NFL Playoff Bracket Predictions: Picks & Projected Scores for Every Game
As we move onto the divisional round, we're making our NFL playoff bracket predictions for every remaining game through the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 9.
We're offering our picks and score predictions for every NFL playoff game along with our Super Bowl predictions to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Here's a look at the NFL playoff bracket with our predicted winner for every game with the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs as Super Bowl odds favorites:
NFL playoff bracket, schedule & standings
See our Divisional Round predictions for a full breakdown of the divisional round.
AFC playoff picture
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
- Buffalo Bills (13-4)
- Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
- Houston Texans (10-7)
Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)Denver Broncos (10-7)
NFC playoff picture
- Detroit Lions (15-2)
- Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)- Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
Minnesota Vikings (14-3)- Washington Commanders (12-5)
Green Bay Packers (11-6)
Divisional Round odds, schedule & TV info
NFL Divisional Round odds via our best NFL betting sites; subject to change.
- Texans vs. Chiefs (-7.5) - Saturday, 4:30 PM (ABC/ESPN)
- Commanders vs. Lions (-8.5) - Saturday, 8 PM (FOX)
- Rams vs. Eagles (-6) - Sunday, 3 PM (NBC)
- Ravens (-1.5) vs. Bills - Sunday, 6:30 PM (CBS)
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NFL Divisional Round picks
Updated NFL picks made Monday, Jan. 13; odds via our best NFL betting sites.
Texans vs. Chiefs prediction, Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET
The Texans showed some life in a wild-card win over the Chargers, but they were listless four weeks ago in a 27-19 loss to Kansas City that wasn't as close as that score suggests. I'd expect we'll see a better version of the Chiefs, too, now that the real season has begun.
Projected score: Chiefs 27, Texans 17
Commanders vs. Lions prediction, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET
I've been impressed with what I've seen from Washington in Daniels' first year at the helm, but this is a different beast entirely against the NFC's top seed and the leading Super Bowl favorite entering the wild-card round. Injuries have hampered the Lions' defense, but their offense should have little trouble carving up the Commanders' secondary.
Projected score: Lions 34, Commanders 21
Rams vs. Eagles prediction, Sunday at 3 p.m. ET
This certainly isn't as easy of a draw for Los Angeles as it would have been had the Packers won on Sunday, but Philly never quite looked right offensively in Jalen Hurts' first game back after nearly a month off. That won't fly against a Rams defense that has been as stingy as any unit in football over the last month, and I trust Stafford to find the holes in the Eagles' conservative defense better than Jordan Love did in the wild-card round.
Projected score: Rams 24, Eagles 20
Ravens vs. Bills prediction, Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET
The network executives at CBS are already licking their lips about this potential MVP showdown featuring Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson, who have faced off in the playoffs once before. They also met earlier this year, when the Ravens pummeled the Bills in a game that seemingly got retconned from our collective memory. By the numbers, Baltimore is the better team on both ends of the field, and that's hard for me to ignore.
Projected score: Ravens 31, Bills 28
Divisional round expert picks
- Divisional round odds
- Divisional round picks
- NFL upset picks
- NFL picks against the spread
- Divisional round predictions
NFL Conference Championship picks
Rams vs. Lions prediction
Remember when these teams battled to an overtime finish in Week 1 before David Montgomery put the Lions on his back on the final drive? He's among myriad players on the mend for Detroit, while Los Angeles is markedly healthier than it was during the first month of the season as McVay positions his team for a second Super Bowl run.
It's also easy to forget that these teams were separated by one point in last year's wild-card round, when Stafford went off for 367 yards and two touchdowns even with Cooper Kupp enjoying just 27 yards of that production. He and Puka Nacua should have a field day against a Lions defense that has left too many wide-open windows of late; Stafford can exploit them.
Projected score: Rams 34, Lions 27
Ravens vs. Chiefs prediction
At a certain point, when are we allowed to doubt the Chiefs' form after seemingly sandbagging the regular season en route to 15 wins and a first-round bye? I've been determined to trust this group, anyway, even if approximately zero of those wins looked like the team that we've come to expect in the postseason. When January rolls around, we can assume Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and Co. will be ready to go.
Yet so, too, will these hungry Ravens after their dream season was cut short by a scarier version of Kansas City a year ago. Baltimore has been far and away the best team this year by net yards per play (1.6) and net EPA per play (0.27), and Jackson has been the single-biggest driving force for success in the NFL this season. He nearly willed the Ravens to a win in Week 1; he'll finish the job in the rematch.
Projected score: Ravens 35, Chiefs 31
Our Super Bowl pick & score prediction
Rams vs. Ravens prediction
I was high on both of these teams coming into the year, but early injuries along the offensive line and secondary rendered both teams a shell of themselves at various points throughout the regular season as they watched their division rivals pull ahead.
There's a reason they don't hand out the Lombardi Trophy in the fall, though, and both of these teams should be thankful for that. The Rams have shaken off a miserable start to win nine of 11 games before resting their starters in Week 18, while the Ravens have bludgeoned opponents en route to a four-game win streak entering the postseason.
As impressive as Los Angeles has been down the stretch, I'm not sure anyone can match up with Jackson in the postseason without a ferocious front seven or a star-studded secondary. Neither fit the profile of a young Rams defense that thrives on timely sacks and red-zone stops - two things that are tough to come by against the two-time MVP.
Can Stafford find the holes in a Ravens defense that has been hit-or-miss this season? It's certainly possible, though Baltimore has locked down opponents over the last month as first-time coordinator Zach Orr settles into his role. With All-Pro talents at all three levels, I'm inclined to believe in this recent iteration of the Ravens' defense, which should be enough to help them hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in over a decade.
Projected score: Ravens 30, Rams 21
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