The NFL has officially flipped the calendar from the regular season to the playoffs, and with that transition comes a noticeable shift in the weekly routine that fans have come to expect. After a Week 18 that didn’t feature Thursday Night Football, there were renewed questions about whether we’ll see prime-time action on Thursdays once the postseason kicks off.
As it turns out, the league is pressing pause at least in name, even as the playoff spotlight grows brighter and the road to Super Bowl 60 officially begins.
No Thursday Night Game, but Prime-Time Spotlight Remains
There won’t be a traditional “Thursday Night Football” game during the NFL playoffs. Amazon Prime’s exclusive Thursday game lineup wrapped up in Week 17, when the Denver Broncos took down the Kansas City Chiefs, marking the end of the league’s Christmas schedule. That game was the last NFL matchup on a Thursday night until the regular season opener in September 2026.
But don’t worry, Amazon isn’t done with postseason football just yet. For the second year in a row, the streaming giant will air the Saturday night Wild Card game, keeping that prime-time vibe alive even if the day has shifted.
NFL Wild Card Weekend Matchups
Here’s the full Wild Card Round slate (all times ET):
Saturday, January 10
- Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers (4:30 p.m.) (FOX)
- Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (8:00 p.m.) (Amazon Prime Video)
Sunday, January 11
- Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars (1:00 p.m.) (CBS)
- San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles (4:30 p.m.) (FOX)
- Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots (8:00 p.m.) (NBC)
Monday, January 12
- Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers (8:15 p.m.) (ESPN/ABC)
While Thursday nights will be football-free on the NFL calendar for now, fans have an alternative: the first College Football Playoff semifinal. ESPN will broadcast Ole Miss vs. Miami (FL) in the Fiesta Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET, filling that traditional Thursday football slot.
The bigger picture is clear. Fourteen teams are still in the hunt, the Divisional Round is just around the corner, and Super Bowl 60 is exactly a month away. Thursday Night Football may be taking a break, but the postseason excitement is just getting started, and once kickoff rolls around Saturday afternoon, the wait will definitely feel worth it.
The Amazon Prime Video crew will cover the highly anticipated Wild Card round matchup between the Packers and the Bears. According to PFSN’s Offense Impact Metric, Green Bay has the league’s seventh-best offense, while Chicago’s offense ranks 10th in the league.
The Packers and Bears split their regular-season series at one win apiece, with Green Bay taking a 28-21 victory in Week 14 and Chicago responding with a 22-16 win in Week 16. With the rivalry heading into another matchup Saturday, it will be worth watching which side gains the upper hand this time.
