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Morning Edition

January 5, 2026

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Nearly half the NFL playoff field is new this season, a reflection of the parity and rapid turnarounds that defined the regular season as wild-card weekend arrives.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

NFL Playoff Field Is Set With Nearly Half the Field Turned Over [[link removed]]

Florida Times-Union

A new-look playoff field for the National Football League is now set, with a series of division titles and playoff seeds solidified on the final day of the 2025 regular season.

After a frenetic day that saw the Panthers claim the NFC South division championship (with a losing record) and the Jaguars win the AFC South division title, the league released its schedule Sunday night for the wild-card playoff round on Jan. 10-12. The six games include:

Saturday

Rams at Panthers (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox): Not long ago, Los Angeles was the betting favorite to win Super Bowl LX [[link removed]]. Now, after losing two of three and three of six down the stretch, the Rams are looking to rebuild their confidence against upstart Carolina. Packers at Bears (8 p.m. ET, Amazon): The matchup will revive one of the most storied NFL rivalries, back at a Soldier Field that the Bears are trying to leave [[link removed]]. The teams split their two regular-season games this season, with each winning at home. Amazon will be seeking to beat the 22.1 million average viewership it generated during last season’s playoffs [[link removed]]. A Christmas primetime game neared that total [[link removed]].

Sunday

Bills at Jaguars (1 p.m. ET, CBS): Buffalo will be looking to win its first road playoff game since January 1993. 49ers at Eagles (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox):Philadelphia will continue the defense of its Super Bowl LIX title by hosting a San Francisco team that is aiming to play the upcoming Super Bowl in its own home venue, Levi’s Stadium. Chargers at Patriots (8 p.m. ET, NBC): The primetime slot will be a national showcase for New England and quarterback Drake Maye, a top candidate for NFL Most Valuable Player.

Monday

Texans at Steelers (8 p.m., ESPN): Houston has the final game of wild-card weekend this time instead of the first one, as it did for each of the first eight playoff appearances [[link removed]] in franchise history. Welcome Back

Overall, this season’s NFL playoff field includes six teams that were not in last season’s postseason, representing nearly half the total bracket. The grouping features a series of upstart stories of teams that have risen from long periods of competitive malaise, including the Bears, Patriots, and Panthers—in turn taking the place of league titans such as the Chiefs, now out of the postseason [[link removed]].

Further showcasing the rapid turnarounds seen around the league, this season’s Patriots and Jaguars joined the 1999 Colts as the only teams in league history to win at least 13 games a year after losing a minimum of 13.

“Today is the biggest game in franchise history because it’s the next one,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said after drubbing the Titans 41–7. “That’s it—because it’s the next one. That’s been the mindset and mentality of this group.”

The top seed in each conference, Seattle in the NFC and Denver in the AFC, will have a bye in the wild-card round. Carolina, just 8–9 on the season, prevailed in a three-way tiebreaker for the NFC South title, and the Panthers could be the last losing team to host a playoff game as the NFL continues to review potential changes [[link removed]] to its postseason seeding system. The Panthers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

The NFL postseason will be the first since the arrival of Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel measurement process [[link removed]], something that has helped further the league’s already-rising popularity [[link removed]]. The league has been on track for its most-watched regular season since 1989, and the schedule has included single-game viewership records on linear television [[link removed]] and on streaming [[link removed]].

Draft Matters

The Giants’ Week 18 win over the Cowboys ensured that the Raiders, and not New York, will have the first pick in the 2026 draft, set for this spring in Pittsburgh [[link removed]]. The Giants have won just seven games in the last two years, but three of those victories have occurred in the final two weeks of the season, helping ensure New York did not get the top pick. They fell to fifth in the draft on Sunday, as the win also pushed them behind the Jets, Cardinals, and Titans.

This will be just the second time the Raiders have the No. 1 pick. In 2007, the franchise selected JaMarcus Russell, but the LSU quarterback would go on to be one of the biggest draft busts ever. The selection will be a major inflection point for the franchise, now led in part by part-owner and Fox broadcaster Tom Brady. Among the top available talents will be Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.

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Women’s Sports Is Big Business

The momentum around women’s sports continues to grow exponentially. On Feb. 26, Front Office Sports and Athletes Unlimited are joining forces to host Future of Women’s Sports.

This half-day summit [[link removed]], curated by FOS women’s sports reporter Annie Costabile, will bring together the bold thinkers, trailblazers, and visionaries shaping what’s next with dynamic editorial discussions and opportunities to connect with leaders across the industry.

Hosted in Nashville—one of the country’s most dynamic sports cities—this event will forecast where women’s sports is headed and highlight the vast opportunities that still lie ahead. Set in advance of the AU Pro Basketball Championship game, this experience will bring together collaborators in culture, business, and competition to explore what’s next.

This is your front-row seat to the future of women’s sports. Don’t miss your opportunity to join us— request to attend now [[link removed]].

NFL Black Monday Starts Early: Falcons Fire Head Coach and GM [[link removed]]

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The NFL’s Black Monday started early this year as the Falcons dismissed head coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot on Sunday night, beginning what is expected to be a wave of sideline and front office changes across the league.

Morris went 16–18 in two years with the Falcons, missing the playoffs both years with the team. Atlanta finished in a three-way tie atop the NFC South division with Carolina and Tampa Bay, ending the season with a four-game winning streak, but lost out to the Panthers in a tiebreaker for the postseason bid. Fontenot had been with the Falcons since 2021, but also failed to have a winning season or a playoff berth.

The dismissal of both leaders follows Falcons owner Arthur Blank retaining outside consulting firm Sportsology to review the team’s football operations. Among the team’s issues has been a struggle to find a bona fide starting quarterback after the 2021 departure of franchise icon Matt Ryan.

“The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership,” Blank said in a statement.

More Changes on the Way

The Falcons’ moves are just a small part of a wave of shifts [[link removed]] expected among many of the 18 NFL teams that did not qualify for the postseason. Other teams under scrutiny include the Raiders, Browns, and Cardinals.

The Giants and Titans, meanwhile, finished this season with interim coaches and have their own decisions to make for the 2026 season.

U.S. Action in Venezuela Disrupts Pro League, MLB Players, and WBC Plans [[link removed]]

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The U.S. military action in Venezuela, and the removal of that country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, on drug and weapons charges, is creating turmoil across much of the Latin American baseball scene.

Maduro’s removal in the early hours of Saturday morning—and a subsequent assertion by U.S. President Donald Trump that he and his staff will “run” Venezuela until a democratic transition of power happens—has left many sports officials and athletes in and around the country unsure of their next steps.

Among the current and unresolved issues:

Venezuela’s pro baseball league, Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional, suspended playoff games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, but said Sunday afternoon that play will resume on Wednesday. In the meantime, several MLB players who have been playing this winter in Venezuela, including rising Brewers star Jackson Chourio, are now in a mix of situations. Some players have been able to contact their MLB clubs and inform them of their status, while some have not. The pool of players competing this offseason in Venezuela also includes a group of minor leaguers in MLB systems. Commercial air travel in and out of the country has also been heavily reduced. It’s possible that ongoing travel issues, if they continue, could complicate the arrival of some players for MLB spring training early next month. The status of the Venezuelan team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic is not certain. That star-laden club is captained by Royals catcher Salvador Perez, top talents such as the Astros’ Jose Altuve and the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. have been expected to return to the roster, and the squad has been expected to be a serious competitor to tournament favorites Japan and the U.S. MLB declined comment on the team’s WBC status when contacted by Front Office Sports. The competition is scheduled to start March 5.

Already, the Caribbean Series, set to begin early next month, was moved last month from Caracas to Guadalajara, Mexico, after pro leagues in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico expressed safety and logistical concerns about being in Venezuela amid the rising geopolitical tensions. Those tensions are certain to continue as the U.S. military action has been widely criticized for an alleged lack of adherence to domestic and international law.

Venezuela consistently has been one of the largest international sources of talent to MLB. In 2025, the country was No. 3 among birth countries for players in the league behind the U.S. and the Dominican Republic.

Editors’ Picks As Ole Miss Advances in CFP, Kiffin Collects Bonuses—and Its Staff [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Several assistant coaches are now expected to stay with LSU. Novak Djokovic Leaves Tennis Union He Cofounded [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]The 24-time major winner cites a variety of issues with the union. Trump Got More Involved in Golf in 2025 Than Ever Before [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]The president increased his influence on the sport in the past year. Question of the Day

Do you think the NFL’s playoff field makes this postseason more unpredictable?

Yes [[link removed]] No [[link removed]]

Friday’s result: 75% of respondents said they do not think the NCAA’s new transfer portal rules have reduced the chaos in college football.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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