And then there were four...The NFL playoff field is now down to just four teams, three of them coming from the West. The Denver Broncos were the first team to punch their ticket to the Championship Round of the playoffs, although the euphoria of their win against the Bills was spoiled less than an hour later when it was learned that Bo Nix had a fractured bone in his ankle.
The Patriots took care of the Houston Texans in Foxboro, while the Seahawks dominated the 49ers on Saturday night. The Rams won an absolute thriller on the road in Chicago, and now our NFL version of the Final Four is set.
The Broncos will host the Patriots, and the Seahawks will host the Rams. We're going to make our game picks and score predictions for the pair of Mike vs. Sean matchups this weekend. Who's going to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara?
NFL Picks and score predictions for the AFC and NFC Championship Games
New England Patriots (2) @ Denver Broncos (1)
Sunday, January 25, 3:00 PM ET
The Denver Broncos are set to host the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and history continues to repeat itself for that team. The parallels between the 2015 Denver Broncos (who won Super Bowl 50) and the 2025 Denver Broncos are many. That Super Bowl 50 team had fans on the edge of their seats every single week just like this year's version of the team, and that team also hosted the Patriots in the Conference Championship.
And if the Broncos are going to repeat history by beating the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, they are going to have to do it with backup QB Jarrett Stidham at the helm. The former Patriots draft pick and one-time heir apparent to Tom Brady has a chance to do the funniest thing...
The Patriots are one of the most complete teams in the league, and they're coming to Denver with a full head of steam. The New England defense has been doing a great job of applying pressure the last few games and creating takeaways with six in their last four games. They also haven't allowed more than 159 passing yards in a four-game stretch.
The Broncos are going to be hoping that Stidham's understanding of the Sean Payton offense -- which he's been in since 2023 -- can outweigh his lack of time on task in regular season action. He hasn't thrown a pass since the last week of the 2023 season when it comes to regular season action.
As much as people might want to write the Broncos off in this game, I'm not doing that. They are just 5.5-point underdogs at home and that defense is going to step up against Drake Maye and the Patriots. The question is, can they rally around Stidham, and can he rise to the occasion?
We're about to find out how good of a team the Broncos are, and whether or not the Patriots can go into an extremely hostile environment with a young quarterback at the helm.
Prediction: Broncos win 23-19
Los Angeles Rams (5) @ Seattle Seahawks (1)
Sunday, January 25, 6:30 PM ET
The last time the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks played against each other, it was legitimately one of the craziest games of the entire season. And these two teams have already played two games this season which have been decided by a combined score of 58-57 in favor of the Rams.
The Seahawks won the last battle, and this rubber match to finish off the trilogy is best served with the high stakes of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.
What more can be said about both of these teams that hasn't already been said throughout the course of the season? We've ranked every NFL team in every possible way this year, and every time we talk about the Seahawks and Rams, we talk about the same thing: These are two of the most complementary teams in the NFL right now.
They are as evenly-matched as it gets in today's NFL. They are both capable of putting 50 points on the board. They are both capable of taking the ball away four or five times. Even if every NFL team has their warts, and these teams do, you aren't going to really get much of a true competitive edge here because of personnel or anything we've looked at in the larger sample size of the season.
This is a game of best on best.
So which team is coming out on top? When two teams are evenly matched, you tend to gravitate toward the home team. But I am gravitating toward the team that has been to this spot before. The Rams are going to a hostile environment, but a familiar one. They have a head coach and quarterback who have won a Super Bowl together.
This should be expected to be a close game, but I'm taking the experience of Matthew Stafford against Sam Darnold in a duel.
Prediction: Rams win 27-26