Divisional Round
AFC
(4) Baltimore Ravens @ (1) Houston Texans
It would be hard to pick against the Ravens in this one, as in each of the last three seasons, the Texans have gotten to the Divisional Round, but have not been able to advance past that. Lamar Jackson, who will be an MVP candidate in 2026, overwhelms the Houston defense in this one.
(3) Buffalo Bills @ (2) Denver Broncos
A rematch of an amazingly entertaining Divisional Round game in 2025, the Broncos would again be in a position to beat the Bills, as Buffalo does have a ton of new coaches, including first year head coach, Joe Brady. The Broncos have also made the more impactful additions this offseason and would have a roster advantage.
NFC
(5) Seattle Seahawks @ (1) Los Angeles Rams
Seattle and Los Angeles would meet in the Divisional Round in our playoff predictions for 2026, and I am just riding the Rams here, as I believe they have covered up their main roster weaknesses, and when General Manager Les Snead can 'sense' that his team is close, he goes all-out, so the Rams are going to emerge as the league's best team in 2026 and will continue this deep playoff run.
(3) Dallas Cowboys @ (2) Detroit Lions
This would be a fun game featuring two high-end offenses, but the Cowboys have kind of become a laughingstock across the NFL when the playoffs roll around, and while they could make a deep run this year, the Lions would be favored at home and are, as of now, and will be a better team in 2026.
Conference Championship Round
AFC
(4) Baltimore Ravens @ (2) Denver Broncos
The Broncos would host the AFC Championship Game for a second year in a row, but Denver is capable of this. They have the best roster in the conference and a quarterback who is now primed to break out once again thanks to the team adding Jaylen Waddle. In what could be a high-scoring game, Denver wins.
NFC
(2) Detroit Lions @ (1) Los Angeles Rams
This would be a fun game, as these two franchises swapped starting quarterbacks way back in 2021. It's worked out well for both, but the Rams did win it all in that season. Los Angeles, once again, would be better than their opponent, and the Rams do have more substantive playoff experience. The Rams win this one and take care of business at home.
Super Bowl
Denver Broncos vs. Los Angeles Rams
It would be very interesting to see the two conference championship losers from 2025 meeting in Super Bowl LXI in the calendar year 2027. This would be the Rams home stadium as well, as the Super Bowl will be played in SoFi.
And it would be hard to pick against the Rams. You could argue that Los Angeles and Denver have the two strongest rosters in the NFL, but you'd look at the quarterback matchup here and give the nod to the Rams at the moment.
But given how clutch the Broncos were in 2025, you almost wonder if more of the same would be presenet in 2026. When considering a million factors, which would be normal for the Super Bowl, most would eventually land on the Rams as being the winner.