2026 NFL Wildcard Weekend Preview

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January 9, 2026

by Steve Thomas

Welcome to the 2026 Wildcard Playoffs! Most people expected Washington to be back in the hunt after the team’s success last year, but alas, things went . . . somewhat wrong.  And here we are.  Yet another year of watching other teams compete to make it to the Super Bowl.  Since Washington isn’t in the picture, I’m not going to do the full-blown statistical analysis of each team, because, well, that takes a ton of time.  Regardless, all of the information you need and a preview of each game is below.  We’ll keep this up through the Super Bowl.

Playoff Seedings

AFC

  1. Denver Broncos (14 – 3; 1st, AFC West; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. New England Patriots (14 – 3; 1st, AFC East)
  3. Jacksonville Jaguars (13 – 4; 1st, AFC South)
  4. Pittsburgh Steelers (10 – 7; 1st, AFC North)
  5. Houston Texans (12 – 5; 2nd, AFC South)
  6. Buffalo Bills (12 – 5; 2nd, AFC East)
  7. Los Angeles Chargers (11 – 6; 2nd, AFC West)

NFC

  1. Seattle Seahawks (14 – 3; 1st, NFC West; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. Chicago Bears (11 – 6; 1st, NFC North)
  3. Philadelphia Eagles (11 – 6; 1st, NFC East)
  4. Carolina Panthers (8 – 9, 1st, NFC South)
  5. Los Angeles Rams (12 – 5; 2nd, NFC West)
  6. San Francisco 49ers (12 – 5; 3rd, NFC West)
  7. Green Bay Packers (9 – 7 – 1; 2nd, NFC North)

2026 NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

Wild Card Weekend

Saturday, Jan. 10

4:30 p.m. ET – Los Angeles Rams (#5) at Carolina Panthers (#4) (FOX, FOX One)

8:00 p.m. ET – Green Bay Packers (#7) at Chicago Bears (#2) (Amazon Prime)

Sunday, Jan. 11

1:00 p.m. ET – Buffalo Bills (#6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (#3) (CBS)

4:30 p.m. ET – San Francisco 49ers (#6) at Philadelphia Eagles (#3) (FOX, FOX One)

8:00 p.m. ET – Los Angeles Chargers (#7) at New England Patriots (#2) (NBC, Peacock)

Monday, Jan. 12

8:15 p.m. ET – Houston Texans (#5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (#4) (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes)

Divisional Round

Saturday, Jan. 17

TBD vs TBD

TBD vs TBD

Sunday, Jan. 18

TBD vs TBD

TBD vs TBD

Championship Weekend

Sunday, Jan. 25

AFC (CBS)

FOX (FOX)

Super Bowl LX

Sunday, Feb. 8

6:30 p.m. ET, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California (NBC, Telemundo, Peacock)

Halftime Show – yet another rapper who half the country doesn’t want to watch, because the NFL doesn’t understand that people sometimes want something besides R&B or rap Bad Bunny

Game Previews

Los Angeles Rams (#5) at Carolina Panthers (#4) 

Early line: Rams, -10.5

The Panthers are far more of an 8 – 9, middle of the road team than their first place divisional finish would suggest.  In normal circumstances, they would not be a playoff team.  Quarterback Bryce Young has been good, but not great, with a 63.6% completion percentage and a 87.8 quarterback rating.  Their offense scored just 311 points this season, which is ranked 27th.  On the ground, they averaged 4.3 yards per carry, which is tied for 19th; however, starting running back Rico Dowdle was slightly better, with 1076 yards in 236 attempts, for an average of 4.6 yards per attempt.  On defense, they’ve surrendered 380 points, which is ranked 15th.  Opposing quarterbacks earned a combined quarterback rating of 88.2, which is ranked 11th.  On the ground, the Panthers surrendered 4.4 yards per carry, which is tied for 24th.

The Rams had the #1 scoring offense in the NFL this year, and quarterback Jared Goff had a quarterback rating of 109.2.  They are also a talented rushing team, having averaged 4.6 yards per carry, which was tied for 9th in the league.  Receiver Puka Nacua led the league in number of receptions, with 129.  Running back Kyren Williams had 259 rushing attempts for 1252 yards, which was 4.8 yards per carry.  On defense, the Rams surrendered 346 points, which was ranked 10th.  Opposing quarterbacks earned an 87.0 quarterback rating, ranked 9th.  They were more middle of the road in rushing defense, with opposing offenses having averaged 4.3 yards per carry, ranked 19th.

The Panthers defeated the Rams in week 13 by a score of 31 – 28.

Steve’s prediction:

It’s the end of the road for the Panthers.  The Rams win 32 – 20.

Green Bay Packers (#7) at Chicago Bears (#2)

Early line: Packers, -1.5

The Bears scored 441 points this season, which was ranked 9th in the NFL  On the ground, Chicago averaged 4.9 yards per carry, which was 3rd in the league.  Quarterback Caleb Williams posted a quarterback rating of 90.1 this season.  On defense, the Bears surrendered 415 points, which was ranked 23rd.  On the ground, the Bears gave up an average of 5.0 yards per carry, ranked 29th, and opposing quarterbacks posted a combined quarterback rating of 91.4, which was ranked 16th.

The Packers, led by quarterback Jordan Love, have a slightly above average offense overall, with 391 points scored, ranked 16th.  Love earned a quarterback rating of 101.2 this season.  They are not a great rushing team, averaging just 4.1 yards per carry, which is tied for 26th.  Their leading rusher is Josh Jacobs, who has 929 yards in 234_ carries, for just 4.0 yards per carry.  Green Bay’s defense is also slightly above average, with a total of 360 points surrendered, ranked 11th.  Opposing quarterbacks have a combined 92.7 quarterback rating, ranked 20th.  They’ve surrendered 4.2 yards per carry on the ground, which is tied for 13th.  The Packers beat all of the teams they should’ve beaten in the regular season with the exception of the Cleveland Browns in week 3 and the tie against Dallas in week 4.

The Bears beat the Packers twice in the regular season.

Steve’s prediction:

The Bears win a close game, 24 – 20.

Buffalo Bills (#6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (#2)

Early line: Jaguars, -1.5

The Bills scored 481 points this season, which was tied for 5th in the league.  Quarterback Josh Allen posted a 102.2 quarterback rating and rushed for 579 yards.  As a team, Buffalo averaged 5.0 yards per carry, which was the second-best in the NFL.  On defense, Buffalo gave up 365 points, which was ranked 12th.  Opposing quarterbacks had a combined quarterback rating of 79.8, which was ranked 7th.  On the ground, the Bills gave up 5.1 yards per carry, which was ranked just 30th in the NFL

Under quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville’s offense has been productive, with 474 points scored, ranked 6th.  Lawrence himself has completed 341 of 560 pass attempts, for 4007 yards, 29 touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 91.0.  Parker Washington is the team’s leading receiver, with 58 receptions for 847 yards.   The Jaguars are a bad running team, having averaged just 4.0 yards per carry in the regular season, ranked 27th.  Their leading rusher is Travis Etienne, who slightly outplayed the team average with 260 carries for 1107 yards, for 4.3 yards per carry.  On defense, the Jaguars surrendered a total of 336 points, ranked 8th.  They have been outstanding in rushing defense, with teams averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, tied for 5th.  Opposing quarterbacks posted a combined quarterback rating of 78.5, ranked 5th.

Steve’s prediction:

I have a hard time believing in the Jaguars, despite them playing at home and having a better record.  The Bills win in a mild upset, 24 – 17.

San Francisco 49ers (#6) at Philadelphia Eagles (#3) 

Early line: Eagles, -6

The Eagles score 379 points this season, ranked 19th.  Quarterback Jalen Hurts had a 98.5 quarterback rating.  On the Ground, the Eagles averaged 4.2 yards per carry, which was tied for 23rd.  Saquon Barkley had 280 carries for 1140 yards, which was 4.1 yards per carry.  On defense, Philadelphia gave up 325 points, which was ranked 5th.  Opposing quarterbacks posted a combined 75.4 quarterback rating, which was the second-best in the league.  On the ground, opponents averaged which was tied for 20th.

Between Mac Jones and Brock Purdy at quarterback, the 49ers have had a high quality offense, having scored 437 points, which is ranked 10th, with elite passing numbers in terms of completion percentage, at 69.3%, which is ranked 3rd, 33 passing touchdowns, ranked 4th, and a combined quarterback rating of 98.8, ranked 6th.  Purdy reportedly suffered a stinger in the 49ers’ week 18 game against the Seahawks, but should start this game.  Their running game has been terrible, with a team average of 3.8 yards per carry, ranked 30th.  Superstar Christian McCaffrey had 1202 rushing, but that total is more of a volume result than anything else, because he did that with 311 attempts (most in the NFL), which equates to 3.9 yards per attempt.  He is also the team’s leading receiver, with 102 receptions in 129 attempts, for 924 yards.  Translation for the opposing defense: focus on stopping McCaffrey at all costs.  Defensively, the 49ers have been middle of the road, with 371 points surrendered, ranked 13tb.  Their passing defense has not been good, with opposing offenses achieving a 68.2% completion percentage, ranked 28th.  San Francisco has a fairly average run defense – opponents averaged 4.3 yards per carry, tied for 20th.  Generally speaking, the 49ers beat the teams they should have beaten this season, with their only losses coming against the Jaguars, Buccaneers, Texans, Rams, and Seahawks.

These two teams played in week 12, and the 49ers won 20 – 9.

Steve’s prediction:

The Eagles aren’t the same team as they were last season.  San Francisco pulls the upset, 24 – 20.

Los Angeles Chargers (#7) at New England Patriots (#2)

Early line: Patriots, -3.5

The Patriots scored 490 points this season, which was the second-most in the NFL.  Quarterback Drake Maye had the best quarterback rating in the league, at 113.5, plus the highest completion percentage at 72.0.  On the ground, the Patriots averaged 4.4 yards per carry, ranked 15th.  On defense, New England gave up 320 points, ranked 4th.  Opponents averaged 4.2 yards per carry on the ground, which was tied for 13th in the NFL.  Opposing quarterbacks earned a combined quarterback rating of 93.1, which was ranked 21st.

The Chargers scored a total of 368 points, which was 20th.  Quarterback Justin Herbert had a 94.1 quarterback rating.  They averaged 4.4 yards per carry on the ground.  On defense, they gave up 340 points, which was ranked 9th.  Opposing quarterbacks earned a league-low 75.0 quarterback rating.  On the ground, the Chargers surrendered 4.3 yards per carry, ranked 20th.

Steve’s prediction:

I don’t believe in the Chargers.  The Patriots will get a fairly easy win here, 28 – 17.

Houston Texans (#5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (#4)

Early line: Texans, -3

The Steelers scored 397 points this season, ranked 15th.  Aaron Rodgers had a 94.8 quarterback rating.  On the ground, they averaged 4.3 yards per carry, ranked 19th.  On defense, Pittsburgh gave up 387 points, ranked 17th.  Opponents averaged 4.3 yards per carry, ranked 20th.  Opposing quarterbacks had a combined quarterback rating of 92.2, ranked 18th.

The Houston Texans went 10 – 1 to finish the regular season.  They scored a total of 404 points, ranked 13th.  Quarterback C.J. Stroud had a quarterback rating of 92.9.  They are not a great rushing team, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, ranked 9th.  On defense, they gave up just 295 points, which was second-best in the league.  On the ground, opponents averaged 4.0 yards per carry, tied for 9th.  Opposing quarterbacks had a combined quarterback rating of just 76.2, third-best in the NFL.

Steve’s prediction:

I’d love to pick the Texans here as my 2026 cinderella pick, but I think going into Pittsburgh in January is a little bit too much to ask.  The Steelers win 20 – 17.