Nfl Playoffs Instant Bracket Predictions For 2026 Super Bowl Matchup

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 12, 2026, 9:28 AM

nfl playoffs instant bracket predictions for 2026 super bowl matchup

Last Updated: January 9, 2026 8:00 AM EST • 9 minute read X Social Google News Link With the 2026 NFL playoffs kicking off this weekend, I'm breaking down the entire field with my NFL playoff bracket predictions for every game from Wild Card Weekend to the Super Bowl - including... In addition to our experts' NFL playoff predictions for every wild-card matchup this weekend, here are my bracket picks and score predictions along with my pick to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, Feb. 8, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Check out our free printable NFL playoff bracket for the full playoff schedule, or click on the bracket image below to fill out your own bracket for the 2026 NFL playoffs. The Panthers won this exact matchup six weeks ago by controlling the ball and forcing Matthew Stafford into multiple miscues, which is clearly the roadmap for pulling off the home upset on Wild Card...

Carolina should be able to run the ball again, but I trust Matthew Stafford - who tops our NFL playoff QB rankings - to take care of the football this time around and make... The 2026 NFL playoffs are here, and this season has been one of the most fascinating seasons we've seen in quite some time. Not only are Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson at home on the couch, but no one could have predicted the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks would be the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences. Could Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams rebound from their disappointing end to the season to make a run to the Super Bowl? Will Josh Allen finally get the Buffalo Bills to the big stage, or maybe Drake Maye and the New England Patriots are for real despite playing the easiest strength of schedule since the 1999...

Remember, that team ended up winning the Super Bowl. We asked 10 of our CBS Sports NFL experts to turn in their full NFL playoff brackets. Not just Super Bowl picks. We wanted to see their work and how they got there. Let's take a look. "This is the most wide-open playoffs I can remember.

With no dominant teams, I expect chaos. That would be the Jaguars winning it all. Of all the teams, they might be the most balanced. They aren't great at anything, but they don't have as many flaws as the others. They are also riding the hottest quarterback in the league. As for the Eagles, they will find their offense in the playoffs.

It's back to Saquon Barkley and the running game. That will carry them to the Super Bowl, but the Jaguars and their top-ranked run defense will limit him on the biggest stage to win the team's first Super Bowl." "The Rams have been the most complete team in the NFL, with an offense that can both grind out tough wins and go head-to-head in shootouts with anyone left in the league. They also have a pass rush that can put any opposing offense on its back foot and give them the advantage. While I'm worried about RG Kevin Dotson's injury, if WR Davante Adams comes back healthy, this offense has enough to win a Super Bowl. While the NFC is sort of chalk with arguably the four best teams left making the divisional round, the AFC is where we get wild.

The Jaguars are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, with an offense that can go toe to toe with everyone in the league, and they are well-coached on both sides of the... If they can get past the Bills in the Wild Card round, there might not be another team that could stop their momentum. Both the one and two seeds in the AFC get bounced in the divisional, with both facing bad matchups in the two AFC South teams left." Let’s make instant predictions for the 2026 NFL Playoffs. The NFL regular season is over, and it ends without anything resembling a true Super Bowl favorite entering the playoffs. Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL, and the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t in the playoff bracket.

The Detroit Lions also didn’t make the playoffs after being a popular pick to win the NFC before the season. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens didn’t even make the playoffs, and Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills were shaky from the jump. The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles were solid but unspectacular all season. While long-time powers started to fall or show signs of weakness, new teams took the league by surprise to assert their will. Raise your hand if you had the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks as the No. 1 seeds in each conference heading into this year.

I don’t see any hands up. The 2026 NFL Playoffs are wide open, and with the bracket set, it’s time to make some predictions. Let’s make picks through the NFC and AFC playoffs, and speculate on who’s going to win the whole thing. Ben Johnson said he was going to beat the Packers twice during his introductory press conference, and now he has the chance to do it. Micah Parsons’ torn ACL kills the Packers’ chances of being a trendy Super Bowl pick, but this roster is still pretty solid top-to-bottom. The Bears won the last matchup between these two teams on the greatest pass in franchise history from Caleb Williams to D.J.

Moore. This one will come down to the wire again like almost every other Bears game this year, but I’ll go with Chicago to pull out the victory. Yes I’m biased, but whatever. NFL Playoffs Predictor 2026 – Interactive Bracket Predict winners for Wild Card, Divisional, Conference Championships, and Super Bowl LX. Complete schedule with dates, times, TV channels, and stadium locations included.

Check out our 2026 NFL Playoff Predictions The NFL Playoffs Predictor 2026 is a free interactive bracket simulator that lets you predict every playoff game from the Wild Card Round to Super Bowl LX. Pick winners for each matchup, and the tool automatically advances teams through the bracket. You can simulate the entire postseason and crown your predicted Super Bowl champion at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026. Click on the team you think will win each playoff game. Start with the Wild Card Round, and the tool automatically generates the next round’s matchups based on NFL seeding rules.

Continue picking winners through the Divisional Round, Conference Championships, and Super Bowl LX. The bracket updates instantly as you make your selections. Change any pick anytime to test different playoff scenarios. Buckle up, folks — it's playoff season in the NFL. The 2025 season was an abnormal one, and the postseason bracket exemplifies that. Both No.

1 seeds from last year — the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions — failed to make the playoffs, and the AFC is without Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson. Teams such as the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and New England Patriots all took major leaps forward this year. The Seahawks and Broncos have the byes in each conference to the divisional round, with their defense propelling them to the top of the standings. Below are Sporting News' predictions for the 2026 NFL playoffs, complete with updated Super Bowl 60 picks. Our NFL experts break down the brackets and project which players will break out, which contenders will break down, and which teams will break through during the postseason. Bill Bender: Buffalo Bills.

Kansas City isn't in the way this year. Josh Allen is 7-2 against everybody else in the playoffs – but the only thing holding us back is that Buffalo will have to prove it on the road. Allen is 0-4 on the road in the postseason and the path starts at Jacksonville. The Jaguars have allowed more than 20 points one time through a seven-game win streak. Nick's 2026 NFL playoffs bracket predictions, picks for the entire 2025-26 NFL postseason. Which NFL teams will win their playoff matchups and get to the Super Bowl?

The regular season is in the history books and has given us our playoff matchups, which means it's time to have some fun with the crystal ball. We're going to see some experienced veterans square off against others who are getting their first taste of the playoffs. Frankly, the door is wide open for most to make a run, which makes this exercise quite fun! That's not to say that all teams are hitting the playoff weeks with similar momentum, health, and so on. But November and December don't outright define the range of outcomes, and it only takes one well-timed momentum swing to change destinies. We're going to do our best to present informed chatter on each matchup with data that is largely gathered through Week 17, thanks to Week 18 being meaningless to many.

So, who's going to advance and make a run in the 2025 postseason? Let's hop right into it and stroll through the entire playoff bracket, from Wild Card weekend to Super Bowl LX. #7 Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) at #2 Chicago Bears (12-5) The NFC is viewed by the oddsmakers as the conference with the better chance of producing the Super Bowl champion. The Seattle Seahawks enter the postseason as the Super Bowl favorite at .css-wrcrjw{margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c:hover{text-decoration-color:inherit;}.css-lu48cp{margin:0;font:inherit;color:var(--br--palette-primary-main);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback... The Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles have the second-and-fourth-lowest odds to take home the Lombardi Trophy.

A handful of AFC teams are lumped close together behind the Eagles, and one team in particular, looks like it has good value. The Buffalo Bills have the most experienced playoff quarterback in the AFC bracket. This isn't the best team Josh Allen has been around, but the experience might matter more this year with so few playoff appearances among the top three seeds in the AFC. Seattle is a worthy Super Bowl favorite because of its incredible defense.

Nfl Playoffs Instant Bracket Predictions For 2026 Super Bowl Matchup

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