NFL playoff bracket: What the Divisional Round looks like for 2026

The 2026 NFL Playoffs are officially underway, and the Wild Card Round has been a fun one. Saturday saw the Rams blow an early lead over the Panthers but then stage a last minute comeback win, and the Bears come back from a 21-3 deficit to win in the closing minutes.

The Broncos and Seahawks spent this weekend on a bye and await the three teams that will advance out of the Wild Card Round. The NFL re-seeds heading into the Divisional Round, so they won’t know their specific opponent until games wrap up. Denver and Seattle will host the worst remaining seed in the AFC and NFC. The two middle seeds in each conference will face off in the other Divisional matchups.

We’ll be updating this throughout the weekend as the bracket finalizes itself. We’ll know the NFC Divisional Round matchups by the close of Sunday’s 49ers-Eagles game. We’ll know one of the AFC Divisional matchups, and the other will finalize on Monday when Steelers-Texans wraps up.

Monday Texans-Steelers result: The Texans defense dominated the Steelers offense as Houston won 30-6 to advance to the Divisional Round. C.J. Stroud threw an interception, lost two fumbles and recovered three more of his own, but the defense more than made up for it. They’ll travel to face the Patriots.

Sunday Patriots-Chargers result: The Patriots pulled away late to beat the Chargers and advance to the Divisional Round. It was an ugly game of field goals for the first three quarters before Drake Maye found Hunter Henry at the 9:45 mark of the fourth quarter for the first touchdown of the game. The Chargers could get nothing going on offense and lost 16-3. That sets up a Bills-Broncos Divisional Round matchup, with the Patriots awaiting the winner of Monday’s Texans-Steelers game.

Sunday Bills-Jaguars result: The Bills went into Jacksonville and secured a late comeback win over the Jaguars. Josh Allen punched in a game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes. Trevor Lawrence threw a tipped pass that was picked to clinch the game. The Bills will face one of the Broncos, Patriots, Steelers, or Texans in the Divisional Round depending on the results of Chargers-Patriots and Texans-Steelers.

Here is the current AFC playoff bracket as we figure out what the Divisional Round looks like.

#1 Denver Broncos vs. #6 Buffalo Bills
#2 New England Patriots vs. #5 Houston Texans

#2 New England Patriots 16, #7 Los Angeles Chargers 3
#6 Buffalo Bills 27, #3 Jacksonville Jaguars 24
#5 Houston Texans 24, #4 Pittsburgh Steelers 6

Sunday 49ers-Eagles result: The 49ers upset the Eagles to close out the NFC Wild Card Round. The Eagles led for the middle quarters before the 49ers finally found some consistency on offense. San Francisco took the lead on a Jauan Jennigns trick play touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey and closed it out with a second McCaffrey touchdown with less than three minutes left in the game.

Saturday Rams-Panthers result: The Rams opened the playoffs with a blown lead and comeback win over the Panthers. They jumped out to a 14-0 lead and looked like they might roll. Carolina was a double-digit underdog, but fought back and nearly pulled off the upset. They took a four-point lead with 2:39 remaining, but that was too much time for the Rams, as Matthew Stafford drove them down the field and found Colby Parkinson for the game-winning touchdown with 38 seconds left.

Saturday Packers-Bears result: The Bears looked like they were headed for a quick exit, trailing the Packers 21-3 at halftime. They couldn’t find the end zone in the third quarter and for a good chunk of the fourth quarter, settling for a pair of field goals to cut the lead to 12. They finally found the end zone at the 10:08 mark in the fourth quarter, but the Packers responded to take an 11-point lead with 6:36 left in the game. Chicago did what it’s done all season, as Caleb Williams led them on two touchdown drives en route to a 31-27 win.

Here is the current NFC playoff bracket as we figure out what the Divisional Round looks like.

#1 Seattle Seahawks vs. #6 San Francisco 49ers
#2 Chicago Bears vs. #5 Los Angeles Rams

#2 Chicago Bears 31, #7 Green Bay Packers 27
#6 San Francisco 49ers 23, #3 Philadelphia Eagles 19
#5 Los Angeles Rams 34, #4 Carolina Panthers 31