necessary fixes, players who spoke after the game unanimously said the problem isn't Tomlin.

"I don't worry about Mike's message," Heyward said. "I worry about our technique and our execution. That's what I'm really worried about. I just wish we had played a lot better. It's not a message thing, it's not that's groundbreaking, but there was opportunities to be had, and we didn't seize anything."

The 23-year-old has had a disrupted build-up to the Australian Open, with a hip problem causing him to miss the United Cup and cancel a training camp with four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Draper said he had been trying to adapt to the heat by using saunas and "bikes in hot bubbles", alongside arriving in Australia two-and-a-half weeks before the Grand Slam tournament began.

"It's not just the tennis, it's a big mental game as well and it's how we recover after points and deal with stress in general, whether that be the tennis or the conditions," Draper said.

"I think my prep for the heat this year has been a lot better than previous years."

Draper, who is seeded 15th at Melbourne Park, has been practising alongside world number one Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic before his first-round match against Argentina's Mariano Navone on Monday.

"They just bring such a high quality to the practice court It's really great to be able to spar with that kind of level of intensity and work ethic," Draper added.

Burrage was at a career-high of 84th in the world rankings in February when she needed surgery on a snapped tendon in her wrist.

But she suffered another blow in April as she prepared to return to competitive action.

Burrage ruptured an ankle ligament in a practice session with British number one Katie Boulter and, although she did not require surgery, she missed another 10 weeks.

She finally returned to court in September at a WTA event in Monastir before the emotional moment in November where she questioned her future during practice at the National Tennis Centre.

It was a sliding doors moment. Burrage fought on. A week later she reached the final of a Futures event in Slovakia, then lifted the trophy in Dubai straight afterwards.

"That's the funny thing about tennis," said Burrage, who is playing in Melbourne under a protected ranking and faces French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in the first round.

"Literally five days later, I started in Slovakia, made the final and then I win the biggest title of my career in Dubai.

"It was very up and down. Those six months were really, really hard."

Asked what stopped her quitting, she said: "For some reason, I love this crazy sport. That's what kept me going.

"The fight, being here [in Melbourne], working hard, working towards something.

"I feel like I've got so much more to give."