Welcome to the Divisional Round of the 2026 NFL Playoffs. Last week with my Wild Card Round picks, I guessed three right and three wrong. That’s not great at all, but at least it was an awesome and eventful slate of games. I’m hoping to do better this weekend. Let’s see how I fare with my Divisional Round picks.
Saturday Football (Early Game) — Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos
Winner: Broncos
After a top-flight regular season campaign, the Broncos will square off against the Bills in the postseason for the second year in a row. This time they are hoping for a much
different outcome. While Denver hopes to enjoy the perks of homefield advantage and loud and cheerful crowd, star quarterback Josh Allen will be a lot for them to handle. Allen will certainly be the ultimate x-factor in this game.
In last year’s matchup, the Bills throttled the Broncos. It wasn’t even close and a tough loss for Broncos Country to digest. Buffalo controlled the clock for over 40 minutes in last year’s Wild Card Round matchup. That’s something the Denver will need to avoid if they want to earn the honor of hosting the AFC Championship Game.
Like most every game the Broncos have played to date, I expect this one to be a hard-fought nailbiter. In the end, I think Denver finds a way to do enough on offense and defense to advance in the postseason. Let the Mile High Magic continue!
Saturday Night Football — San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Winner: 49ers
Saturday Night Football sports an NFC West division rivalry game with the 49ers heading on the road to take on the Seahawks. It will be Brock Purdy going up against Sam Darnold to see who can lead their team to the NFC Championship game. Both these teams had impressive regular seasons in an ultra-competitive division. I think this is going to be a tremendous matchup.
Recent history can’t be predictive of what transpires on Saturday. However, it’s worth noting San Francisco has toppled Seattle seven of the past nine matchups. This season they split their games in two low scoring affairs. I have no doubts this will be a close game.
Kyle Shanahan has done a fantastic job coaching the 49ers this season. They have experienced a ton of significant injuries. Most recently, star tight end George Kittle last weekend. Even with all the injuries, I think the 49ers pull off an upset here and keep their season alive. They just seem to have a knack for overcoming adversity.
Sunday Afternoon Football — Houston Texans at New England Patriots
Winner: Texans
This is another exciting matchup with the Texans trekking to Foxborough to take on the Patriots. Second-year signal caller Drake Maye has been electric for the Patriots and helped revitalize their offense. What they accomplished as AFC East champs this year is praiseworthy.
Meanwhile, the Texans boast one of the league’s best defenses. They have been opportunistic forcing turnovers and getting after opposing quarterbacks. Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter might be the best edge duo in the NFL. Much like the Broncos, Houston has the players on that side of the ball to make a title run so long as their offense does their part.
This will be the toughest defense Maye has faced all season. Can he keep playing at a high level to advance in the postseason? Only time will tell. Nevertheless, I’ve got the Texans winning this one. I think their defense will do their part to send them off to face the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
Sunday Evening Football — Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears
Winner: Rams
The Rams and Bears were able to generate comeback victories on Wild Card Weekend to keep their Lombardi Trophy hopes alive. Sean McVay and Ben Johnson are bright offensive minds, but which coach is going to have the best gameplan for Sunday’s gridiron matchup?
Matthew Stafford and Caleb Williams dueling it out to see who advances will be fun to watch. I think this will be an action-packed contest with a lot of points scored by both teams. The Rams have scored the most points in the NFL and have been dominant performers most every game. That’s a trend I expect to continue on Sunday.
Despite their struggles on defense as of late, I think the Rams can do enough to limit Williams and the Bears. I don’t expect Chicago to embark on any fourth quarter heroics in this one. Ultimately. I have a hard time believing that Chicago’s defense is going to be able to stop the NFL’s top-ranked offense. They’ve scored 27 points or more in thirteen games this year. If this holds true, that means it will be an NFC West rivalry matchup in the NFC Championship Game.
