NFL Playoff Picture 2026, Latest Scenarios and Examining Top Bracket Busters

It took every last game of the 2025 NFL season to settle the score, but the playoff field is fully set.

And by this time next week, it'll already be whittled nearly in half. Only the top seeds in their respective conferences—the Denver Broncos in the AFC and the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC—are guaranteed a Divisional Round game. The other 12 playoff participants must find their way through the Wild-Card Round to get there.

That gives each item on the upcoming six-game slate can't-miss potential, and that's before digging into the juiciest matchups. Like the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears getting the playoff spotlight put on their NFC North rivalry. Or the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles facing off in a rematch of the 2022 NFC Championship. Or the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars potentially putting on a track meet in the weekend's lone clash between two of this season's top six scoring offenses.

The plotlines are plentiful and fully compelling. The action should be electric from Saturday afternoon's opening kick to Monday night's finale. To be honest, the stage really doesn't even need this much setting, it's just that we're so excited to get this journey going. Let's get the ball rolling, then, by laying out the Wild-Card schedule and then spotlighting a possible bracket buster in each conference.

Wild-Card Round Schedule

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Saturday, Jan. 10

Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, 8 p.m. ET, Prime Video

Sunday, Jan. 11

Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET, CBS

San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX

Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots, 8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock

Monday, Jan. 12

Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC

AFC Bracket Buster: Buffalo Bills

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The Bills can absolutely not afford to overlook the Jaguars, who are talented, red-hot (eight-game winning streak) and surely as confident as they come after posting their second-highest win total in franchise history (13).

All of that said, Buffalo has both the edge in playoff experience (seventh consecutive appearance) and the best player on its sideline (quarterback Josh Allen). And the Bills were nearly just as good this season, finishing with only one fewer victory (12) while sitting just one spot behind the Jags in scoring differential (Jacksonville's was plus-138, Buffalo's was plus-116).

If Allen can outduel Trevor Lawrence, then Buffalo is in business.

The defense can be prone to slow starts, and the receiving core underwhelms, but Allen can make up for a lot of shortcomings. Plus, the line is excellent, and running back James Cook III has never looked better.

This will be a tough task for any opposing defense to solve. Road playoff games are difficult to win—especially for this franchise—but there really isn't a nightmare matchup standing in front of Buffalo. Get past Jacksonville, and it'll likely tussle with either a Denver team that can sputter on offense or a New England team it just beat on the road in Week 15.

NFC Bracket Buster: Los Angeles Rams

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ESPN's Football Power Index doled out percentage chances for making the Super Bowl for all 14 playoff participants. The two highest percentages went to the two No. 1 seeds. The third went to the fifth-seeded Rams (23.2 percent), who looked like Super Bowl favorites before wobbling a bit down the final stretch.

The playoff path looks trickier than it did a month ago, but there are a lot of reasons to believe in this bunch.

It has just about everything you look for a full-fledged heavyweight contender. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has played at an MVP level, and he might have the top receiving tandem at his disposal in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, who should be ready to go after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury.

Running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum tallied a combined 1,998 rushing yards and 16 rushing scores. This disruptive defense ranked fifth in takeaways and sixth in sacks.

Special teams is unfortunately not a strength, but that's pretty much the extent of this team's big-picture concerns.

Maybe the Rams will prove to have too many road challenges in their path, but their experience, coaching and ability to win on both sides of the ball means they just might be up to the task.