Wild Card Round
AFC
Bye: Denver Broncos
The Broncos get to rest up at home and would host the lowest remaining AFC playoff seed, as that is another advantage of being the top seed in the playoffs.
(7) New England Patriots @ (2) Houston Texans
Given how suffocating the Texans defense is, I really do not see a viable path for the Patriots to win this game, especially if this team continues to not play that well against top competition, which is something we saw last playoffs.
Houston wins this one.
(6) Cincinnati Bengals @ (3) Buffalo Bills
The Joe Burrow-led Bengals have beaten the Bills before in the playoffs. Given how well Burrow and the Bengals have played in the playoffs when they get there, I do like Cincinnati in this one. The Bengals have gotten to the AFC Championship Game, at minimum, in the two years of the Burrow era they have made the playoffs.
(5) Jacksonville Jaguars @ (4) Baltimore Ravens
This would be a fun matchup, as the Ravens might be the favorite here, but the Jaguars are an extremely well-coached team. I would side with the home team here, as I am just not ready yet to fully buy into the Jaguars roster - I believe the front office stil needs another offseason worth of talent acquisition for this team to fully come into their own.
NFC
Bye: Los Angeles Rams
The Rams, like the Broncos, would get the lowest remaining playoff seed in the NFC.
(7) Detroit Lions @ (2) Chicago Bears
Yes, the Bears emerged as an excellent late-game team, but the Lions do have better overall roster talent. I’d pick Detroit in this one. While the Bears did emerge as the division champions in our predictions, Lions QB Jared Goff is a cool, collected presence and less of an unknown variable than Williams is, who is sometimes very erratic.
(6) Green Bay Packers @ (3) Philadelphia Eagles
The Packers visited the Eagles in the playoffs back in the 2024 season. A similar result would hold. Philly takes care of business in this one despite not being a top-shelf team like we’re used to seeing.
(5) Seattle Seahawks @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Maybe one of the easiest games to predict in the Wild Card Round, the Seahawks go into Tampa Bay and throttle the Buccaneers, advancing to the Divisional Round for the second season in a row.
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