NFL Playoffs Preview & Wild Card Capsules

The Philadelphia Eagles, the No. 3 seed in the NFC, aims to become the 10th team to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

The Denver Broncos earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015 after tying a franchise record with 14 wins this season (also won 14 games in 1998, when they won Super Bowl XXXIII). The Broncos have advanced to the Super Bowl six of the previous eight times they were the No. 1 seed.

The Seattle Seahawks earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the fourth time in franchise history (2005, 2013 and 2014) after setting a franchise record with 14 wins in 2025. The Seahawks have advanced to the Super Bowl each of the three previous times they have been the No. 1 seed.

Six teams – Carolina, Chicago, Jacksonville, New England, San Francisco and Seattle – qualified for the postseason after missing the playoffs in 2024. Since 1990 – a streak of 36 consecutive seasons (1990-2025) – at least four teams every season have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the postseason the year before.

Carolina, Chicago and New England won division titles after finishing in last or tied for last in their divisions in 2024. In 20 of the past 23 seasons (2003-25), at least one team finished in first place in its division the season after finishing in last or tied for last place.

Carolina, Chicago, New England and San Francisco clinched playoff berths after finishing in last or tied for last in their divisions in 2024. In 27 of the past 30 seasons (1996-2025), at least one team has made the playoffs the season after finishing in last or tied for last place.

There were seven new division winners – Carolina, Chicago, Denver, Jacksonville, New England, Pittsburgh and Seattle – tied with 2011 for the most in a season since 2002. There have been at least two new division winners in every season since 2003, a streak of 23 consecutive seasons, and since realignment in 2002, 31 of the 32 NFL teams have won a division title at least once.

How the 2025 playoff teams have fared in the 24 seasons since realignment in 2002 (2025 division winners in bold/italics):

Seven of this season’s 14 playoff teams have won at least one Super Bowl since 2000, capturing 14 of the past 25 Vince Lombardi Trophies. Those teams are the Patriots (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, LIII), Eagles (LII, LIX), Steelers (XL, XLIII), Broncos (50), Packers (XLV), Seahawks (XLVIII) and Rams (LVI).

New England (37-22, .627), San Francisco (39-25, .609) and Green Bay (37-27, .578) have the most playoff wins and the three highest postseason winning percentages in NFL history.

The 14 playoff teams and their postseason records:

Quarterback Breakdown: 12 of the 14 expected starting quarterbacks in the 2025 playoffs are under the age of 30, the most in a postseason all-time.

Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers (age 42), expected to make his 22nd career postseason start (all with Green Bay), ranks tied for the third all-time in postseason touchdown passes (45) and fourth in postseason passing yards (5,894). Rodgers earned Super Bowl MVP honors when he led the Packers to a Super Bowl XLV championship in 2010.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen (age 29) has 3,359 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes, 668 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns and one touchdown reception in his first 13 career playoff starts. Among quarterbacks with at least 10 playoff starts, Allen’s 309.8 combined passing and rushing yards per game is the highest in NFL history.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (age 37) will make his 11th career postseason start and led the Rams to the Super Bowl LVI title following the 2021 season. During the 2021 postseason, he recorded 1,188 passing yards in four starts, the second-most passing yards in a single postseason all-time. Stafford led the NFL with 46 touchdown passes during the regular season and can join Tom Brady (2007 and 2020) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (2004 and 2013) as the only quarterbacks with at least 50 touchdown passes, including the postseason, in multiple career seasons.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (age 27) can make his 10th career playoff start and has led the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances (LVII and LIX) in the past three seasons. Last season, he was named Super Bowl LIX MVP and he is the only player in NFL history with 10 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns in the postseason.

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy (age 26) has a 4-2 record in six career playoff starts with seven touchdowns (six passing, one rushing) and a 96.2 rating in his postseason career. Purdy led the 49ers to an SB LVIII appearance following the 2023 season. In nine starts this season, he totaled 23 touchdowns (20 passing, three rushing) with a 100.5 rating.

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud (age 24) is expected to make his fifth career postseason start on Wild Card weekend and can become the fourth quarterback ever to win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons, joining Joe Flacco, Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham and Russell Wilson.

Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love (age 27) can make a postseason start for the third-consecutive year and has at least two touchdown passes in two of his first three career playoff starts. Love passed for 3,381 yards and 23 touchdowns with a career-high 101.2 rating in 15 starts this season.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (age 27) can make his third career playoff start in the Wild Card round. He passed for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns and added a career-high 498 rushing yards in 16 starts this season.

Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence (age 26) can make his third postseason appearance after setting career highs in touchdown passes (29), rushing touchdowns (nine) and rushing yards (359) in 17 starts during the regular season.

Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold (age 28) will make his second-career postseason start in the Divisional playoffs after becoming the fifth quarterback all-time to record at least 13 wins in consecutive seasons and the first to do so with different teams. He passed for 245 yards and one touchdown in his postseason debut last season with Minnesota.

Denver quarterback Bo Nix (age 25) can make his second postseason start in the Divisional playoffs and has 24 regular season wins since entering the NFL in 2024, tied with Russell Wilson for the most regular season wins by a starting quarterback in his first two seasons in NFL history.

New England quarterback Drake Maye (age 23), Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams (age 24) and Carolina quarterback Bryce Young (age 24) can each make their first career postseason start after leading their respective teams to division titles this season. With Lawrence, Stafford, Williams and Young, the 2025 postseason will mark the fourth all-time to feature four quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall to start in the same playoffs.

Wild Card notes:

No. 5 L.A. Rams (12-5) at No. 4 Carolina (8-9) (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX/FOX Deportes): The Panthers defeated the Rams, 31-28, in Week 13 as quarterback Bryce Young recorded three touchdown passes and a career-high 147.1 rating in the win. Los Angeles led the NFL in scoring offense (30.5 points per game) and total offense (394.6 yards per game) this season as Matthew Stafford led the league in passing yards (4,707) and touchdown passes (career-high 46). In the only previous playoff meeting between the two clubs, Carolina defeated the St. Louis Rams, 29-23, in double overtime on Jan. 10, 2004, the sixth-longest postseason game in NFL history.

No. 7 Green Bay (9-7-1) at No. 2 Chicago (11-6) (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, Prime Video): The Bears and Packers split the season series in 2025, with each team winning at home. Green Bay defeated Chicago, 28-21, in Week 14 while Chicago earned a 22-16 overtime win over Green Bay in Week 16. The Bears had the most takeaways (33) and fewest giveaways (11) in the NFL this season. The Packers and Bears have also split the two previous postseason meetings, both in Chicago.

No. 6 Buffalo (12-5) at No. 3 Jacksonville (13-4) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+): The Jaguars enter the postseason on an eight-game winning streak while the Bills won five of their final six games this season. Buffalo’s Josh Allen (39) and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence (38) ranked second and third this season in combined passing and rushing touchdowns. The Bills led the NFL with 2,714 rushing yards (159.6 per game) and 30 rushing touchdowns while the Jaguars allowed the fewest rushing yards per game (85.6) this season.

No. 6 San Francisco (12-5) at No. 3 Philadelphia (11-6) (Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX/FOX Deportes): The Eagles have won five consecutive home playoff games, including a 31-7 win over the 49ers in the 2022 NFC Championship Game. Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley (765 scrimmage yards in six playoff games, 127.5 per game) and San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey (836 scrimmage yards in seven playoff games, 119.4 per game) have the second and fourth-highest scrimmage yard averages in NFL postseason history among players with at least five playoff games played.

No. 7 L.A. Chargers (11-6) at No. 2 New England (14-3) (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock/Telemundo/Universo): The Patriots, set to host their first playoff game since the 2019 Wild Card round, have won each of the three playoff meetings against the Chargers in the Super Bowl era. New England led the AFC in scoring offense (28.8 points per game) and total offense (379.4 yards per game) as quarterback Drake Maye led all qualified passers in passer rating (113.5) and completion percentage (72.0). The Chargers, along with the Jaguars, were the only two teams to allow 20-or-fewer points in each of the final six weeks of the regular season.

No. 5 Houston (12-5) at No. 4 Pittsburgh (10-7) (Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC/ ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes/ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+): The Texans enter the 2025 playoffs having won nine consecutive games, the longest winning streak by a team entering the playoffs since San Francisco in 2022 (10 game winning streak). Houston led the NFL in total defense (277.2 yards per game allowed) and ranked second in scoring defense (17.4 points per game against) this season. The Steelers, winners of the AFC North for the first time since 2020, look for their first home playoff win since the 2016 Wild Card round (Jan. 8, 2017, vs. Miami).

BEST NFL PLAYOFF PERFORMANCES

(Single postseason)

Media Contact: Sam Drexler, NFL; Sam.Drexler@NFL.com