NFL Playoff Bracket 2026 Assured of Wild Stat Involving Mahomes, Brady, Manning

The NFL playoff bracket is going to have fewer familiar faces this season.

Thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs' loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that eliminated them from playoff contention Sunday, the postseason will not feature either Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes for the first time since the 1998 campaign:

While Manning and Brady are retired, Mahomes has kept the streak alive in recent years thanks to his individual and team dominance.

Kansas City has advanced to at least the AFC Championship Game in each of his seven seasons as the full-time starting quarterback. It has five Super Bowl appearances and three Lombardi Trophies during that span and has largely defined an entire era of NFL history.

▶️ Full Chargers-Chiefs Recap

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However, this season has been different with the Chiefs dealing with inconsistency on the way to their 6-8 record. Sunday's loss was their third in a row and fifth in the last six games, and it was made much worse by Mahomes' injury.

The future Hall of Famer tore his ACL, which will also leave at least part of his 2026 campaign in question as well.