Man, if you turned off the TV during any of the fourth quarters this past weekend, I feel for you. You missed the kind of chaos that makes the nfl first round playoffs the absolute best—and most exhausting—weekend in sports. We aren't just talking about a few lucky bounces. We just witnessed a historic "Super Wild Card Weekend" that saw twelve lead changes in the first four games alone. That’s an all-time NFL record. Honestly, my heart rate still hasn't returned to a normal rhythm.
People always talk about home-field advantage being this massive factor, but the 2026 opening round basically laughed in the face of that logic. Three road teams won games where they were actually trailing in the final three minutes. That literally didn't happen once between 2019 and 2024. Not once! This year? It happened three times in 48 hours.
The Wildest Results from the NFL First Round Playoffs
The bracket is officially a mess, and I love it. We started with the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams heading into Charlotte to face a 4-seed Carolina Panthers team that, let's be real, many people thought shouldn't even be there at 8-9. But the Panthers played like they had a point to prove until the very end. The Rams escaped with a 34-31 win, but only after a fourth quarter that featured four different lead changes. It set the tone for a weekend where no lead was safe and no favorite was comfortable.
Then you had the Chicago Bears. For the first time in 15 years, they’re hosting a divisional game next week, but they had to claw through the Green Bay Packers to get there. It was a classic "throw the records out" rivalry game. Chicago was down by 18 points—18!—before storming back to win 31-27. Seeing Soldier Field shake like that on Prime Video was something else.
Over in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills went down to Jacksonville and pulled off a 27-24 nail-biter. Josh Allen did Josh Allen things, but the Jaguars didn't make it easy. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots showed that defense still wins championships (or at least first-round games) by absolutely suffocating the Los Angeles Chargers in a 16-3 grind. It wasn't "flashy," but it was effective.
Who survived and who's going home?
If you're keeping track of the carnage, here is how the dust settled after the nfl first round playoffs concluded:
The AFC saw the Houston Texans absolutely dismantle the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 on Monday night. It was the only game that wasn't a heart-attack-inducing thriller, but it established the Texans as a serious problem for the rest of the field. The Pittsburgh crowd at Acrisure Stadium was quiet by the third quarter, which is a rare sight in January.
In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers went into the Linc and took down the Philadelphia Eagles 23-19. It was a physical, nasty game that felt like a heavyweight fight. With the Eagles out, we are guaranteed a new Super Bowl champion this year. No repeat. No dynasty for Philly. Just a wide-open race to Santa Clara.
What Most People Get Wrong About Playoff Seeding
There’s this constant debate about whether division winners should automatically host a playoff game. Look at the Panthers this year—they won the NFC South with a losing record and got to host the Rams, who had 12 wins. The Detroit Lions actually proposed a rule change last offseason to fix this, suggesting that a wild card team with a much better record should get the home game.
It didn't pass. Owners still love the idea that winning your division is "sacred." But when you see a 12-win team like the Rams having to travel to face an 8-win team, it feels kinda broken, doesn't it? Yet, the atmosphere in Charlotte was electric, which is exactly why the league is hesitant to change it. They want that home-market energy, even if the "better" team is on the plane.
The Survival of the No. 1 Seeds
While the rest of the league was beating each other up, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks were sitting at home with their feet up. They earned the only two first-round byes. That’s the biggest prize in the NFL. Not just because of the rest, but because the stats show that teams coming off a bye are significantly more likely to make the Super Bowl.
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The Broncos (14-3) and Seahawks (14-3) are the clear favorites, but after watching the Bills and Rams survive the gauntlet, you have to wonder if the "rust vs. rest" factor will kick in.
Viewing Trends: How Everyone Watched
If you felt like you were jumping between five different apps to find the games, you aren't alone. The NFL has fully embraced the streaming era. We had games on FOX, CBS, NBC, and ESPN/ABC, but the big shift was the exclusive Prime Video game on Saturday night. If you didn't have a subscription or a local broadcast, you were basically out of luck unless you were using NFL+.
Paramount+ and Peacock have become essential for the Sunday slate. It’s a bit of a headache for the casual fan, honestly. You basically need a spreadsheet just to figure out which remote to pick up. But the numbers don't lie—millions of people are making the jump to digital, and the league is following the money.
What Happens Next
The nfl first round playoffs are the filter. They weed out the "happy to be here" teams from the "ready to win it all" contenders. We are down to eight teams. The divisional round is where the quality of play usually peaks because you’ve got the rested giants meeting the battle-tested winners of Wild Card weekend.
Your Actionable Playoff Checklist:
- Audit your streaming subs: Ensure your Paramount+, Peacock, and Prime Video logins are active before Saturday’s kickoff.
- Watch the injury reports: Pay close attention to the 49ers' offensive line and the Bills' secondary; both units took major hits this weekend.
- Check the weather: We’re heading into late January. Denver and Chicago are the host cities for two of the biggest matchups, and the forecast is already looking "football-y" (read: freezing).
- Don't bet the house on the home team: If this past weekend taught us anything, it’s that the "road warrior" narrative is very real in 2026.
The road to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara is getting shorter. The Texans heading to Foxborough and the Rams going to Chicago are the two games I've got circled. If they're even half as good as the opening round, we're in for a hell of a ride.