2026 NFL playoff schedule and bracket: Dates, times, TV for every round from divisional to Super Bowl

By John Breech

The 2025 NFL season is officially down to its final four teams.

The divisional round ended on Sunday with the Los Angeles Rams going into Chicago and pulling off a dramatic 20-17 overtime win over the Bears. The Rams are now headed to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 2021, a season that ended with them winning the Super Bowl.

In the NFC title game, the Rams will be heading to Seattle to face the Seahawks for the third time this season. The teams split their two regular-season meetings with the Rams winning in Week 11 (21-19) and the Seahawks winning in Week 16 (38-37). The Seahawks earned their way to the NFC Championship by absolutely destroying the 49ers in a 41-6 win on Saturday night. The Seahawks are in the NFC title game for the first time in 11 years.

In the AFC, the Denver Broncos are headed to the conference title game after beating the Buffalo Bills, 33-30 in overtime, in what was easily the wildest game of the divisional round. The Broncos’ vaunted defense forced five turnovers, including four from Josh Allen, who threw two interceptions while also losing two fumbles.

The top-seeded Broncos will now host New England in the AFC title game with a trip to Super Bowl LX on the line. The Patriots advanced on Sunday after beating the Texans, 28-16.

The Broncos and Patriots are facing each other in the AFC title game for the third time in 13 years. The two previous meetings were both played in Denver and the Broncos won both of them. If the Broncos are going to get to the Super Bowl this year, they’re going to have to do it without Bo Nix, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Buffalo.

For the Patriots, it will mark their first trip to the conference title game since 2018 in what ended up being the final appearance by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the full playoff schedule.

Divisional Round schedule

Saturday, Jan. 17

• (1) Broncos 33-30 (OT) over (6) Bills. The Broncos have had one of the best defenses in the NFL all year and Josh Allen found out firsthand why they’re so good. The Bills turned the ball over five times with four of those coming from Allen. The Bills QB threw an interception in overtime that set up Denver’s game-winning drive. Bo Nix also came up big for the Broncos, throwing for 279 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
• (1) Seahawks 41-6 over (6) 49ers. Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and this game was essentially over after that. The Seahawks defense absolutely suffocated the 49ers, forcing three turnovers while sacking Brock Purdy twice. They also kept San Francisco out of the end zone for the second straight time after also holding the 49ers without a touchdown in Week 18. With Sam Darnold dealing with an oblique injury, the Seahawks put their offense in the hands of Kenneth Walker, who rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns.

Sunday, Jan. 18

• (2) Patriots 28-16 over (5) Texans. The Texans’ defense was the best in the NFL all season, but it was the Patriots’ defense that stole the show in this game. The Patriots forced five turnovers, including a pick-six from Marcus Jones in the second quarter that gave New England an early 14-10 lead. Drake Maye had some fumbling problems, but he also came up with some huge plays, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte in the fourth quarter that iced the win. The Texans are now 0-7 in the divisional round in franchise history and are the only team in the NFL that has yet to make it to the conference title game.
• (5) Rams 20-17 (OT) over (2) Bears. The Rams pulled off a dramatic win that wasn’t decided until Harrison Mevis drilled a 42-yard field goal in overtime. The only reason the game made it to overtime is because Caleb Williams threw a miraculous 14-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with under 30 seconds left to play. The Bears looked like they were going to pull out the win in overtime, but Williams threw an interception that set up the Rams’ game-winning drive.

Championship Sunday

Sunday, Jan. 25

AFC Championship

• Patriots at Broncos, 3 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)

NFC Championship

• Rams at Seahawks, 6:30 p.m. ET (Fox; Fubo, try for free)

Super Bowl LX

Sunday, Feb. 8

• AFC champion vs. NFC champion at Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California), 6:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Wild Card results

Saturday, Jan. 10

(5) Rams 34-31 over (4) Panthers

• Rams vs. Panthers recap: The Panthers almost pulled off the upset, but they couldn’t stop Matthew Stafford with the game on the line. With the Rams trailing 31-27, Stafford engineered a 71-yard game-winning scoring drive that ended when he hit Colby Parkinson with a 19-yard touchdown with just 38 seconds left to play. Stafford threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

(2) Bears 31-27 over (7) Packers

• Packers vs. Bears recap: The Bears pulled off the third-largest fourth-quarter comeback in NFL history. Going into the final quarter, the Bears were trailing by 15 points, but they were able to erase that deficit during a miracle quarter where they outscored the Packers, 25-6. Caleb Williams threw for more yardage (184) in the fourth quarter than he did in the first three quarters combined (177). Williams capped things off with a 25-yard score to DJ Moore with just 1:43 left to win the game.

Sunday, Jan. 11

(6) Bills 27-24 over (3) Jaguars

• Bills vs. Jaguars recap: For the first time in his career, Josh Allen led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. The Bills’ franchise quarterback scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with just one minute left to play. Allen also threw a 15-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to help propel Buffalo to the win. Allen totaled 306 yards and three touchdowns in the win. For the Bills, it was their first road playoff win in 33 years.

(6) 49ers 23-19 over (3) Eagles

• 49ers vs. Eagles recap: The 49ers pulled off a shocker by going on the road and knocking off the Eagles. After losing George Kittle, the 49ers had some unlikely heroes, including Demarcus Robinson, who caught six passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Christian McCaffrey also came up big with two touchdowns, including the game-winning score, which came on a 4-yard pass from Brock Purdy with just 2:54 left to play.

(2) Patriots 16-3 over (7) Chargers

• Chargers vs. Patriots recap: The Patriots defense took over and carried New England to the win. Justin Herbert was sacked six times as the Patriots kept the Chargers out of the end zone and held them to fewer than 210 total yards.The offense didn’t light up the scoreboard, but Drake Maye was impressive in his first career postseason start, throwing for 268 yards and rushing for 66 more. The Patriots are headed to the divisional round for the first time since 2018.

Monday, Jan. 12

(5) Texans 30-6 over (4) Steelers

Texans vs. Steelers recap. The Texans had the best defense in the NFL during the regular season, and that unit carried them to a win against Pittsburgh. The Texans defense sacked Aaron Rodgers four times, held the Steelers to just 175 yards and scored two touchdowns, which both came in the fourth quarter. The first one came on a 33-yard fumble return by Sheldon Rankins, and then Calen Bullock followed that up with a 50-yard pick six with just 2:39 left in the game. It was a defensive masterpiece by a Texans team that picked up its first road win in franchise history