NFL Playoff Bracket 2026, AFC, NFC Picture and Super Bowl Predictions

The NFL Playoff Bracket is set, with 13 of 14 teams determined and all but one of the first-round match-ups determined.

Who will play where, who fell short of making the final bracket, and what two teams should find themselves playing in Santa Clara, California in February?

Find out with this look at the bracket and a Super Bowl prediction.

NFC Playoff Picture

AP Photo

Division Leaders

1. *-Seattle Seahawks (14-3, NFC West)

2. z-Chicago Bears (11-6, NFC North)

3. z-Philadelphia Eagles (11-6, NFC East)

4. z-Carolina Panthers (8-9, NFC South)

The Bears and Packers split the regular season series in 2025 and will have their deciding match-up in Chicago in the Wild Card round. The Bears limp into the postseason, riding a two-game losing streak, while the Packers continue to battle injuries that have plagued them late in the year. The Bears are in better health, which should bode well for them, but Jordan Love and Co. have a history of upsetting higher-ranked opponents in postseason play.

Wild Card

5. y-Los Angeles Rams (12-5)

6. y-San Francisco 49ers (12-5)

7. y-Green Bay Packers (9-7-1)

Entering Sunday's game with Arizona, the Rams were staring down the face of a playoff rematch with the Eagles. A dominant victory over their division rivals, though, catapulted them to the fifth seed and earned them a shot at redemption against the Carolina Panthers, who beat them by three in Week 13.

Eliminated

Minnesota Vikings (9-8)

Detroit Lions (9-8)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)

Atlanta Falcons (8-9)

Dallas Cowboys (7-9-1)

New Orleans Saints (6-11)

Washington Commanders (5-12)

New York Giants (4-13)

Arizona Cardinals (3-14)

AFC Playoff Picture

AP Photo

Division Leaders

1. *-Denver Broncos (14-3, AFC West)

2. z-New England Patriots (14-3, AFC East)

3. z-Jacksonville Jaguars (14-3, AFC South)

4. z-Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, AFC North)

The AFC featured three teams with 14-win seasons, two of which will play in the Wild Card round. The Patriots will battle the Chargers in their first match-up of the season, while the Jaguars battle the Bills in another first-time match-up.

Denver will remain home for all of their playoff games by way of their victory over Los Angeles.

Wild Card Teams

5. y-Houston Texans (12-5)

6. y-Buffalo Bills (12-5)

7. y-Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)

The Texans will battle the winner of the AFC North in the Wild Card, a match-up that should favor Houston. The team features the best defense in the league, the stingiest in terms of points and yardage. That makes them a tough out for any team, especially inconsistently scoring teams like Pittsburgh.

Eliminated

Baltimore Ravens (8-9)

Indianapolis Colts (8-9)

Miami Dolphins (7-10)

Kansas City Chiefs (6-11)

Cincinnati Bengals (6-11)

Cleveland Browns (5-12)

New York Jets (3-14)

Tennessee Titans (3-14)

Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)

y-indicates Wild Card clinched

z-indicates division clinched

*-indicates first round bye

Super Bowl LX Prediction

AP Photo

The Los Angeles Rams entered the season feeling like they were a play or two away from representing the NFC in the Super Bowl last year, and for the most part, they have played like a contender to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.

The offense scores the most points per game in the league. Matthew Stafford is an MVP favorite. The offense features the most talented crop of skill players in football. Oh, and Davante Adams will return in time for the playoffs. The defense plays bend but don't break football, and the special teams unit has taken a noticeable step forward amid an in-season change at coordinator.

Add to that they dominated the Seahawks defense in a one-point, overtime loss on December 18, the same Seattle unit that limited San Francisco to just three points Saturday, and you have a team that can play with and defeat any team they may encounter in the postseason.

The same can be said for the Buffalo Bills.

Josh Allen is an all-world quarterback who can take over games and win them by himself. The defense makes enough key plays when necessary, and running back James Cook proved himself as a juggernaut for the offense all season.

Throughout his career, Allen has run into Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow, his playoff hopes dashed by teams with more weapons than him. While there are more complete offenses in this year's postseason, it stands to argue that the 2024 MVP will never have a better shot at getting over the hump than he will this season.

It will not be easy, playing from the sixth seed, but the Bills have the firepower and the postseason experience to get it done this year, setting up a high-powered, offensive showdown in the biggest game of the year.

Prediction: Rams over Bills, 34-30