One last round of playoffs until the Super Bowl with 4 teams left to battle.

AFC (Covered by Kayla Verdon)

• (2) New England Patriots at (1) Denver Broncos

The Patriots will come to Denver to play for a spot in the Super Bowl. The Broncos would be my pick to win because their defense is too elite and their offense is being led by Bo Nix. However, Bo Nix suffered a season ending injury as he fractured his ankle in the last few minutes against the Buffalo Bills. Jarret Stidham will take charge of the Broncos offense. Stidham has not started in a game since the 2023 season. The Broncos are going to have to wish for a similar story as the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Foles. The only difference is Nick Foles was a veteran that had started before and already had a lot of experience. Stidham has only played in 20 regular season games and only started in 4 of those. The Patriots defense is one of the best in the league and it will be very hard for Stidham to make something happen. It is only one player that is missing, but it is the quarterback, one of the most important positions on the field. Not many teams win when they lose their star quarterback. I do not think the Broncos defense will give up too many points, but the Broncos have to fear too many turnovers by their offense and not enough production. Therefore, I have the Patriots beating the Broncos by at least 10 points this Sunday, January 25th, 2026. 

NFC (Covered by Diesel McCornell)

• (5) Los Angeles Rams at (1) Seattle Seahawks 

For the NFC Championship the teams still alive for the Lombardi, the 1st seed Seattle Seahawks vs the 5th seed Los Angeles Rams. The road to this point for both teams has been wins against the top seeds. The Rams beat the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card round and the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Round. The Seattle Seahawks had a bye during the Wild Card Round and beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. This game will feature stars such as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Kyren Williams, wideouts Puka Nucua, Davante Adams, and star linebacker Jared Verse. The Seahawks will feature stars such as quarterback Sam Darnold, running back Kenneth Walker lll, and star wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I believe this will be a good game on both sides of the ball as I feel it will be a shootout as both teams will score a lot on the offensive side, so the defensive side is where I believe both teams will allow a lot of points for both teams. I believe this game will come down to the wire as this game will determine who takes the NFC title and this will determine who will represent the NFC in the biggest stage of the year. The team I believe will win this game for the NFC title and will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl is the Los Angeles Rams. Whoever wins this game will be the away team in Santa Clara, San Francisco.