AFC & NFC Championship Game Predictions (2026)

 

Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks and Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams embrace after an NFL football game, Sunday. Nov. 16, 2025, at SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, CA. The Rams narrowly defeated the Seahawks, 21-19. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

After a wild divisional round of the NFL playoffs, only four teams remain in the hunt for the chance to win Super Bowl 60. And with that being said, it is officially time for NFL Championship Sunday!

It sure took a while, but the New England Patriots are back in the AFC Championship Game. After missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, the Patriots have managed to reclaim their title as one of the top teams in the NFL, led by second-year superstar quarterback Drake Maye and standout head coach Mike Vrabel (who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots during his playing career in the early-to-mid 2000s). Their opponent on Sunday will be the AFC's top-seeded Denver Broncos, who are in the AFC title game for the first time since the 2015 AFC Championship Game, which is known for being the last meeting between in the storied rivalry between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, a game that the Broncos won en route to winning Super Bowl 50. Now, it will be Maye going up against Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

Then, later on Sunday, we'll get to witness the trilogy between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, and this game has the potential to be an instant classic. You have the Rams, who are led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay, going up against Seattle's "Dark Side" defence, coached up by defensive-minded head coach Mike Macdonald, who was hired by the Seahawks two years ago for one specific reason: To stop Kyle Shanahan and McVay, who are known for being two of the best offensive minds in the NFL. Now, after emphatically shutting down Shanahan's San Francisco 49ers offence last week in the divisional round, Macdonald will try to slow down Stafford and McVay to help the Seahawks advance to their first Super Bowl in a decade.

My best pick from last week: taking the Seahawks over the 49ers. The 49ers had a great season, improving from a 6-11 record in 2024 to a 12-5 record in 2025, and they also managed to notch a playoff win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles last week. But eventually, they were bound to run out of gas, given all the injuries they had suffered throughout the season, combined with the fact that they were facing a superior Seahawks team. But led by Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy, I expect the Niners to be right back in the mix in the NFC next season.

My worst pick from last week: taking the Bills over the Broncos. This is the only game I picked wrong of the entire divisional round, so it has to be the default choice, but man, that was super brutal to watch if you're a Bills fan. Buffalo just became the first team in NFL history to lose three straight playoff games by three points or fewer. On a side note, shoutout to Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who was absolutely spectacular against the Bills on Saturday, but will miss the rest of the season with a broken bone in his ankle during Denver's game-winning drive in overtime. What a bummer. It would be a cool story if the Broncos end up winning it all for him.

With that being said, let's get to the picks!

AFC Championship Game: 

Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots walks off the field after an NFL playoff game, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, at Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, MA. The Patriots defeated the Houston Texans, 28-16, in the AFC Divisional Round. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)

New England Patriots (16-3) @ Denver Broncos (15-3): 3:00 p.m. ET (CBS/Paramount+)

This will be the third AFC Championship Game featuring the Patriots and the Broncos. Alongside the aforementioned 2015 meeting, these two teams also met in the 2013 AFC title game (the Broncos won that one, too). However, if Denver wants to advance to the Super Bowl for the ninth time in franchise history, they'll have to knock off a great New England squad that went a perfect 8-0 on the road this season.

Maye struggled with turnovers (2 lost fumbles, one interception) last week against the Texans' elite defence. Still, he also managed to counteract that by throwing three touchdown passes, including an incredible throw to slot receiver Demario Douglas, which gave the Patriots an early lead in that game. The matchup between Patriots veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs (85 catches, 1,013 receiving yards, four receiving touchdowns) and Broncos All-Pro cornerback and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II (12 pass deflections, one interception) will be fun to watch, but the true X-factor to look out for in this game will occur in the trenches. 

Maye was sacked 47 times during the regular season (the fourth-highest mark in the NFL), and he's already been sacked 10 times throughout his first two playoff games. New England's offensive line will have to protect Maye better, and Maye will have to take better care of the football on Sunday, as the Broncos (second in total defence during the regular season) led the NFL with a whopping 68 sacks, led by All-Pro edge rusher Nik Bonitto (14 sacks) and All-Pro defensive lineman Zack Allen (seven sacks). Denver managed to sack the league's reigning MVP, Josh Allen, three times in last week's divisional round matchup, and two of those sacks resulted in fumbles that the Broncos ultimately turned into points. Without Bo Nix in the lineup, Denver's defence will have to find a way to consistently pressure Maye into making multiple mistakes and give their offence short fields to work with.

Jarrett Stidham will be starting in Nix's place for this AFC Championship Game. Stidham has been with the Broncos since 2023, so he has extensive knowledge of head coach Sean Payton's top-notch offensive scheme, but he also hasn't thrown a single pass in a game in three years, so he could be rusty. Payton will have to scheme up easy completions for Stidham to get him in a rhythm early in this game, which won't be easy against the Patriots' defence, which has been playing absolutely lights out during the playoffs (9.5 points allowed per game across two playoff games).

 One thing that could help the Broncos immensely is that they have recently opened up the practice window for talented running back JK Dobbins (772 rushing yards, 5.0 yards per carry, four rushing touchdowns during the regular season). Dobbins, who was enjoying a great season in his first year with the Broncos, hasn't played since November after he suffered what initially appeared to be a season-ending foot injury. But if he can manage to come back for this game, that would be an enormous win for Denver, as they'll want to take as much pressure off of Stidham as they can. However, New England's defence has only allowed a total of 135 rushing yards so far in the playoffs, so it'll be tough sledding for Dobbins (if he suits up) and rookie running back RJ Harvey (540 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns) in this one.

The Broncos have enjoyed an incredible season, and had Nix been playing in this game, I would've taken them to advance to the Super Bowl, but I just can't see a scenario in which Stidham manages to crack a very good Patriots' defence, and I don't think Denver's running game will be good enough to offset that. It won't be easy, but I think Maye will play well and Vrabel's defence will do the rest to lead the Patriots to an AFC Championship Game victory and back to a very familiar place: the Super Bowl.

The pick: Patriots 24, Broncos 17

NFC Championship Game: 

Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams makes a change at the line of scrimmage during an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. The Seahawks narrowly defeated the Rams, 38-37. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Rams (14-5) @ Seattle Seahawks (15-3): 6:30 p.m. ET (FOX)

What a game this should be! The first meeting between these two powerhouse teams took place in November in a game that the Rams won, 21-19. The second meeting was arguably the game of the year, as the Seahawks rallied from a 30-14 deficit in the fourth quarter to stun the Rams, 38-37, which gave Seattle the leg up in the race for the division and home-field advantage. Now, these two NFC West rivals will battle one last time this season to determine who goes to the Super Bowl and who will be going home for the offseason.

During the regular season, the Rams had the NFL's best offence, leading the league in yards and points per game (30.5), as their dynamic wide receiver duo of All-Pro wideout Puka Nacua (129 catches, 1,715 receiving yards, 10 receiving touchdowns) and future Hall of Famer Davante Adams (60 catches, 789 receiving yards, 14 receiving touchdowns) combined with a lethal rushing attack led by running backs Kyren Williams (1,252 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns) and Blake Corum (746 rushing yards) made their offence virtually unstoppable.

However, future Hall of Fame quarterback Matthew Stafford (4,707 passing yards, 46 touchdown passes, eight interceptions, and a 109.2 passer rating in the regular season) hasn't been as effective so far in the postseason (562 passing yards, three touchdown passes, one interception, 80.6 passer rating in two playoff games). And it certainly won't be easy for Stafford to snap out of his funk in this NFC title game against a standout Seahawks defence (sixth in total defence, first in points allowed per game, fourth in opponent passer rating, first in fewest rushing yards allowed per game) that completely shut down the 49ers' offence in the divisional round last week. In the first meeting between these two teams, Stafford put up a modest performance (189 passing yards, two touchdown passes), but in the second meeting, he completely diced up Seattle's defence (457 passing yards, three touchdown passes), with a big help from Nacua (12 catches, 225 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns). It'll be interesting to see if Mike Macdonald will have any wrinkles up his sleeve to try to slow down Stafford and Nacua this time around.

Seahawks Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold (4,048 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions during the regular season) has struggled mightily in his last three games against the Rams, as he has thrown just three touchdowns to seven interceptions in those outings, including four interceptions in the first matchup between these two squads. However, Darnold came up clutch in the fourth quarter during the second matchup, which included him throwing the game-winning two-point conversion to help the Seahawks come out with the victory.

The biggest X-factor in this game will be whether or not the Rams can slow down Seattle's rushing attack. Seahawks star running back Kenneth Walker III (1,027 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns) enjoyed a solid regular season, and he ran through the 49ers' defence last week for 116 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, becoming the first Seahawk to rush for three touchdowns in a playoff game since Shaun Alexander in 2004. However, backup running back Zach Charbonnet (730 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns) will unfortunately miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, which will put a lot of pressure on Walker to continue to produce at a high level. The Rams were solid at stopping the run during the regular season (12th in rushing yards allowed per game), and if they can limit Walker in this game, defensive coordinator Chris Shula will be able to utilize star pass rushers Jared Verse (seven sacks) and Byron Young (12 sacks) in obvious passing situations to get after Darnold and force him into making mistakes just like they did in their regular season meetings with Seattle.

All in all, this should be a great game. You could easily make the case that these are the two best teams in the NFL, based on the level of star talent and coaching that they each possess. The Rams outscored the Seahawks, 58-57, in their two regular-season games, suggesting that this NFC Championship bout will be very closely contested. Ultimately, while the Seahawks may be the more complete team from top to bottom, I trust Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay to find a way on the road in Seattle and propel the Rams to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years.

The pick: Rams 27, Seahawks 23