2026 NFL Playoffs: Wild Card Weekend Preview and Predictions

(12-5) Los Angeles Rams (5) @ (4) Carolina Panthers (8-9)

The 2026 NFL Playoffs kick off in Charlotte as the NFC South Champions, the Carolina Panthers, host the highly-rated Los Angeles Rams! Despite a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers were still able to win the NFC South as they embark on their first Postseason appearance since 2018! As for LA, they breezed past the Arizona Cardinals last time out, and they’re set for their third-straight Playoff appearance! In the end, the LA Rams should come out of this game as the victors! The Panthers aren’t nearly good enough to even be in the Playoffs, whilst The Rams are one of the best sides in the entire league! It is worth mentioning that Carolina beat Los Angeles back in Week 13, but I can’t see the same thing happening twice (in this instance, anyway)!

(9-7-1) Green Bay Packers (7) @ (2) Chicago Bears (11-6)

Saturday Night Football sees two NFC North Rivals collide as the Chicago Bears welcome the Green Bay Packers to a potentially snowy Soldier Field! The Chicago Bears may have lost at home to the Detroit Lions last weekend, but it didn’t really matter as they’d already secured their first NFC North Title since 2018! As for Green Bay, they lost for the 4th-straight game last time out in Minnesota, and they’re ready to make their third-straight Playoff appearance! In the end, I expect The Bears to come out on top in this one! I’m well aware that Chicago haven’t been in the Playoffs in a while; it’s very much Caleb Williams’ biggest stage to date, but Green Bay aren’t as good as they were, so I’m honestly very surprised that they’re favourites for this game! For me, Chicago are more than good enough!

(12-5) Buffalo Bills (6) @ (3) Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4)

All eyes are on Josh Allen as his Buffalo Bills head to Jacksonville to take on a high-flying Jaguars! The Jacksonville Jaguars sealed the AFC South Title with a 41-7 drubbing of the Tennessee Titans last weekend, and they’re entering the Playoffs off the back of their best Regular Season this century! As for Buffalo, they smashed the New York Jets last time out, and they’re about to enter their 7th-straight Postseason with Allen leading the line! In the end, whilst this is a really hard one to call, I’m picking The Jags to overcome The Bills! Yes, Josh Allen has only lost to the best of the best in the Playoffs, but that’s something that Trevor Lawrence was hyped up to be! Also, The Jaguars have been amazing for 8-straight weeks now, so I think it would be unfair to pick against them!

(12-5) San Francisco 49ers (6) @ (3) Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)

The last three NFC Championships have all been won by these two teams as the San Francisco 49ers look to get revenge on the Philadelphia Eagles! The Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Washington Commanders last time out, costing them a shot at the Number 2 seed, but they’re still set for their 5th-straight year in the Playoffs! As for San Francisco, their dreams of taking the NFC’s Number 1 seed were stopped hard by the Seattle Seahawks on Week 18’s Thursday Night Football, and it’s worth mentioning that their last 7 Playoff appearances have all ended with at least an NFC Championship Game! In the end, I fully expect Philly to win this game! The journey that The 49ers have been on this year has been incredible; they’ve massively overachieved given all of the injuries they’ve suffered, but given they lost to The Seahawks last week, I’d say the reigning Super Bowl Champions Eagles are just too much of a hurdle for The Niners to overcome!

(11-6) Los Angeles Chargers (7) @ (2) New England Patriots (14-3)

Sunday Night Football should be a fascinating story as Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers aim to finally win a Playoff game at the expense of an underdog New England Patriots side led by potential MVP Drake Maye! The New England Patriots thumped the Miami Dolphins 38-10 last weekend, and they’re entering the NFL Playoffs as AFC East Champions for the first time since Tom Brady departed! As for LA, they rested their star players in a 19-3 loss in Denver last time out, but the focus will now turn to Herbert securing the first Postseason victory of his NFL career! In the end, I have to back The Patriots here! I really like Justin Herbert and the LA Chargers; they’re a good team, but New England have been so good this year that they deserve to be the favourites to win, especially with how highly Drake Maye has been performing!

(12-5) Houston Texans (5) @ (4) Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

The final game of Wild Card Weekend sees the AFC North Champions Pittsburgh Steelers host the in-form Houston Texans on Monday Night Football! The Pittsburgh Steelers barely survived against the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC North in the final game of the 2025 NFL Regular Season, and they’re now aiming for their first Playoff victory in 6 attempts! As for Houston, they beat the Indianapolis Colts last time out to extend their winning streak to 9 games, and their aim is to simply make it past the Divisional Round (which means they need to win this week)! In the end, I rate The Texans way higher than I do The Steelers! I very much see this being the final game in the illustrious career of Aaron Rodgers, and unfortunately for Rodgers, I don’t think it’s going to be particularly pretty!