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NFL Playoff Games Today – 2025-26 Divisional Round Matchups
Here’s a rundown of when and where to catch all of the live NFL playoffs games today, so you can watch every snap of every drive.
All times ET
SATURDAY, JAN. 17
(6) Buffalo Bills at (1) Denver Broncos – 4:30 p.m. – AFC Divisional Round
Where to watch the Bills/Broncos Divisional Round game: CBS, Paramount+
First up in the 2025-26 Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs is a rematch of last year’s AFC Wild Card round. Josh Allen and his sixth-seeded Buffalo Bills will take on Sean Payton’s 1-seed Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium.
Allen and the Bills moved on the Divisional Round after dispatching the Jacksonville Jaguars in a close Wild Card matchup, bringing to an end Liam Coen’s sensational first season as the Jags’ new head coach. Now, he’ll lead the Buffalo offense against one of the league’s fiercest defensive squads in Denver. Buffalo’s offense is pretty well banged up, but if Allen has proven anything over the years, it’s that he has the potential to carry the team’s offensive load almost entirely on his own back. Still, he’ll be hard-pressed against a defense as elite as the Broncos’.
For the Broncos, this will be their first playoff game at home, where they’re 8-1 this season, in over a decade. Denver’s postseason quest ended at the hands of the Bills in last year’s Wild Card round, so they’ll be out for revenge — and they’ll have Mile High’s atmosphere on their side this time. The team has significantly improved since that game, tying with the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks for the league’s best record at 14-3. If they’ve had a few weaknesses this season, it’s their run game and general inconsistency on offense. To beat Buffalo, they’ll need to make sure both of those issues are ironed out.
(6) San Francisco 49ers at (1) Seattle Seahawks – 8:00 p.m. – NFC Divisional Round
Where to watch the 49ers/Seahawks Divisional Round game: FOX
These divisional rivals will meet for the third time this season, after splitting their season opener and closer during the regular season.
Seattle has been dominant this season, riding a 14-3 record to the top seed in the NFC. A big part of that success can be attributed to their offseason acquisition of Sam Darnold from the Minnesota Vikings, who picked up in Seattle exactly where he left off in Minneapolis: Winning, consistently. Darnold’s remarkable, phoenix-like career turnaround after multiple seasons spent on struggling teams became even more obvious when he slotted seamlessly into Mike MacDonald’s offense, though he has shown flashes of his old, turnover-prone self at times.
Aside from Darnold, the Niners will have to contend with his top weapon, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, who is always a deep threat, and the Seahawks’ run game, which proved highly effective against the San Francisco defense in Week 18.
San Francisco has the steeper hill to climb in this one and are likely the biggest remaining underdogs of the postseason. Brock Purdy has been as hot as quarterbacks come lately, but the Seahawks defense has been among the league’s best at limiting scoring this season. San Fran, for their part, have only been able to eke out 20 points against this unit across two games so far, and they’ll be without star tight end George Kittle, who tore his Achillies last week.
Seattle has the edge, but an upset from Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers would shake up the race for the Lombardi in a big way.
SUNDAY, JAN. 18
(5) Houston Texans at (2) New England Patriots – 3:00 p.m. – AFC Divisional Round
Where to watch the 49ers/Seahawks Divisional Round game: FOX
The New England Patriots, one the season’s most surprising turnaround stories, will host the Houston Texans and face the league’s top ranked defense for the second AFC Divisional Round matchup of the weekend.
New England is tied for the league’s best regular season record with the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks at 14-3, an outcome few expected from a season that by all indications was meant to be the beginning of a new rebuild. But the return of Mike Vrabel — this time as head coach — and long-time OC Josh McDaniel to Foxborough, coupled with one of the swiftest quarterback developments in league history from Drake Maye, propelled the Pats to the second seed in the AFC and brought back some of the energy from the Brady-Belichick era to Gillette Stadium.
But to make it to the AFC Championship game, Maye’s offense will need to overcome what is likely their toughest challenge yet: the Texans are, by most measures, the most elite defense in the NFL right now, posting a league-low regular season average of 277.2 defensive yards. On top of that, the Texans squad is piloted by three of McDaniel’s proteges and his own brother, Ben. New England had a tough time putting up points against a tough Chargers defense, and that looks like it’ll only be harder in this matchup.
The New England defense has been no pushover themselves, however, and the Texans’ offense has been far less efficient than the Patriots’ Maye-led attack. While CJ Stroud can move on foot, his offensive line has been a bit leaky, and the Pats made the Chargers’ Justin Herbert pay for his own O-line’s faults with six sacks in the Wild Card round.
The Patriots are favored, but we expect around low-scoring grind, similar to the Chargers/Patriots matchup here.
(5) Los Angeles Rams at (2) Chicago Bears – 6:30 p.m. – NFC Divisional Round
Where to watch the 49ers/Seahawks Divisional Round game: FOX
The league’s other notable turnaround story, the Chicago Bears’ dominance in the NFC in new head coach Ben Johnson’s first season, is the focus of the final NFC Divisional matchup this weekend.
The Bears made a dramatic turnaround after a shaky start to the season to claim the second seed in the NFC. Second-year quarterback Caleb Williams — the first overall pick of a draft class that also included the Patriots’ Maye — took a massive step forward, and Johnson seems to have been able to finally unlock the true potential of a Chicago offensive with plenty of on-paper talent. The Rams defense has been strong, but not as potent as their offense this season, which led the league to end the regular season. That gives Williams and company a strong shot at making it to the NFC Championship game.
But that shot could very quickly slip away if Chicago’s defense, which has struggled far more than the offense this season and forced Williams to lead multiple late-game comebacks, can’t rise to the occasion against the Rams offense. Los Angeles’s attack, led by MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford and the one-two punch of Puka Nacua and Davante Adams at wideout, was the league’s top-ranked offense this season.
Even though he’ll be playing through a sprained finger on his throwing hand, Stafford has been dangerous all season long, and the Bears will be under a lot of pressure to contain those three and deal with LA’s explosive run game. That’s why the Rams are still slightly favored here, even at the lower seed and on the road.
Where to Watch Football Live Tonight
Found yourself wondering “What channels are the NFL games on today?” Here are some places you can watch live NFL games today:
- REGIONAL SPORTS LINEUP (only available in some areas)
- NBC Sports
- FOX SPORTS 1
- NFL Network
- FOX Deportes
- CBS Sports
- ESPN Deportes
- NFL Red Zone provided by NFL Network
- DIRECTV Sports Pack
*Some blackout restrictions apply.
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