Who will the Ravens play next? Potential divisional round opponents for Baltimore

Posted by author January 12, 2025 NFL

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The Baltimore Ravens are moving on to the divisional round of the playoffs with their wild-card round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but who will they play?

Ultimately, Baltimore’s opponent in the second round will be determined by the winner of the Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos game on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to the NFL’s dynamic playoff bracket format, the Ravens are guaranteed to avoid the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. However, after the wild-card round, they’ll have to play the second-highest seed remaining (not including themselves) while the Chiefs will face the lowest seed left in the AFC bracket.

If the No. 7-seeded Broncos upset the No. 2-seed Bills, they’d be the lowest remaining seed and earn a trip to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for the divisional round. In that scenario, Baltimore would host the Houston Texans, who won the earlier game on Saturday.

Otherwise, the Ravens would face Buffalo on the road for a chance at a second straight AFC championship game appearance.

Who will Ravens play next?

Baltimore’s win over the Steelers has it one win away from a trip to the AFC championship game. Still, the Ravens will face a challenge in the AFC divisional round.

If the Bills defeat the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, the AFC North champions will travel to Orchard Park, New York, for their first playoff game away from home. Buffalo finished the regular season undefeated (8-0) at home.

However, if the Broncos upset the Bills, the Ravens would remain home to host the Texans, led by head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud. Houston compiled a 5-4 record on the road during the regular season, though it did lose to Baltimore at home on Christmas.

Updated NFL playoff bracket

AFC

No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs vs. No. 4 seed Houston Texans OR No. 7 seed Denver Broncos
No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills OR No. 4 seed Houston Texans vs. No. 3 seed Baltimore Ravens

NFC playoff bracket

None of the NFC playoff games will be played until Sunday, but the Eagles vs. Packers game is the first of the bunch. The conference’s playoff scenarios will become clear after that contest.