The NFL 2025-2026 Divisional Playoff Games are in the books.
The Conference Title Games are set. Both games are played on Sunday, January 25, 2026.
AFC Title Game: New England Patriots (2) at Denver Broncos (1) — The Patriots defense forced CJ Stroud into 4 interceptions in the first half alone. The offense was not flashy, but did enough. Drake Maye did not have his best game, but he is a confident leader. Mike Vrabel has built a physical squad. The Broncos won a controversial home game last week against Buffalo due to horrendous officiating in overtime. It was a costly victory that saw Bo Nix suffer a broken ankle on one of the final plays. Nix is done, and Jarrett Stidham started the biggest game of his life. Sean Payton is a quarterback whisperer, but Denver’s very stout defense would have to play better than they ddi last week. Just like 10 years ago, these teams seemed destined before the start of the playoffs to be on a collision course. The first half featured light snow but the second half was played in a blizzard. Field goal kicking was nearly impossible but both teams tried. This game turned into an old school stone age NFL boneblack.
A field position game in the first quarter had the Broncos facing 3rd and 10 at their own 41. Jarrett Stidham went bombs away to Marvin Mims for 52 yards. Stidham hit Cortland Sutton for a 6 yard touchdown. The Broncos led 7-0 but their offense took much of the next 55 minutes off. In the second quarter the Broncos held the ball on a 6 1/2 minute drive and moved to 4th and 1 at the New England 14. Rather than kick a 32 yard field goal and go up 10-0, Sean Payton gambled. He came up snake eyes when Stidham threw incomplete. With 3 minutes left in the half the Denver defense was dominating. New England’s offense did nothing. A key play in the game came on 3rd and 4 from their own 33. Stidham was sacked and fumbled. After a mad scramble the Patriots recovered all the way at the Denver 12. Two plays later Drake Maye ran for a 6 yard touchdown for a 7-7 ballgame. With 24 seconds left in the half, Wil Lutz missed a 54 yard field goal try that would have given Denver the lead. Alex Borregales missed a 63 yard kick to end the half. With the field blanketed in white, neither team would reach the end zone in a brutal second half.
The Patriots began the second half with a staggering 16 play, 64 yard drive that took 9 1/2 minutes off of the clock. This was Mike Vrabel smash mouth football. Yet on 3rd and goal at the 3, Maye was sacked. Borregles hit the 23 yard field goal to give the Patriots the lead. The final 20 minutes of football were w winter wonderland slog. Late in the third quarter, Borregales missed a 46 yard field gaol try that would have extended the lead. Midway through the fourth quarter the Patriots punted on 4th and 11 from their own 7 yard line. A shanked 26 yard punt gave the Broncos gift field position at the New England 33. Yet all the Broncos could muster was 5 yards. With 4:46 to play Lutz came in for a 45 yard field goal try. Blocked! The Broncos got the ball back with 3 minutes left at their own 32. Two plays later Stidham went deep and was intercepted. The Broncos defense had played lights out all game and needed a stop to give their offense one more chance. The Patriots took over at their own 36 with 2:11 left needing one first down to win. With 1:57 left, everything came down to 3rd and 5. Maye rolled out, faked a pass, and went with a naked bootleg that gained 7 yards. Denver was dead. The Patriots came in on the road in a hostile environment and gutted out a brutal win. The Patriots won the Lamar Hunt Trophy. They will be playing in their NFL record 12th Super Bowl. mike Vrabel’s first season coaching the team he played for was successful, and Maye in only his second season has a chance to be a New England legend. For Denver, it was a gut-wrenching defeat. With a backup quarterback who had not played in 2 years, they came up one field goal short. 10-7 Patriots
NFC Title Game: Los Angeles Rams (5) at Seattle Seahawks (1) — The Rams showed that a warm weather team can go on the road in cold conditions and gut out a win. The Rams ended Chicago’s season last week in overtime. Matthew Stafford is playing as well as anyone. Sean McVay is an offensive wizard, but he showed that he can go from pinball to ugly smash mouth when necessary. The Seahawks obliterated San Francisco with a defense less flashy than the Legion of Boom but still very tough. Mike McDonald likes to pound the ball, which may be tougher with Zac Charbonnet now injured. These teams split the season series. In the late regular season game in Seattle, the Rams dominated for most of the game in building a 30-14 lead. The Seahawks stormed back for a 38-37 overtime win. Last year Sam Darnold started 14-2 before losing the regular season finale, and the division. The first 14-3 team to play a road Wildcard game was bounced out of the playoffs in the opening round by the Rams. Minnesota got rid of Darnold. Now after a second consecutive 14-3 season with 2 different teams, Darnold had the home field advantage that eluded him last year. With much of the nation suffering snowstorms, the weather in Seattle was balmy and pleasant. The rubber match was another classic. The 12th man was as loud as expected.
The Seahawks began their opening drive at their own 19. On 3rd and 5, Darnold went bombs away to Rashid Shaheed for 51 yards. Darnold then hit Jaxon Smith-Nigba for 16. Kenneth Walker III did the rest, running for 3, 4, and the 2 yard touchdown to make it 7-0 Seahawks. Harrison Mevis hit a 44 yard field goal to get the Rams on the board. The Seahawks embarked on a 7 1/2 minute drive that reached the Rams 9 yard line, but offensive holding killed the drive. Jason Myers hit a 27 yard field goal to have the Seahawks up 10-3, but 14-3 would have been a bigger deal. The Seahawks had the momentum, but the Rams showed resiliency. In the second quarter Mevis hit from 50 to get the Rams within 10-6. The Rams got the ball back at their own 13. Blake Corum ran for 8, 3 and 5. Stafford went to Puka Nacua for 21. Corum ran for 19. On 3rd and 1 from the Seattle 16, Kyren Williams gained 5. Stafford went to Williams for a 9 yard touchdown. The 12 play, 87 yard drive chewed up 7 1/2 minutes and had the Rams up 13-10 with 1:55 left in the half. The Seahawks went 3 and out, taking only 22 seconds off the clock. The Rams had the ball at their own 28. They could have just run the ball and gotten to the half with the lead, but Sean McVay decided to keep his foot on the gas.
Sean McVay is a phenomenal coach, but this time his strategy backfired. Incompletions kept stopping the clock and took only 30 seconds off the clock. The Seahawks got another chance at their own 26 with 54 seconds left in the half. Darnold went to Smith-Nigba for 10. Arnold then went deep to Smith-Nigba for a 42 yard gain. Darnold hit Holani for 13. With 20 seconds left in the half, Darnold went to Smith-Nigba for 14 yard touchdown. The Seahawks seized momentum back and took a 17-13 lead to the locker rooms. The key play in the game came early in the third quarter. The Seahawks went nowhere on offense and punted. Smith stumbled and fell backward trying to catch the punt and fumbled it. The Seahawks recovered at the Rams 17 yard line. One play and 5 seconds later, Darnold went to Bobo for the touchdown as the Seahawks built a comfortable 24-13 lead.
The Rams took over at their own 25 and struck quickly. Stafford went deep to Colby Parkinson for 40 yards. Stafford then hit Davantae Adams for 29. Stafford went back to adams for a 2 yard touchdown to quickly get the Rams within 24-20. The Seahawks took over at their own 35. Darnold went to former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp for 12. Walker ran for 11. Darnold went to Holland for 9 and to Smith-Nigba for 12. On 3rd and 3 from the Rams 13, Darnold went to Kupp for the touchdown and the 31-20 Seahawks lead. The Rms took over at their own 13 and again moved quickly. Stafford went deep to Adams for 35. On 3rd and 12 just past midfield Stafford threw incomplete. The Rams were ready t punt when defender Woolen lost his mind. He talked trash to the entire Rams bench in a long victory lap. He was flagged for a 15 yard taunting penalty. Instead 4th and 12 and a punt, the Rams got a second chance. On the very next play, Stafford went deep to Nacua for 34 yard touchdown. Instead of being on the verge of getting iced, the Rams were again right back in it down 4 points.
The third quarter was a track meet with 4 straight touchdowns, 2 by each team. Yet after a third quarter that was all offense. The fourth quarter was all defense. The Rams got it back at their own 10 and moved 84 yards in 14 plays, taking 7 1/2 minutes off the clock. The Rams had 2nd and 4 from the Seattle 6. Looking for the lead, a run went nowhere and then Stafford threw incomplete. The decision was a no-brainer. With 5 minutes left, there was plenty of time to kick a chip shot 23 yard field goal, get within 31-30, get a stop, and win the game 33-31 with another field goal. Instead, Sean McVay went for it all. This was a high risk strategy that has become far too common in recent years. The right call is to kick the field goal. McVay gambled and again lost as Stafford again threw incomplete.
Yet while grinding down the clock was definitely now the right move for Mike McDonald, he also went high risk. On 2nd and 6 from his own 10, he gambled on a pass play. Darnold hit Walker for 15. Another incompletion stopped the clock. On 3rd and 7 from his own 28, McDonald again went aggressive. Darnold hit Kupp for just enough by maybe an inch. Sean McVay wanted to challenge the slo but could not afford to risk losing a critical timeout. The call was that close and could have gone either way. McVay decided not to challenge the spot and the Seahawks had a key first down. Again the rams ere expecting a run, and again McDonald called a pass. Darnold hit Smith-Nigba for 14. By the time the Rams got a stop, they were in dire straits.
A great punt pinned the Rams at their own 7 yard line. Only 25 seconds remained. Because the Rams were down by 4, a field goal would not cut it. They had to go 93 yards in 25 seconds with 0 timeouts. Stafford went to Nacua for 23 and spiked the ball to stop the clock with 11 seconds left. From his own 30, Stafford needed about a 15 to 20 yard completion to have a shot at a Hail Mary. Stafford found Nacua near the sideline for a 21 yard gain just past midfield. Nacua was desperate to get out of bounds and defender Witherspoon was equally desperate to keep him in bounds. Nacua initially appeared to get out of bounds with 2 seconds remaining. Yet there would be no Hail Mary. On further review, Ncua’s knee clearly landed just in bounds before sliding out. The clock kept running. The game was over. The Rams were game, but the Seahawks survived a wild and woolly one. They held up the George Hals NFC Championship Trophy and are headed to the Super Bow. 31-27 Seahawks
Super Bowl XVL (60 is set, a rematch of the game 11 years earlier.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 6:30pm
AFC New England Patriots at NFC Seattle Seahawks