The field is down to eight. Top seeds are rested, wild cards are rolling, and four spots in Championship Weekend are on the line. Here’s your quick, one-stop guide to every Divisional Round matchup: records, broadcast info, series history, and the key angles to watch.
No. 6 Buffalo Bills (13-5) at No. 1 Denver Broncos (14-3)
Saturday, January 17, 2026 | 4:30 PM ET
Empower Field at Mile High | Referee: Carl Cheffers
TV: CBS — Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson
Radio: Westwood One — Ryan Radtke, Mike Golic
Series history
- Regular season: Bills lead 22-17-1 (Buffalo has won 3 of the last 4)
- Postseason: Bills lead 2-0
- Last regular-season meeting: 11/13/23 — Broncos 24 at Bills 22
- Last postseason meeting: 1/12/25 (AFC Wild Card) — Broncos 7 at Bills 31
Bills snapshot
Buffalo is in the postseason for the seventh straight year and can reach a second consecutive AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1990–93 run. Josh Allen remains a one-man problem: he led all quarterbacks with 14 rushing touchdowns this season and now owns the most rushing scores by a QB in league history (79), plus the most games with both a passing and rushing TD (50). He’s piled up 34,823 combined passing and rushing yards in his first eight seasons and has 3,632 passing yards and 36 total TDs in 14 career playoff starts, including a 272-yard, 2-TD, 135.4-rating performance against Denver in last year’s Wild Card.
James Cook finished fourth in the league with 1,912 scrimmage yards and tied for fifth with 14 total touchdowns, topping 100 scrimmage yards in 12 games. He’s gone for 120 scrimmage yards in each of his two career games against Denver. Khalil Shakir led the team in catches (72) and yards (719) and has at least six receptions in five straight playoff games. Defensively, Greg Rousseau led the Bills with seven sacks and has a sack in both of his career games against the Broncos, while Joey Bosa added nine tackles for loss and five forced fumbles.
Broncos snapshot
Denver won the AFC West and secured the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2015, tying a franchise record with 14 wins. Historically, when the Broncos are the top seed, they cash in — they’ve reached the Super Bowl in six of their previous eight seasons as the AFC’s No. 1. Bo Nix has wasted no time making history: he already has 54 touchdown passes in his first two seasons (third-most ever), became the fourth player with 25+ TD passes in each of his first two years, and is also the fourth QB all-time with 700+ completions in each of his first two seasons.
Courtland Sutton led Denver with 74 receptions, 1,017 yards, and seven TDs, while rookie back RJ Harvey produced 896 scrimmage yards and 12 total touchdowns (seven rushing, five receiving), leading all rookies with 12 scrimmage scores. On defense, Nik Bonitto posted a career-high 14 sacks and made his second Pro Bowl, while Alex Singleton racked up 135 tackles and has 16 straight home games with at least six stops. Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss (19 pass breakups), and Talanoa Hufanga headline a secondary that’s been disruptive all year.
No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (13-5) at No. 1 Seattle Seahawks (14-3)
Saturday, January 17, 2026 | 8:00 PM ET
Lumen Field | Referee: John Hussey
TV: FOX — Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews / Tom Rinaldi
Radio: Westwood One — Kevin Kugler, Derek Rackley
Series history
- Regular season: Seahawks lead 31-23 (road team has won 6 of the last 7)
- Postseason: Series tied 1-1 (home team has won the last 2)
- Last regular-season meeting: 1/3/26 — Seahawks 13 at 49ers 3
- Last postseason meeting: 1/14/23 (NFC Wild Card) — Seahawks 23 at 49ers 41
49ers snapshot
San Francisco just became the first franchise in NFL history to reach 40 playoff wins and is chasing a fourth NFC Championship Game appearance in five seasons. Brock Purdy has been steady in January, ranking fourth in postseason passing yards and tied for sixth in TD passes since 2022. He’s thrown for 250+ yards and a touchdown in four straight playoff games and owns a 5-2 postseason record.
Christian McCaffrey remains the centerpiece: he had 114 scrimmage yards and two receiving TDs in the Wild Card win over Philadelphia and has topped 100 scrimmage yards in seven of eight career playoff games. He’s scored in eight straight postseason contests, the longest streak to start a career. This year he totaled 2,126 scrimmage yards (1,202 rushing, 924 receiving), 17 touchdowns, and 102 receptions — his fifth season with 1,000+ rushing yards. Jauan Jennings set a career high with nine TD catches and is the only wide receiver in NFL history with two career playoff TD passes. Defensively, Bryce Huff and Clelin Ferrell each recorded four sacks, while Ji’Ayir Brown and Deommodore Lenoir both had multiple interceptions.
Seahawks snapshot
Seattle tied a franchise record with 14 wins and is trying to get back to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2014. Sam Darnold ranked fifth in passing yards (4,048) and has already joined rare company as the fifth QB ever to win 13+ games in consecutive seasons — and the first to do it with different teams (Minnesota in 2024, Seattle in 2025).
Jaxon Smith-Njigba exploded into full-blown superstar status, leading the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards, ranking fourth with 119 receptions, and tying for sixth with 10 TD catches. He became just the third player under age 24 to post 1,700+ receiving yards in a season and has topped 80 yards in three straight games against San Francisco. On the ground, Zach Charbonnet scored 12 rushing touchdowns and had 97 scrimmage yards and a TD in the Week 18 win over the 49ers, while Kenneth Walker III added 1,309 scrimmage yards and scored in the last playoff meeting between these teams.
Defensively, Ernest Jones picked off five passes and has been a tackling machine, while Demarcus Lawrence (three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles), Leonard Williams, Devon Witherspoon, and rookie safety Nick Emmanwori give Seattle playmakers at every level.
No. 5 Houston Texans (13-5) at No. 2 New England Patriots (15-3)
Sunday, January 18, 2026 | 3:00 PM ET
Gillette Stadium | Referee: Shawn Smith
TV: ESPN/ABC — Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters / Laura Rutledge
Radio: Westwood One — John Sadak, Jason McCourty
Series history
- Regular season: Patriots lead 9-4 (Texans have won 3 of the last 4)
- Postseason: Patriots lead 2-0
- Last regular-season meeting: 10/13/24 — Texans 41 at Patriots 21
- Last postseason meeting: 1/14/17 (AFC Divisional) — Texans 16 at Patriots 34
Texans snapshot
Houston is chasing its first AFC Championship Game appearance in franchise history after a dominant 30-6 Wild Card win in Pittsburgh. The Texans have now won 12 games in a season for just the second time ever (2012). C.J. Stroud threw for 250 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers and became the fourth quarterback in league history to start and win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons. He finished 2025 with 3,041 yards and 19 TD passes and has topped 245 passing yards in three straight postseason games.
Rookie back Woody Marks ran for 112 yards and a touchdown in the Wild Card round and ranked sixth among rookies with 703 rushing yards this season. Nico Collins led Houston with 1,132 scrimmage yards and 1,117 receiving yards, becoming one of just four receivers with 1,000+ scrimmage yards and 5+ TDs in each of the last three seasons. Christian Kirk is on a tear with three straight playoff games with a TD catch, and rookie Jayden Higgins tied for second among rookies with six receiving scores. Dalton Schultz remained a volume option at tight end with 82 catches and 777 yards.
The pass rush is nasty: Danielle Hunter finished third in the NFL with 15 sacks and has seven seasons with 10+ sacks, while Will Anderson added 12 sacks and has at least a half-sack in three straight playoff games. Sheldon Rankins is coming off a Wild Card performance with 1.5 sacks and a fumble-return TD, and corners Kamari Lassiter (17 pass breakups) and Derek Stingley (15 PBUs) form one of the league’s most productive duos.
Patriots snapshot
New England finally snapped its playoff drought with a 16-3 Wild Card win over the Chargers and is trying to reach its first AFC Championship Game since its run of eight straight appearances from 2011–18. Drake Maye threw for 268 yards and a touchdown and added 66 rushing yards in his postseason debut. He ranked third in the league with 31 TD passes and fourth with 4,394 passing yards, becoming just the sixth quarterback under 24 to post a 4,000-yard, 30-TD season. He also became the third QB under 24 with 2+ TD passes and a 100+ rating in 10 games in a single year.
Rookie TreVeyon Henderson finished second among rookies with 911 rushing yards and 1,132 scrimmage yards and joined Saquon Barkley and Hall of Famer Lenny Moore as the only rookies with four or more rushing TDs of 50+ yards. Rhamondre Stevenson had nine total touchdowns and 128 scrimmage yards in the Wild Card win. Stefon Diggs remains one of the league’s premier postseason receivers, ranking third since 2015 with 71 catches and 925 playoff receiving yards.
On defense, K’Lavon Chaisson had 7.5 sacks and two forced fumbles this season and added two sacks and a forced fumble in the Wild Card round. Christian Elliss, Robert Spillane, Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, rookie safety Craig Woodson, and Jaylinn Hawkins (four INTs) give Mike Vrabel a deep, opportunistic unit that just held the Chargers to three points.
No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (13-5) at No. 2 Chicago Bears
Sunday, January 18, 2026 | 6:30 PM ET
Soldier Field | Referee: Shawn Hochuli
Series history
- Regular season: Bears lead 54-38-3 (Rams have won 3 of the last 4)
- Postseason: Series tied 1-1
- Last regular-season meeting: 9/29/24 — Rams 18 at Bears 24
- Last postseason meeting: 1/12/86 (NFC Championship) — Rams 0 at Bears 24
Rams snapshot
The Rams are chasing their third NFC Championship Game appearance since 2018 after a 34-31 Wild Card win in Carolina. Matthew Stafford threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns in that game and now has at least two TD passes in eight straight playoff contests — tied with Joe Flacco for the second-longest streak in NFL history. In 11 career postseason starts, he’s thrown for 3,300 yards and 25 total touchdowns (22 passing, three rushing) with a 101.4 rating.
Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and a career-high 46 TD passes in 2025, his 10th season with 4,000+ yards and 20+ TDs — making him one of just seven quarterbacks ever to hit that mark. Puka Nacua followed up his breakout with 1,715 receiving yards, 129 catches, 10 receiving TDs, plus 105 rushing yards and a rushing score for 1,820 scrimmage yards. Kyren Williams added 1,252 rushing yards, 281 receiving yards, and 13 total touchdowns, finishing with 1,533 scrimmage yards and 75 yards plus a TD catch in the Wild Card win. Davante Adams chipped in 60 catches, 789 yards, and 14 touchdowns.
Defensively, Byron Young led the Rams with 12 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, while rookie Jared Verse added 7.5 sacks and 11 TFLs. Emmanuel Forbes broke up 18 passes and picked off three, and Cobie Durant added three interceptions of his own.
Bears snapshot
Chicago comes in as the NFC’s No. 2 seed after a 31-27 Wild Card win over Green Bay, leaning on a defense that held the Rams to 18 points in their September meeting at Soldier Field. The Bears lead the all-time series and have the most recent postseason blowout in this matchup — a 24-0 win in the 1985 NFC Championship Game — but Los Angeles has taken three of the last four overall.
The key question here: can Chicago’s defense disrupt Stafford’s timing and limit explosive plays from Nacua, Williams, and Adams the way it did in the regular-season meeting, or will the Rams’ high-octane offense force this game into a shootout on the road?