The NFL Playoffs have finally arrived leaving 14 teams in total competing for the Lombardi.
AFC
The Denver Broncos were able to clinch the number one seed in the Conference giving them a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. They will play the winner of the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars game.
- (2) New England Patriots vs (7) Los Angeles Chargers
- (3) Jacksonville Jaguars vs (6) Buffalo Bills
- (4) Pittsburgh Steelers vs (5) Houston Texans
The Patriots and the Chargers game will serve to be one of the best games this weekend with two of the best quarterbacks playing against each other. Drake Maye and Justin Herbert both put up amazing numbers with what some people would call less than average receiving cores. PFF has the Chargers receiving core ranked 27th and the Patriots ranked 31st. Herbert and Maye are both MVP candidates, but Herbert has one thing over Maye, experience. Herbert has been a starter since his rookie season in 2020 and Maye played most of his rookie season last year and played all year this season. Maye has never been in the playoffs, so the stage may be too big. Although Herbert has been in the playoffs two other times, he has not won a playoff game and last season was a horrible performance by Herbert in the AFC Wild Card game against the Texans as he left the field with only 1 touchdown, but 4 interceptions. Both of their defenses, however, are ranked in the top 10 by FOX Sports with the Chargers ranked 5th and the Patriots ranked 8th. Christian Gonzalez at the cornerback position for the Patriots will serve as a hard weapon for Justin Herbert to combat. I personally think that Jim Harbaugh will come up with a great game plan for the Chargers and Herbert is hungry for a playoff win. The game will be really close, but I think the 11-6 Chargers can pull off the win against the 14-3 Patriots this Sunday January 11th, 2026.
In Jacksonville, there will be a showdown on both sides of the ball between the Jaguars and the Bills with another wild quarterback matchup. Josh Allen of the Bills and Trevor Lawernce of the Jaguars both have high numbers, many years of experience, and have both been in the playoffs before. Ever since 2020, Josh Allen has led the Bills to the playoffs, but always comes up short, usually to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. But the Chiefs and Mahomes are not in the playoffs this year giving the Bills a lot of hype to win out in the AFC. The Jaguars were a sleeper team as many people did not realize they were creeping up in the standings. Lawrence has been in the playoffs and has a record of 1-1. In the playoffs, Lawrence has a 5-5 TD to INT ratio, so he does less than average in the playoffs altogether. Allen has a 25-4 TD to INT ratio, always having a great performance. James Cook will also be a big player that announcers will name during the game because he has come up with many rushing yards for the Bills and will most likely be able to get past the Jaguars run defense. But the Jaguars do have the number one ranked run defense, so Cook will not have as big of an effect. Both teams will bring a highlight reel offensively and both defenses will have to step up their game to stop them. However, I think it is finally Josh Allen’s year to win coming off of an MVP winning season and being in the MVP talk this year, too. Even though the 13-4 Jaguars have a higher placement in the playoff bracket than the 12-5 Bills, the Buffalo Bills will beat the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday January 11th, 2026.
With a quarterback in his 21st season and a quarterback in his 3rd year, the Steelers have the experience bar way over the Texans. Aaron Rodgers of the Steelers is no stranger to the playoffs or winning a Super Bowl, which he did with the Green Bay Packers back in 2011, but he has not been to the big game since. CJ Stroud of the Texans has also made the playoffs and has a 2-2 record. Since his rookie year in 2023, Stroud and the Texans have found themselves in the playoffs, which is quite impressive for such a young quarterback. The Texans also have a roster with big time names like Nico Collins at the wide receiver position, Derek Stingley Jr. in the secondary of the defense, and rookie Woody Marks out of USC at the running back position that is proving to be an NFL ready player. Dalton Shultz is also a reliable tight end that Stroud can rely on. The Steelers do not have the best defense as FOX Sports has them ranked at the 26th spot, so it will most likely be a great day for Stroud and the Texans offense. Rodgers really only has DK Metcalf to throw the ball to and their running game is not the greatest. The Houston Texans are going to prove to be the better team and come up on top against the Pittsburgh Steelers and I do not think it will be all that close this Monday January 12th, 2026.
NFC (Covered by Diesel McCornell)
The Seattle Seahawks were able to clinch the number one seed in the Conference giving them a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. They will play the winner of the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers game.
- (2) Chicago Bears vs (7) Green Bay Packers
- (3) Philadelphia Eagles vs (6) San Francisco 49ers
- (4) Carolina Panthers vs (5) Los Angeles Rams
The first NFC game will take place on Saturday between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams. This game will feature stars such as Matthew Stafford, Puka Nucua, Davante Adams, Kyren Williams and Jered Verse for the Rams. The Panthers will be starting Bryce Young, Cubba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, and Tetairoa McMillan. Both these teams had great seasons. This season these two teams met and the Panthers came out on top. The team that I believe will win and advance to the next round is the Rams as they are more talented on both sides of the football.
On Saturday, the Green Bay Packers will visit the Chicago Bears. This game will feature stars such as Jordan Love, Josh Jacobs, and Christian Watson for the Packers. The Bears have stars such as Caleb Williams, D’Andre Swift, Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, and Coltson Loveland. The team that I believe will be winning this matchup are the Chicago Bears. The reason why I believe this is because although both defenses might give up a lot of points, I think the Bears will have the slight edge on advancing to the next round of the playoffs because of their offensive weapons.
For the final game of the Wild Card round, the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Philadelphia Eagles and this will be the only NFC game taking place on Sunday. This game will feature stars such as Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery, Ricky Persall, and George Kittle for the 49ers. The Eagles have stars Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert. The team I have to win this game is the Eagles because they are the defending Super Bowl Champions and they are very good on both sides of the football. Finally, I believe the Eagles will win in a close one because both teams are good on both sides of the ball, but when it comes down to the wire, I believe the Eagles will be the team to clutch up in the end.
