NFL 2025-2026 Divisionals Recap
AFC: (6) Buffalo Bills at (1) Denver Broncos was the Saturday afternoon game. The Bills won a thriller at Jacksonville while the Broncos had the bye week off. The Bills came in with the better offense and the Broncos the better defense. Weather and home field were not going to be a factor. Josh Allen and Bo Nix are both playing well. Sean Payton has a Super Bowl ring, but the Broncos are a young and inexperienced team. The Bills know this may be their last and best shot to win it all with this team. Yet by the time this game was over, both teams felt like they lost. The Broncos began at there own 26 and moved 64 yards in 14 plays and 7 1/2 minutes. On 1st and 5 from the Buffalo 9, a run lost a yard and Nix threw incomplete twice. Wil Lutz hit a 28 yard field goal to make it 3-0 Broncos.
The Bills took over at their own 33. James Cook ripped off gains of 24 and 10. Allen hit Khalil Shakir for 11. On 3rd and 1 from the Denver 13, Allen gained 2. On 4th and 1 from the Denver 2, Sean McDermott went for it and Allen got the yard. After a loss, Allen threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman. The 12 play, 67 yard drive also took 7 1/2 minutes and had the Bills up 7-3 after the first quarter. In the second quarter the Bills forced a 3 and out and got the ball back at their own 37. A 26 yard run by Allen had the Bills at the Denver 32 with all the momentum. Yet this time Cook got blasted, fumbled, and the Broncos recovered at their own 31. McLaughlin ran for 13. Harvey added 12. Nix went deep to Marvin Mims for 27. On 3rd and 1 from the Buffalo 7, Nix went to Crum for the touchdown to make it 10-7 Broncos. The Bills took over at their own 27 and moved 65 yards in 13 plays and 7 1//2 minutes. On 2nd and 9 from the Denver 14, Allen gained nothing and then threw incomplete. Matt Prater hit a 33 yard field goal for a 10-10 tie with 2:13 left in the half.
The Broncos took over at their own 30. On 3rd and 3, Nix hit Mims for 6. On 3rd and 3 from midfield, Nix ran for 6. On 3rd and 10 from the Buffalo 44, Nix went to Mims for 15. Nix then went deep to Humphrey for a 29 yard touchdown. With only 22 seconds left in the half, the Buffalo defensive breakdown had the Broncos up 17-10. In the third quarter, the Buffalo offense self-destructed. Twice, Allen fumbled the ball away to give the Broncos a short field. Twice the Broncos settled for Lutz field goals of 50 and 33. The Broncos led 23-10, but they had not slammed the door shut.
The Bills took over at their own 27. Allen went to Kincaid for 25. On 3rd and 1 from the Denver 39, Allen gained 2. Allen hit Knox for 7. Shakir for 9, and Coleman for a 10 yard touchdown to have the Bills within 23-17. Nix was then intercepted to give the Bills a short field at the Denver 26 with a golden chance to take the lead. Two play later Allen’s nightmarish game continued as he was also intercepted. The Bills got the ball back at their own 15. On 3rd and 1, Allen gained 2. Cook gained 12 as the Bills began the fourth quarter at their own 38. Allen connected with Shakir for a 46 yard gain. On 3rd and 8 from the Denver 14, Allen went to Kincaid for the touchdown. Allen shook off his 3 turnovers and the Bills overcame 4 total turnovers at that point to take a 24-23 lead 90 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Buffalo defense forced another 3 and out. The Bills took over at their own 20 and moved 68 yards in 13 plays and 7 1/2 minutes. Yet with all the momentum and a chance to deliver a potential knockout blow, on 3rd and 8 from the Denver 12, Allen threw incomplete. Prater hit a 31 yard field goal to have the Bills up 27-23 with just over 4 minutes left in regulation. Yet this game was far from over. The Broncos took over at their own 27. Nix hit Cortland Sutton for 11. On 3rd and 11 from their own 37, Nix went deep to Sutton for 25. On 3rd and 4 from the Buffalo 32, Nix gained six. Nix ten went deep to Mims for a 26 yard touchdown. The Bills late in the second half repeated their blinder of the end of the first half. Another defensive breakdown had the Broncos up 30-27 with 55 seconds left in the game.
The Bills took over at their own 27. On 3rd and 1, the defense jumped into the neutral zone. With 32 seconds left from their own 41, Sean McDermott went for the hook and lateral. Allen went to Shakir, who lateraled to Davis. The play gained 27 yards. With 24 seconds left on 1st and 10 from the Denver 32, Allen went deep for the win in regulation. Yet he threw 3 straight incompletions. The Bills have a heartbreaking history of losing games on missed field goals in the final moments. With 10 seconds left, Prater came in for a 50 yard try to tie the game. If there was a Buffalo kicker curse, Prater was unaware of it. His kick was good. This game was headed to overtime.
The Bills missed the playoffs for about 20 years before Sean McDermott arrived. He turned them into perennial contenders who kept coming up just short of reaching the Super Bowl. So it was very curious that McDermott after winning the coin toss chose to defer. Nevertheless, McDermott appeared vindicated when the defense held. The Bills got the ball at their own 7 yard line in overtime needing only a field goal to win. On 3rd and 11 from their own 36 came the key play of the game. Allen went for it all and appeared to connect with Brandin Cooks for a 44 yard gain. The Bills were celebrating, believing they were in short field goal range. Yet the Broncos were also celebrating, believing McMillan had intercepted the ball Chaos ensued.
Officials initially ruled an interception, but replay showed that McMillan ripped the ball out of Cooks’s hands only after Cooks had already hit the ground. At worst, both men with hands on the ball would be a tie, which goes to the receiver. The officials made a horrendous call, upholding the interception. Rather than being on the ropes, the Broncos were gifted the ball. The 5th turnover, 4 by Allen, was simply awful officiating. Nix then went deep and drew a 17 yard defensive pass interference call that was also terrible. A roughing the passer call was declined. Nix then went deep incomplete again and drew a 30 yard defensive pass interference call. While this call was less horrendous than the previous calls, it was borderline. Rather than letting the players play, the officials were gifting the Broncos key calla and affecting the outcome. The last defensive pass interference call was on White, which led him to slam his helmet in frustration on the field. That led to an unsportsmanlike conduct call. On 1st and goal at the 5, Sean Payton immediately brought in Lutz for the 23 yard try to win it. Lutz was good.
For the Bills, it was another gut-wrenching playoff loss. It may be the end of their window. The one year all of their biggest rivals were eliminated, the Bills could not have asked for an easier path to the Super Bowl. Some will call this another choke job. While it would be a mistake to fire Sean McDermott and blow up the team, the fan base may have had enough in a year where top coaches are getting fired. Blame the officials. They were awful. Yet Allen blamed himself. In his postgame press conference, he openly sobbed and took full responsibility for the loss. Yet for the Broncos, it was a very costly victory. It was revealed until after the game, but on one of the final plays of the game, Nix suffered a broken ankle. His season is finished in as cruel a manner as possible. The Broncos will be in the AFC Title Game, one game from the Super Bowl. They will be at home. Yet they will be without Nix. Allen and Nix are both done for the year. 33-30 Broncos, OT
NFC: (5) San Francisco 49ers at (!) Seattle Seahawks was the Saturday night game. In Week 1, the 49ers went into Seattle and beat them 17-13. Two weeks ago with the top seed on the line in San Francisco, the Seahawks defense suffocated the 49ers offense in a 13-3 Seahawks win. The 49ers are the more experienced team but they are also injured. They lost George Kittle in their tough Wildcard win last week at Philadelphia. These teams know each other inside out. The Seahawks got the bye week off and are rested and healthy. Both defenses can hit the other one in the mouth. Yet in this rubber match, one team did all the hitting in a game that was never competitive. 13 seconds into the game, the Seahawks had a 7-0 lead when Shaheed returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Kyle Shanahan soon gambled on 4th and 1 from the Seattle 40. An end around to Kyle Juszczyk was blown up by the Seattle defense for a 3 yard loss. Jason myers hit a 31 yard field goal for a 10-0 Seahawks lead. The 49ers then fumbled to give the Seahawks another short field at the San Francisco 42. On 2nd and 20 after a sack, Sam Darnold went to Cooper Kupp for 21. Defensive pass interference added 23. Darnold went to Jaxon Smith-Nigba for a 4 yard touchdown to have the Seahawks up 17-0 after the first quarter.
The 49ers managed a pair of second quarter field goals but after that the Seahawks blasted them to pieces. On 3rd and 2 from their own 28, a Seahawks run came up short but defensive holding gifted them a first down. Shaheed got around the end for a 30 yard gain. On 3rd and 10 from the San Francisco 36, Darnold went to Bobo for 16. Kenneth Walker ran for 9, 4 and the 7 yard touchdown to have the Seahawks up 24-6 at the half. The second half was a romp. The 49ers turned it over on downs in the third quarter and Myers hit a 24 yard field goal to make it 27-6 Seahawks. Purdy was intercepted to give the Seahawks yet another short field at the San Francisco 47. Walker ran for a 15 yard touchdown to make it 34-6 Seahawks. It was deja vu all over again as the 49ers turned it over on dowss again and the Seahawks had a short field again at the Frisco 37 to start the fourth quarter. Walker did it all, gashing the defense for 13, 15, 6, and the 6 yard touchdown to complete the scoring. The 49ers lost to the Seahawks for the second time in 3 weeks to end their season. Shanahan and John Lynch see coming close but have yet to win it all. As for the Seahawks, the ageless John Schnedier keeps producing standout defenses. The Seahawks will host the NFC Title Game. 41-6
AFC: (5) Houston Texans at (2) New England Patriots was the Sunday afternoon game. 24 years after the patriots played a Divisional game with The Patriots won their Wildcard match with little offense and a suffocating defense that is built Mike Vrabel tough. Their offense did just enough against Jim Harbaugh’s tough defense. Now they host Demeco Ryans and the top defense in the league. CJ Stroud is playing well but defense is carrying the Texans. Cold weather benefits the Patriots. The Texans dispatched Pittsburgh, but New England is a far sterner test. It is hard to go against New England’s toughness at home, but Houston has more playoff experience than this New England team. CJ Stroud has to be more careful with the football, but his defense can get to Drake Maye. In the first quarter the Patriots took over at their own 34. Drake Maye went to Raimondre Stevenson for 9. Stevenson ran for 20. Mike Vrabel gambled on 4th and 1 from the Houston 28. made fired a laser over the middle to Douglas, who split the seams and raced for the touchdown to make it 7-0 Patriots. The Texans took over at their own 29 and moved to a 3rd and goal at the one. A rushing touchdown was nullified by illegal motion. The Texans settled for a 25 yard Kaimi Fairbairn t-shirt to trail 7-3.
After an interception of Stroud, a fumble by Maye gave the ball back to the Texans at the New England 27. On 3rd and 1 to start the second quarter, Stover gained 2. On 3rd and 4 form the New England 10, Stroud went to Christian Kirk in the from corner of the end zone for the touchdown and the 10-7 Texans lead. The Texans got the ball back at their own 25 and disaster immediately struck. Stroud was intercepted by Jones, who returned the pick 26 yards for a defensive touchdown and a 14-10 Patriots lead. Stroud’s next pass went off the receiver’s fingertips and was intercepted. 3 turnovers were killing the Texans and giving the Patriots the game. The Patriots faced 2nd and 7 at their own 47. Maye went to Boutte for 25 and 18. Maye then fired a laser over the middle to Stefan Diggs, who somehow hung on despite getting sandwiched between two defenders. The touchdown had the Patriots up 21-10 with 3:12 left in the half. Stroud there 4 interceptions in the first half and the Texans had only 8 yards rushing.
In the third quarter the Texans moved from their own 35 to a 2nd and 2 at the New England 7. A run went nowhere and Stroud then threw incomplete. Fairbairn hit from 25 to get the Texans within 21-13. Then came Maye’s 3rd fumble, which set up the Texans at the New England 33 with a chance to tie the game. Yet inside the red zone, the Texans fumbled it back. The teams at this point combined for 8 turnovers, 5 by Houston. The Texans got it back and in the snow Fairbairn somehow hit a 51 yard field goal to have the Texans within 21-16. he Patriots took over at their own 29. Maye went to Austin Hooper for 14. On 3rd and 8 from their own 45, defensive pass interference gave the Patriots 17 yards. On 3rd and 4 from the Houston 32, Maye went deep and Boutte made a leaping one handed catch in the end zone. Every time the Texans seemed about to close the gap, the Patriots responded. The Patriots led by 12 with 13 minutes left in regulation. With 4 minutes left on 4th and 18, Demeco Ryans made the curious decision to punt. By the time the Texans got the ball back, only 1:45 remained. On 4th and 4 form their own 47, A deep bomb by Stroud appeared to be caught but was punched out at the last moment for an incompletion with one minute left. The Texans still don’t have enough offensive firepower to match their defense. The Patriots after a 6 year absence are in their billionth or so AFC Title Game, this time at Denver. 28-16 Patriots
NFC: (5) Los Angeles Rams at (2) Chicago Bears was the Sunday night game. The Rams offense at its best is a pinball machine. The Bears offense tends to play like garbage for three quarters as their defense keeps them in the game. Sean McVay and Ben Johnson are both offensive masterminds, but McVay has the more experienced team. The Bears looked awful against Green Bay, falling behind 21-3. Yet they scored 25 points in the fourth quarter. The Rams barely survived a Carolina team with a losing record. Matthew Stafford is the 2025 regular season passing leader. Every time the Bears are called frauds, they go out and win. Either the experts are all wrong or at some point that luck has to run out. tHE bears began at their own 37 and moved to a 4th and 2 at the Rams 21. Ben Johnson went for it and Caleb Williams was intercepted.
The Rams took over at their own 15. Stafford hit Puka Nacua for 15 and Washington for 15 more. On 3rd and 3 from the Chicago 48, Stafford went to Nacua for 5. Stafford hit Whittington for 20. On 3rd and 4 from the Chicago 10, Stafford hit Kyren Williams for 6. Williams ran for a 4 yard touchdown to cap the 14 play, 85 yard, 6 1/2 minute drive and make it 7-0 Rams. The Bears soon faced 3rd and 1 at their own 29. Monangai gained 2. On 3rd and 1 from their own 40, Deandre Swift gained 13. Williams went deep to Loveland. for 23. Monangai gained 15. Ben Johnson gambled again on 4th and goal at the 3 to start the second quarter. Williams fired over the back middle of the end zone and DJ Moore made a leaping catch for the touchdown and the 7-7 game. Cairo Santos hit a 48 yard field goal for the Bears with 1:10 left in the half. Harrison Mevis answered from 32 to end the half for a 10-10 deadlock. The third quarter was scoreless.
The Rams began the fourth quarter at their own 9 yard line. Williams ran for 7 and 4. Stafford connected with Colby Parkinson for a 35 yard gain. On 3rd and 6 from the Chicago 41, Stafford went to Nacua for 13. Stafford hit Davantae Adams for 12. On 4th and 1 from the Chicago 7, Sean McVay passed up the short field goal and gambled big. Nacua gained 2. Williams ran for a 5 yard touchdown. The warm weather team went into Chicago and knocked the cold weather team back in a 14 play, 91 yard, 6 minute smash mouth drive. The Rams led 17-10 with 9 minutes left in regulation. The Bears took over at their own 37 and moved to a 3rd and goal at the 2. . Swift tried to go wide and then go airborne. He was blasted by 3 defenders after getting one yard. Everything came down to 4th and goal at the 2 with 3 minutes left. Williams went over the middle and it was knocked away incomplete.
After the goal line stand, the Rams needed to play power football to close out the game. The Bears had all 3 timeouts. Williams ran for a 10 yard gain but was knocked out of bounds, preventing the Bears from taking a timeout. On 3rd and 10 from their own 14, Sean McVay played it ultra-safe, running up the middle for a few as the clock hit the 2 minute warning. The Bears defense did its job, and the Bears offense got the ball back at midfield with 1:45 left. In a season of miracle comebacks, the Cardiac Bears needed another one. The Bears moved to a 3rd and 4 at the Rams 14 with 30 seconds left. Williams threw incomplete. On 4th and 4, Williams faded back about 30 yards with 3 defenders chasing him. He heaved a prayer to the end zone and found Cole Kmet for the touchdown. Are? You? Kidding? Me!?!?! The game was tied 17-17 and headed to overtime.
The Rams began overtime at their own 27. On 3rd and 1, Blake Corum was blown up for a 2 yard loss. The Bears took over at their own 15 needing only a field goal to win. The Bears faced 4th and inches at their own 48. Ben Johnson risked it all, knowing a stop would give the Rams a short field. Williams got the yard. On 2nd and 8 from the Rams 48, the Bears had all the momentum and were closing in on field goal range. Williams went deep and was intercepted for the third time. The home crowd was shellshocked and the Rams took over at their own 22. The Rams took immediate advantage by going no huddle. With 3 minutes left in overtime, rookie kicker Harrison Mevis came in for a 42 yard try to win it. The kick snuck just inside the left upright good. The Bears magic carpet ride was over. The Rams are off to Seattle for their rubber match in the NFC Title Game. 20-17 Rams
The Conference Title Games are set:
AFC Title Game: New England Patriots (2) at Denver Broncos (1)
NFC Title Game: Los Angeles Rams (5) at Seattle Seahawks (1)