NFL Playoff Bracket Predictions: Picks & Projected Scores for Every Game
With the first Wild Card Weekend games kicking off Saturday, there's no better time to lock in your NFL playoff bracket predictions with the Super Bowl set for Sunday, Feb. 9.
Ahead of the wild-card round, 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 the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Here's a look at the NFL playoff bracket with our predicted winner for every game as the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs enter the playoffs as Super Bowl odds favorites:
NFL playoff bracket, schedule & standings
See our NFL Wild Card Weekend predictions for a full breakdown of the wild-card round.
AFC playoff picture
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) - BYE
- 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) - BYE
- 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)
Wild Card Weekend odds, schedule & TV info
NFL Wild Card Weekend odds via our best NFL betting sites; subject to change.
- Chargers (-3) vs. Texans - Saturday, 4:30 PM (CBS)
- Steelers vs. Ravens (-10) - Saturday, 8 PM (Prime Video)
- Broncos vs. Bills (-9) - Sunday, 1 PM (CBS)
- Packers vs. Eagles (-5) - Sunday, 4:30 PM (FOX)
- Commanders vs. Buccaneers (-3) - Sunday, 8 PM (NBC)
- Vikings (-2) vs. Rams - Monday, 8 PM (ABC/ESPN)
Don't miss our guide for how to bet on NFL or this week's best sportsbook promos.
NFL Wild Card Weekend picks
NFL picks made on Friday, Jan. 10; odds via our best NFL betting sites.
Chargers vs. Texans prediction
Neither of these teams are playing their best football heading into January, though the Texans are in a particularly worrisome spot after losing Tank Dell in Week 16 following Stefon Digg's season-ending injury earlier this year. Given the Chargers' ability to limit big plays and avoid turnovers, I don't see Houston having enough horsepower to keep pace.
Projected score: Chargers 27, Texans 17
Steelers vs. Ravens prediction
When these two played in Week 11, the Ravens were facing issues on both ends of the ball that threatened to derail their eventual playoff run. They've won five of six games since with four straight wins by 17 points, including a 34-17 beatdown over Pittsburgh in Week 16 as part of the Steelers' active four-game skid. I don't expect this one to be close.
Projected score: Ravens 31, Steelers 14
Broncos vs. Bills prediction
The Broncos are my favorite Super Bowl odds long shot (+8500) entering the playoffs, as I think their defense is legit and Bo Nix is playing out of his mind. I still don't think it'll be enough against this version of Josh Allen, who enters the postseason as the runaway NFL MVP odds favorite by avoiding the exact type of chaos that Denver's defense thrives on.
Projected score: Bills 24, Broncos 20
Packers vs. Eagles prediction
It's hard to glean too much from these teams' Week 1 meeting given the field conditions in Brazil, but they played to a virtual draw by total yardage in a 34-29 Eagles win. Here's the difference since then: Jordan Love is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in football, and the Packers' defense has rounded into form under first-year coordinator Jeff Hafley. If the Eagles' ground game suffers at all in Jalen Hurts' first game back, they'll be in trouble.
Projected score: Packers 23, Eagles 17
Commanders vs. Buccaneers prediction
This is one of the most popular NFL upset picks of the week, but that doesn't mean the public isn't onto something here. Jayden Daniels isn't the same player he was when the Bucs shut him down in Week 1, and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds favorite should be able to exploit a Tampa Bay defense that hasn't truly been tested in months.
Projected score: Commanders 31, Buccaneers 27
Vikings vs. Rams prediction
It's hard to know how the move to State Farm Stadium will affect these two teams, especially the "host" Rams, amid the scary situation in L.A. What we do know is that Matthew Stafford tore up this vaunted Vikings defense for 279 yards and four TDs in a 10-point win in Week 8, and I'm not sure Sam Darnold will be able to shake off a rough Week 18 showing against this red-hot Rams defense on Monday night.
Projected score: Rams 24, Vikings 20
NFL Divisional Round picks
Chargers vs. Chiefs prediction
We've seen this matchup twice this season, and neither went the Chargers' way - even if the second was decided on a chip-shot field goal that bounced off the upright and went in for Kansas City. That doesn't do a lot to sway me against picking the Chiefs, who are seemingly invincible off a bye week and enter this matchup with their healthiest roster yet.
Projected score: Chiefs 27, Chargers 17
Packers vs. Lions prediction
The Packers can absolutely win this game; they lost a heartbreaker at Ford Field in Week 14, when they scored 31 points but gave up four fourth-down conversions in a 3-point loss. The Lions have also lost multiple defensive starters in recent weeks. But they looked like a team possessed in a critical Week 18 win over the Vikings, and with a week to prepare, I suspect Ben Johnson will have his offense ready to exploit a familiar foe.
Projected score: Lions 34, Packers 28
Ravens vs. Bills prediction
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
Rams vs. Commanders prediction
While the Rams abandoned their chances of facing the Commanders in the wild-card round with a Week 18 loss, they've set themselves up for a cushy matchup in the divisional round against the winner of Washington vs. Tampa Bay. Neither team should strike fear into the hearts of Sean McVay's group, which is healthier than it was amid a 1-4 start and looked like one of the best teams in football across a 5-0 run in December.
Projected score: Rams 28, Commanders 17
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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