The biggest storylines of the NFL playoffs
- - The biggest storylines of the NFL playoffs
Andrew GreifJanuary 5, 2026 at 8:00 PM
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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford drops back to pass during against the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 29th. (Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The NFL playoffs are here.
The champion of the 2025 season will be crowned during a four-week sprint to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif. It begins with this weekend's Wild Card round featuring six games over three days.
Following a regular season that saw no dominant team emerge from either the AFC or NFC, the championship race is wide open. The Kansas City Chiefs, who made five Super Bowls in the last six years, winning three times, did not even make the playoffs. Neither did the Detroit Lions, the NFC's top seed last season.
Meanwhile last year's champion, the Philadelphia Eagles, earned the NFC's third seed and won its division for a second consecutive season, yet has looked uninspiring for long stretches.
That regression to some of the league's title favorites opened the door for the Denver Broncos to grab the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015 — the last time they won the Super Bowl. In the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks enter as the top seed.
How might these playoffs unfold? NBC News' Rohan Nadkarni, Andrew Greif and Greg Rosenstein discuss.
Most exciting first-round matchup
Greif: Bills against Jaguars. With Kansas City, Buffalo's longtime playoff boogeyman, not even in the AFC's field, Josh Allen has a clear pathway to make his first Super Bowl and fix the only blemish on his career résumé. Yet these playoffs open without a dominant team partly because Buffalo, a preseason title favorite, hasn't consistently played up to that level. And now, in the first round, they get a Jaguars team that has won eight straight and forced 22 interceptions, tied for the league lead.
Nadkarni: Packers at Bears. This is the ultimate rubber match between arguably the two most bitter rivals in the NFL. Green Bay won the first meeting between these two, intercepting Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on a late fourth down to preserve a 28-21 victory. Chicago won the second matchup, mounting an improbable fourth-quarter comeback before walking off in overtime.
The Bears will host round three, and this is a chance for head coach Ben Johnson to definitively prove Chicago is no longer the Packers’ little brother. Between the young star quarterbacks, the coaching rivalry, and the history between the two franchises, this has a chance to be a game that's talked about for a long time.
Rosenstein: 49ers against Eagles. Philadelphia might have earned the No. 3 seed in the NFC this season, but they look far from the dominant group that won last year’s Super Bowl. The Eagles’ offense ranks 19th in the NFL in points per game, 24th in yards per game and 19th in yards per play. This matchup will come down to how well Philadelphia’s stout defense plays against one of the better offensive units in the league. Can the Eagles slow down Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffery?
Team that could surprise
Greif: The Chicago Bears. Yes, they're the NFC's second seed, but do you believe they can really win it all? Hesitance is justified. After all, this is a group experiencing the playoffs for the first time together, and under a first-time coach. But I've become a Bears believer for two reasons. They've been nails in close games, suggesting this inexperienced group will acclimate to postseason pressure. They also consistently create chances for themselves while limiting opponents' opportunities. Chicago forced the most turnovers (32) while conversely committing the fewest (10).
Rosenstein: The Buffalo Bills. It might not seem like a true surprise considering how they have fared in recent seasons but Buffalo is the No. 6 seed in the AFC and it feels as if many pundits have written them off. I'm not one of them. With quarterback Josh Allen, the defending NFL MVP, the Bills rank fourth in the league in both yards and points per game. Buffalo has also come on late, winning its last four games in dominant fashion.
Nadkarni: The Houston Texans, who will open the postseason on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After starting the season 3-5, the Texans are the hottest team in the NFL, entering the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak. Though he hasn’t quite reached the heights of his rookie season, quarterback C.J. Stroud is a postseason riser, winning one game in each of the last two playoffs.
More importantly, the defense is elite, leading the league in yards allowed in the regular season. Between Stroud, a favorable opening-round matchup, and a defense that wreaks havoc on opponents, Houston has all the ingredients to go on a run.
Favorite storyline to watch
Rosenstein: Can Sam Darnold deliver a Super Bowl to the Seahawks? Remember, this is a quarterback who was taken No. 3 overall by the Jets and widely considered a bust. Since leaving New York, however, he's thrived in Minnesota and now Seattle.
The Vikings let him leave last offseason in favor of an unproven second-year quarterback. Darnold responded with 4,048 yards passing (8th in the NFL) and 25 touchdowns (8th) while leading the Seahawks to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Now let's see if he's capable of such success in the postseason.
Nadkarni: Can the Philadelphia Eagles recapture the offensive form they had last playoffs? The defending Super Bowl champs are flying under the radar after a frustrating season. The Eagles’ running game fell off a cliff this season, while the passing attack averaged under 200 yards a game. After scoring 95 points in its last two playoff games a year ago, Philly has scored only 90 points in the last four games started by quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Will the Eagles have any answers for their offensive struggles? Because if Philly can emulate any of its offensive firepower from a season ago, its defense is absolutely still a championship-caliber one.
Greif: This is a quarterback's league, and I'm watching who steps up in the postseason. Of the seven AFC starters, none has played in a Super Bowl, but that is about to change. And in the NFC, is Sam Darnold only a regular-season success story, or is this the year he has a postseason breakthrough?
Darnold is the only quarterback other than Tom Brady to lead consecutive 14-win seasons, but all those wins fizzled for Darnold in last year's first-round loss with Minnesota. He has looked superb for Seattle and has an elite defense and receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba to back him up.
Super Bowl pick
Greif: Texans over 49ers, 24-21. Houston? Really? Yes, because its defense is second-to-none and can keep the Texans in any game. I can't share the same confidence about their offense, but coach DeMeco Ryans has built a swaggering defense that looks like it can handle even an offense run by 49ers mastermind Kyle Shanahan. New England has impressed enormously this season in the AFC, but its soft schedule gave me concerns about its readiness for the postseason.
Nadkarni: Rams over Bills, 28-24. Though the Rams have stumbled a bit down the stretch, Matthew Stafford has played at an MVP-level this season against the most difficult schedule of any NFC playoff team. Los Angeles is tested, veteran-led, and this organization has championship experience leftover from its Super Bowl win a few years ago. As for the Bills, if they can’t make it to the big game without Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson to worry about, then they may never make it.
Rosenstein: Rams over Bills, 31-28. Los Angeles hasn't looked amazing in recent weeks, having split their last six matchups, but I'm putting my trust behind soon-to-be MVP Matthew Stafford. The future Hall of Fame quarterback has the Rams' offense humming. They rank No. 1 in in points, yards and touchdowns per game this season and aren't showing signs of slowing down. Unfortunately it will be another season of Buffalo coming up just short.
Source: “AOL Sports”
