The 2025-26 NFL Playoffs Might Be the Craziest We’ve Ever Seen

As we’re heading into Week 14 and only one game left in Week 13, that means we’re in the heat of the playoff race in the NFL.

And as we get closer, to the postseason and looking at the potential scenarios, I genuinely think this year’s NFL playoffs have the potential to be either the craziest or just straight up the greatest of all time.

Because think about it: before the season, we had teams like the Bills, the Ravens, the Chiefs, the Eagles, the Lions, and Rams were all seen as the consensus favourites.

Everyone assumed one of those six teams was going to win the Super Bowl. But now as we get into December football (which is the best time of year for football), the Bills aren’t even going to win the AFC East. The Patriots essentially have that locked up. In the AFC West, the Chiefs are not only not going to win the division, they might straight up miss the playoffs.

They’re 6–6, and at this point it’s probably more likely they’re watching the games with us rather than participating and trying to get back to their fourth straight Super Bowl.

The Ravens are just not trustable at all, but they’re still most likely going to make the playoffs as a division winner. But there is a scenario here where the Ravens slip, as we’ve seen Lamar Jackson get tight in big games, and every game down the stretch matters, the Ravens can only afford to lose maybe one or two more to comfortably win that division.

Then in the NFC, the Lions are just not the same team. They’re beat up, their coaching staff is in shambles. Dan Campbell has not done a good job calling plays. He’s been way too aggressive on fourth down, and he’s become way too predictable. And then the defending champion Eagles are just going through it right now.

Even though they won the Super Bowl last year, you can’t trust them because they seem like a group that hates each other, much like they did in 2023. And the Rams, who have been the best team in football all year, just lost to the Panthers in a game they should have dominated.

So there truly hasn’t been an elite team all year.

Which brings me into why I think these playoffs are going to be tremendous. The AFC’s number one and two seeds are most likely going to be the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. A lot of people thought the Broncos would be good, but not number-one-seed good.

And the Patriots were seen as a sleeper playoff team at best, not a team that could end up as the two seed and win 13 or 14 games, maybe even have home-field advantage if things break right for them down the stretch. Then there’s the AFC South race, where you have three teams who could realistically win it: the Colts, Jaguars, and Texans. And what’s your reward for winning that division? Probably a Jim Harbaugh led Chargers team coming to your place.

Even in the AFC overall, if you’re the Patriots and you’re the two seed, congratulations! If they get their act together, here’s Kansas City coming to your house potentially to play you in a Wild Card round. Then in the NFC, there’s a good chance we get some great rivalry matchups on Wild Card weekend.

There’s a real chance we get the Bears and Packers facing off. And who knows, if things go right for the Cowboys down the stretch, I think Dallas is going to make the playoffs. I’ve gone through the simulator, and if Dallas beats Detroit this week, I think they get in. And there’s a good chance we get a Philadelphia versus Dallas playoff game this year.

But overall, this season has been a change of the guard in the NFL. It’s more about these quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, who still don’t have a Super Bowl title. They’re going to be under the most pressure they’ve ever been under—especially if Patrick Mahomes doesn’t make the playoffs. If he misses, this is their conference to take. Go take it.

For Josh, that means going on the road in every round, just like Patrick did a few years ago.

And for Lamar, you’re going to have one playoff home game. And there’s a good chance, based on all the simulators I’ve gone through, that the 4–5 matchup in the AFC is going to be Baltimore versus Buffalo.

That is just insane.

I think this season has shown how truly unpredictable everything can be. You can have teams like the Seattle Seahawks, who I personally think have the best defense in the NFC. I know you can’t fully trust Sam Darnold until he actually performs in a playoff run or in a big spot, but Seattle has probably been the second most consistent team in the NFC all year behind the Rams. So yeah, I just think these playoffs are going to be insane.

The Super Bowl matchup I personally want is Patriots versus Seahawks. I think that would be electric. But what do I think it’s going to be right now? I honestly have no clue, and I love it.