The Divisional Playoffs featured another week of exciting postseason games, with two games going to overtime and dominant performances by New England and Seattle. Heading into the AFC Championship game, the biggest story is the battle between the Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and the Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Stidham gets his first start of the season for the Broncos after Bo Nix fractured his ankle at the end of their playoff win against the Buffalo Bills. On the other hand, the NFC Championship game is a rubber match between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks. The championship round of the NFL playoffs is only possible because of several key performances by each team in the Divisional Playoffs.
Houston Texans = 25% Red Zone TD Rate
The Houston Texans came into their playoff game on the road against the New England Patriots, riding a 10-game winning streak. However, despite the Texans’ winning streak, Houston has had an ongoing offensive problem, whether led by starting quarterback C.J. Stroud or backup Davis Mills. That problem has been the Texans’ inefficiency in the red zone, and it continued to rear its ugly head during their game this week. The Texans got into the red zone four times against the New England Patriots, but scored only one touchdown, giving them a 25% Red Zone TD Rate. During the Texans’ other three trips to the red zone, Houston running back Woody Marks lost a fumble, and the Texans had to settle for two field goals.
San Francisco 49ers = -3 Turnover Margin
The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the most resilient teams in NFL history this season. Despite facing contract disputes and multiple injuries, Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers have repeatedly found solutions to their biggest problems. However, when the 49ers went on the road to face the Seattle Seahawks, their resilience hit a wall. That wall was the Seahawks’ elite defense, and as 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey attempted to climb that defensive wall, the 49ers fell short. On the offensive side of the ball, San Francisco turned the ball over three times, including an interception thrown by Brock Purdy and two fumbles. Those fumbles by quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end Jake Tonges allowed the Seahawks to open up a big lead over the 49ers.
Los Angeles Rams = 3 Interceptions
When the Los Angeles Rams are playing their best football, they have a sense of synergy between their offense and defense. The winning recipe for the Rams has been Matthew Stafford and his offensive weapons taking care of the ball while the Rams’ defense forces turnovers. This week, the Rams faced a Bears team that has specialized in forcing turnovers in frigid, snowy conditions. However, the Rams offense avoided the critical errors the Bears have grown accustomed to, and the Rams defense forced the Bears to turn the ball over, with Caleb Williams throwing 3 interceptions. Two of those interceptions were by Cobie Durant during regulation time, and the third was by Kam Curl in overtime. Curl’s interception set up the final drive that allowed the Rams to win the game with a 42-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis.
Denver Broncos = 5 Takeaways on Defense
The Denver Broncos came into the NFL playoffs as the top team in the AFC, and while their offense has been built on a philosophy of taking what teams give them, their defense has been elite. During the regular season, the Denver Broncos’ defense generated 68 quarterback sacks. Those quarterback sacks have forced opposing offenses to make mistakes, setting the Broncos up for success. This week, the Broncos faced Bills quarterback Josh Allen, but despite Allen’s dynamic ability to make the key plays on offense to help the Bills win games, he also fell to the Broncos’ defense. Denver’s defense forced Allen to turn the ball over four times, including two interceptions and two critical fumbles at the end of the 1st half and the start of the 2nd half.
Buffalo Bills = 48 Yards in Penalties in OT
The Buffalo Bills have become synonymous with postseason failures, and this weekend, the Bills added another chapter to their book about losing big games. This time, the Bills started strong against the Denver Broncos, standing toe to toe with the #1 seed in the AFC, but at the end of the 1st half, they had their first breakdown. That breakdown was a fumble by quarterback Josh Allen, which led to a last-second field goal for the Broncos. Then, on the first drive of the second half, Allen once again fumbled the ball and set up another field goal for Denver. In addition to the fumbles, Allen also threw two interceptions, one of which ended their potential game-winning drive in overtime, ultimately leading to a game-winning field goal by the Broncos.
Chicago Bears = -3 Turnover Margin
Over the last several weeks of the 2025 season and in their wild-card game last week, the Bears carved out a reputation for dramatic comebacks. During the Bears’ divisional matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago once again found itself behind on the scoreboard against the Rams. The Bears’ seven-point deficit was assisted by Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams, who threw two interceptions to Rams defender Cobie Durant. Despite those interceptions, the Bears found themselves with the ball during the last full drive in regulation time, and Williams ended up throwing an improbably bomb that was caught by Bears tight end Cole Kmet to send the game to overtime. However, in overtime, Williams once again threw another interception to Kam Curl as the Bears were trying to get into field goal position to win the game.
Seattle Seahawks = 95 Yard Kick Return TD
The Seattle Seahawks gave us the first blowout of the postseason when they beat the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 in a battle of NFC West rivals. Seattle started the game with an explosive kickoff return by kick returner Rashid Shaheed for 95 yards and a kick return touchdown. That play set the tone for the game, as the Seahawks went on to dominate the 49ers in all phases. Offensively, the Seahawks dominated the line of scrimmage and ran the ball effectively against the 49ers’ defense. In addition, quarterback Sam Darnold did not force passes, managed the game, and led the Seahawks back to the NFC Championship for the first time since 2014.
New England Patriots = 4 Interceptions
The New England Patriots were expected to be in a defensive showdown when they hosted the Houston Texans. However, the Patriots’ defense got the best of the Texans due to a 1st half meltdown by Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. During the first half of the game, Stroud ended up throwing 4 interceptions, including one to Marcus Jones for a pick-six. While Houston’s defense did a solid job of keeping Houston in the game despite multiple turnovers, the Patriots’ defense eventually took the ball away from Houston five times, handing the Patriots the win. While the Houston defense was definitely elite, it was unable to overcome the numerous mistakes by Stroud and the Texans’ offense against an equally elite Patriots team.
Make sure you check out Divisional Round Quarterback Grades
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