The 2025-26 NFL regular season has come to an end, and the playoffs are now just around the corner. For 14 teams, this is everything they’ve been working towards. They now have a chance to become Super Bowl champions, and the eventual winner has just a few games in between them and immortality.
Which teams have the best chance to win it all, though? Could there be any major surprises to come out of this year’s postseason? Join us as we share our predictions for the 2025-26 NFL playoffs and explain our pick for which team will win Super Bowl LX.
Wild Card Round
AFC
No. 2 New England Patriots vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers
The largest jump in win total from 2024 to 2025 belongs to the New England Patriots, who won only four games under Jerod Mayo last season and improved to 14 wins under Mike Vrabel this season. With their stellar record, they’re guaranteed at least two postseason games if they make it into the Divisional Round.
You can never really count out the Los Angeles Chargers with Jim Harbaugh at the helm and Justin Herbert at quarterback. However, their offensive line has been brutal all year, with Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater hurt.
Winner: Patriots
No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars vs. No. 6 Buffalo Bills
With an eight-game winning streak coming into the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars are red hot right now. Trevor Lawrence has significantly cut down his turnover-prone style of play from earlier in the year, turning into an efficiency machine. They also enter the Wild Card round with the home-field advantage.
That said, the Buffalo Bills have been there and done that before. Josh Allen has won seven playoff games over the course of his time with the team, and so many times, having an experienced, elite quarterback in the postseason can lead a team to success. Throw in their offense that ranks third in the NFL in PFSN’s NFL Offense Impact metric, and I see the Bills picking up the win on the road.
Winner: Bills
No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. No. 5 Houston Texans
Heading into the Wild Card round of the postseason, there’s one team that’s much hotter than the other. The Houston Texans have won nine games in a row heading into the playoffs, including wins over the Jaguars, Bills, Colts, Chiefs, and Chargers. During that winning streak, they held opponents to under 20 points five times.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a hot streak of their own, winning three of their last four games to clinch a playoff spot. That said, their offense has been far too inconsistent to get the job done against an elite defense like Houston’s. It could be difficult for them to get much momentum going, even as the home team.
Winner: Texans
NFC
No. 2 Chicago Bears vs. No. 7 Green Bay Packers
This marks the first time the Chicago Bears have faced the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs in 15 years, since the Packers beat the Bears at Soldier Field in the 2010 NFC Championship in an eventual Super Bowl-winning run. We’ve seen the two teams face off at Soldier Field this season, and the Bears ended up winning 22-16 in overtime.
Green Bay should be getting a healthy Jordan Love in the Wild Card round, but they got an elite 142.8 passer rating out of Malik Willis against Chicago in Week 16 and still lost. The Bears are hardly a flawless team, but their tenth-ranked PFSN NFL Offense Impact score speaks to the turnaround they’ve had this year. I’ll take the home team in the third matchup between the two rivals this season.
Winner: Bears
No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles vs. No. 6 San Francisco 49ers
Of the six Wild Card matchups in the 2025-26 NFL postseason, this is the one I’m most excited about. The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles have taken a step back this season, but they have one of the most well-constructed rosters in the league. Much can be said about their offensive play-calling this year, but they have a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Nick Sirianni and a top defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio.
However, I’m taking the San Francisco 49ers to pick up the win on the road. They’ve won five of their last six games, and Brock Purdy has gone on an absolute heater this year. They’re getting tremendous play out of Christian McCaffrey, too, and having a healthy George Kittle will help significantly.
Winner: 49ers
No. 4 Carolina Panthers vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Rams
With an 8-9 record, the Carolina Panthers have the worst record of any NFL divisional winner this season. Surprise wins over teams like the Packers and Rams in the regular season have shown that they can get hot any given week, but their offense has been far too unreliable to project as a serious Super Bowl contender.
Though the Los Angeles Rams ended up falling to the Panthers in the regular season, I have them getting revenge in the Wild Card. At the end of the day, I trust Matthew Stafford in the postseason over Bryce Young. That’s not even to mention the Rams’ more well-rounded roster, but the quarterback advantage can be massive in the playoffs.
Winner: Rams
Divisional Round
AFC
No. 1 Denver Broncos vs. No. 6 Buffalo Bills
There are a lot of factors that make the Denver Broncos a dangerous No. 1 seed in the AFC. For one, their cold weather, thin air, and rowdy crowd all combine for a difficult playing environment for road teams. They also have one of the best defenses in the NFL, featuring a dangerous pass rush and a shutdown run defense.
We don’t really know what Bo Nix is as a postseason quarterback, as he’s played in one game in his young career thus far. He wasn’t bad in the regular season, but he had just three games with passer ratings over 100. He did lead the NFL in game-winning drives this year, but Buffalo’s offense could make it tough for the game to get that close down the stretch.
Winner: Bills
No. 2 New England Patriots vs. No. 5 Houston Texans
This was a tough game to project, as the Patriots have had more sustained success over the whole regular season. That said, the Texans are the hotter team right now, and C.J. Stroud has won a playoff game in each of his first two seasons in the NFL.
Though New England would be the home team in this matchup, they’ve had enough inconsistency across their offensive line to fully trust that unit against the Texans’ dynamic edge-rushing tandem of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter in a playoff setting. Houston picks up the upset to advance to the AFC Championship for the first time in franchise history.
Winner: Texans
NFC
No. 1 Seattle Seahawks vs. No. 6 San Francisco 49ers
The Seattle Seahawks are getting hot at just the right time. They’ve beaten seven teams in a row heading into the postseason, including wins over such teams as the Rams, Panthers, and 49ers to close out the year. They have the third-best defense in the NFL by PFSN’s NFL Defense Impact grading, and they get a first-round bye week to prepare for their guaranteed Divisional Round matchup.
Though the 49ers split the season series, they most recently hosted the Seahawks in Week 18 and only put up eight points at home against them. Expecting another 13-3 slugfest seems unlikely, but it’s clear that Seattle has the upper hand in this matchup. When you factor in the home-field advantage, it seems like an even more likely victory this go-around.
Winner: Seahawks
No. 2 Chicago Bears vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Rams
The Bears have thoroughly outperformed expectations this season, and picking up a playoff win over the Packers would mean that their 2025-26 NFL season would be a massive success. That said, I don’t like how they match up against this Rams team, even having the home-field advantage in this hypothetical game.
Chicago ranks just 22nd in PFSN’s NFL Defense Impact Metric this year, which trails only the 49ers as the lowest ranking for a team playing in the NFL postseason. They’ve allowed the tenth-most points and the fourth-most yards in the league. The Rams would likely wind the clock down, win the time of possession battle, and march down the field to put up consistent points against their porous coverage.
Winner: Rams
Conference Championships
AFC
No. 5 Houston Texans vs. No. 6 Buffalo Bills
There has never been a conference championship played between two teams who didn’t win their division. This would be the first time in league history of that taking place. I think the Texans beating hot and facing an “easier” path consisting of a middle-of-the-road Steelers team and an unproven Patriots team gives them a serious chance at a run.
Buffalo’s current roster is more proven in a postseason setting, though. Houston has made a living off of putting quarterbacks under duress and forcing them to make bad throws, but that’s tougher to do with a QB as reliable as Josh Allen. If the Bills can make it through a difficult path, including the red-hot Jaguars and a Broncos team with a relentless defense, this is a game I also think they could win.
Winner: Bills
NFC
No. 1 Seattle Seahawks vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Rams
This would be an extremely competitive matchup between division rivals, and the Seahawks having the home-field advantage in this matchup would be crucial. Their series split 1-1 in the regular season, with Seattle’s win coming in front of their own home crowd. These are two very talented teams, and the game being played at Lumen Field is helpful.
That said, I have the Rams coming out on top to secure the NFC crown. In particular, I point to Sam Darnold’s cold end to the 2025-26 NFL regular season. He didn’t have a passer rating above 100 in any of his last four games, throwing three interceptions to just three touchdowns in that span. I think Los Angeles takes advantage of a key turnover or two to pick up the win on the road.
Winner: Rams
Super Bowl LX
No. 6 Buffalo Bills vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Rams
Making the Super Bowl would be an impressive feat for the Bills, especially given everything they’ve gone through in the postseason in recent years. They’ve consistently been one of the top teams in the AFC, but they’ve consistently lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. With the Chiefs not in the fray this year, this is their chance to make a deep run without their noted albatross around their neck.
However, the Rams are the only team in the NFL with top-five grades in both PFSN’s NFL Offense Impact and Defense Impact metrics this season. They have an MVP candidate at quarterback, a Super Bowl champion head coach, a loaded group of offensive weapons, and one of the best defensive lines in the league. There’s no team I’d fear as much in the postseason as the Rams this year.
Super Bowl LX champions: Rams
