NFL Playoff Picture 2026, Wild-Card Odds, Picks and Matchup Scenarios for Bracket

The NFL playoff field is locked and loaded.

If the Wild-Card Round lives up to its name, though, there could be plenty of movement on the board. This league reseeds in the playoffs, meaning the Super Bowl paths seen now aren't necessarily the ones that will be required.

That feels especially pertinent this year, as oddsmakers favor more road teams than home this weekend. Will those hunches be correct? We'll break it down after laying out the latest odds for the six games on the Wild-Card slate.

Wild-Card Round Schedule, Odds

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Saturday, Jan. 10

Los Angeles Rams (-10.5) at Carolina Panthers, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX

Green Bay Packers (-1.5) at Chicago Bears, 8 p.m. ET, Prime Video

Sunday, Jan. 11

Buffalo Bills (-1.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET, CBS

San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5), 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX

Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots (-3.5), 8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock

Monday, Jan. 12

Houston Texans (-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC

*Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

AFC Picks, Scenarios

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AFC Wild Card Round Predictions

No. 5 Houston over No. 4 Pittsburgh

No. 3 Jacksonville over No. 6 Buffalo

No. 2 New England over No. 7 Los Angeles

Projected AFC Divisional Round Matchups

No. 5 Houston at No. 1 Denver

No. 3 Jacksonville at No. 2 New England

In the Wild-Card Round, it feels like all eyes will be on that juicy Jags-Bills bout. Maybe the Steelers and Chargers have surprises up their sleeves, but it feels like both are fighting above their weight class and don't have the requisite knockout power to pull off an upset.

Things are just more tightly bunched with Jacksonville and Buffalo. The Jags had an awesome season, but the Bills were nearly just as good. And they'll have the confidence boost of rostering the best player in the matchup (quarterback Josh Allen).

That still doesn't seem like it'll be enough, though. The Jaguars are playing as well as anyone (winners of eight straight), plus they have home-field advantage (which could be huge given the Bills' recent playoff road woes). Their roster is better balanced, too, and the stat sheet isn't convinced there's still a wide gap between Allen and his counterpart, Trevor Lawrence.

If these predictions hold, you'll want to clear out next weekend's schedule ahead of time. Big-stage prizefights between the Texans-Broncos and Jags-Patriots already are oozing with can't-miss appeal.

NFC Picks, Scenarios

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NFC Wild-Card Round Predictions

No. 5 Los Angeles over No. 4 Carolina

No. 2 Chicago over No. 7 Green Bay

No. 3 Philadelphia over No. 6 San Francisco

Projected NFC Divisional Round Matchups

No. 5 Los Angeles at No. 1 Seattle

No. 3 Philadelphia at No. 2 Chicago

This league's any-given-Sunday style makes it uncomfortable to call for such little chaos, but the Packers have a single victory since the start of December, and the 49ers' defense has been fully decimated by injuries. Both clubs are capable of overcoming adversity and getting the job done, but the uphill climb ahead is steep.

And what a bummer it must be for the Panthers to make their first playoff appearance since 2017 and immediately have to tussle with a Rams team that spent much of this season looking like Super Bowl favorites. L.A. obviously isn't invincible (just ask Atlanta), but this roster is loaded on both sides of the ball.

If things follow this script, then we should get a really good game between the Eagles and Bears next weekend and maybe an all-timer between the Rams and Seahawks.

Seattle and L.A. locked horns twice this season, and the two contests were decided by a total of three points. Oh, and one went to overtime. The games captured the clubs' versatility, too, as one was a rock fight featuring a combined 40 points, and the other was a fireworks show that saw them combine for 75 points and nearly 1,000 yards of total offense.