The NFL playoffs here and we’re left with a very interesting, largely unexpected field of contenders! I put together the most info-packed preview of the tournament, introducing all 14 teams individually and breaking down each matchup, leading up to Super Bowl LX!
The final week of the 2025/26 regular season is upon us, and there’s a lot to still be decided as we think ahead to the NFL playoffs. Instead of previewing one of these games in detail, I decided to map out *how* you should schedule your weekend to keep up with all the action.
So obviously the stand-alone games are part of that, but I’ll also tell how you might want your quad box to look like – or if you even really need one. More importantly, for those three division-deciding matchups, I will share the key element(s) to pay attention to either side of the ball, including personnel/situational tendencies, how to attack their opponents, and what we can learn from they met the first time. Plus, I simply added a final score prediction for every game.
(I didn’t want to always add “tie” as an option, but obviously if a tie were to happen, that would put the teams involved half a game above/below others, depending on how they finish.)
Let’s get into the slate:
Happy holidays, everyone! As we approach Christmas eve and I didn’t have the time to write a full-fledged article, I thought this was a good time to talk about one critical area of growth for the Jaguars, Patriots, Bears and Panthers, who all won yet again this past weekend and are in the driver’s seats to home playoff games, after being projected to have losing records, based on betting odds. In fact, Carolina is the only one among those that hasn’t secured playoff berth yet.
The purpose of this isn’t to sing the praises of Drake Maye or talk about the Bears defense still leading the league in turnovers forced. Rather, I want to shine light on one piece of the puzzle for each of these teams, which has allowed them to get to this place, but is rarely ever being talked about.
We’re coming off an exciting, dramatic even if at times chaotic Divisional Round weekend. However, one of the overarching themes watching these four games for me was how the losing teams shot themselves in the foot and cost themselves chances to come out on top of those matchups.
So rather than highlighting positives and breaking down great plays of the winners primarily – as we usually do – let me be THAT guy for a day and just vent about some of the decisions and moments that proved costly for the other side!
The NFL playoff bracket is set and I took on the exercise of previewing/predicting every single matchup, leading up to Super Bowl LIX! I’ll share a few thoughts on each side and how I came to all my decisions!
We’ve reached the final week of the NFL season and the calendar year 2025. So, with the playoff participants at least largely established, while I’m generally not a big believer in them personally, I took the opportunity to come up with resolutions for each of the six teams who have already clinched a spot on either side of the bracket.
Since the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals are still fighting for the final Wildcard berth in the AFC and the Atlanta Falcons could still take away the NFC South crown from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the task for them is to just take care of business (and hope for some help). Therefore, I didn’t give them their own paragraph.
For this exercise, I largely focused on personnel usage, schematic details and attitude in how teams should approach future matchups. Let’s dig in:
Four years after Patrick Mahomes pedaled backwards and hit Tyreek Hill on “2-3 Jet Chip Wasp” to convert a third-and-15 and start their comeback over the 49ers, these two sides are set to face off again on the biggest stage. This time around, Kansas City is looking to cement itself as a dynasty, with their third championship in five years, while San Francisco is going for their sixth title in franchise history, but the first one in 29 years, after knocking on the door with four NFC championship game appearances in those last five seasons.
The Niners looked dominant throughout the regular season en route to the NFC’s number one seed, before having to battle until the end against the Packers and Lions, coming back from a 17-point deficit in that conference title game. Meanwhile, it wasn’t nearly as smooth a ride for the Chiefs, trying to defend their championship, finishing with an 11-6 record and having to go on the road in the playoffs for the first two teams in the Mahomes era.
Based on the current active rosters, the 49ers are slated to return nine players and the Chiefs seven who were also part of those Super Bowl 54 teams. Both Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid return as head coaches, while Steve Spagnuolo on defense and Dave Toub on special teams for the Chiefs are the only two of six total coordinators still around. They also have the benefit of a quarterback starting his fourth Super Bowl in five years, but the Niners have their best signal-caller under Shanahan in the Bay Area.
I want to look at both sides of the ball, break down in detail how the offensive and defensive units function respectively, along with how I believe they’ll match up, before presenting a couple of X-factors for each group and ultimately giving you my prediction for the final score.
Let’s dive in:
Yet another Bills season just came to an end in gut-punching fashion. In four years straight now, they were eliminated after winning the AFC East and at least one playoff game – three times by these very Kansas City Chiefs.
We’ve seen slightly different versions of the team, but this year felt quite unique, because unlike prior iterations that would largely coast through the regular season, until they got their week 13 bye, it didn’t seem like this crew would even be part of the conversation down the stretch. They were coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Eagles, which dropped them to 6-and-6, in a year where we had as many teams battling for the final couple of AFC Wildcard spots as I can remember. Yet, despite off-field distractions and questions around their coaching staff, they went on win their final five regular season matchups and the division after all again, which after taking care of the Steelers in the Wildcard Round, set them up to finally host Patrick Mahomes and company in January for the first time in this rivalry. Yet, once again they couldn’t quite overcome their while whale.
I want to discuss the organization’s journey leading into 2023, the different stages of the season we just witnessed, how the fairytale ultimately came crashing down and then give a future outlook, as we consider where they may go from here.
Both the Texans and Packers were entering crucial years, with number two pick C.J. Stroud as the supposed savior in Houston and Jordan Love taking over for a legend Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.
In the Wildcard Round, they blew out the Browns and Cowboys, shredding what had been two of the best defenses across the NFL, with the two young quarterbacks being the stars of the show in their playoff debuts!
We’ve arrived at the final week of the 2023/24 NFL season!
I decided to go to a podcast format here and preview the action at hand. I will run through the entire week 18 schedule, diving a little more into the key games on the slate, discussing Xs and Os, different individual matchups, picking the winners and throwing out some betting leans.
Halil's Real Footballtalk 