What a day. If you sat down to watch the Divisional Round expecting a normal afternoon of football, you probably ended up pacing across your living room by dinner. Saturday was essentially a fever dream for NFL fans. We saw an overtime thriller in the thin air of Denver and a total blowout in the rainy Pacific Northwest that basically nobody saw coming.
Honestly, the saturday nfl football scores from January 17, 2026, tell two completely different stories. One was a gritty, turnover-heavy battle that literally cost a team their starting quarterback for the rest of the year. The other was a statement win so loud it probably echoed all the way to Santa Clara.
Let's break down the madness.
The Mile High Heartbreaker: Broncos 33, Bills 30 (OT)
This game was wild. There is no other way to put it. The Denver Broncos are headed to the AFC Championship, but the cost was astronomical. Bo Nix, their second-year starter who has been the engine of this 15-3 season, is out. He broke his right ankle on the final series. It’s a brutal blow for a city that hasn’t felt this much playoff energy since the Peyton Manning era.
Denver won 33-30 in overtime, but for a while, it looked like they might run away with it early. They went into the locker room up 20-10 after a bizarre second-quarter touchdown by offensive lineman Frank Crum. Yeah, you read that right. A tackle-eligible play to a second-year pro from Wyoming.
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Josh Allen’s Rollercoaster Afternoon
Josh Allen is going to be seeing orange jerseys in his nightmares. He threw for three touchdowns, sure, but he also turned the ball over four times. Two picks, two fumbled snaps. It was uncharacteristic and yet strangely familiar for Bills fans who have watched this movie before.
The fourth quarter was pure chaos.
- 55 seconds left: Bo Nix hits Marvin Mims Jr. for a 26-yard score. Broncos lead 30-27.
- 5 seconds left: Former Broncos kicker (now a Bill) Matt Prater nails a 50-yarder to tie it.
- Overtime: Ja'Quan McMillian makes the play of his life, picking off Allen’s deep shot to Brandin Cooks.
That interception set up Wil Lutz for a 23-yard chip shot to win it. Denver is moving on, but they'll have to face either the Texans or the Patriots with Jarrett Stidham under center. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a team that just won 14 of its last 15 games at home.
The Seattle Statement: Seahawks 41, 49ers 6
If the Denver game was a cardiac event, the nightcap in Seattle was a funeral. The Seahawks didn't just beat the San Francisco 49ers; they dismantled them. A 41-6 scoreline in a playoff game between divisional rivals? That just doesn't happen.
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Seattle jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Kenneth Walker III was a human highlights reel. He finished with 116 rushing yards and three touchdowns, slicing through a 49ers defense that usually looks like a brick wall.
Why the 49ers Collapsed
San Francisco looked lost. Losing George Kittle to that Achilles injury earlier in the season clearly caught up to them here. Brock Purdy struggled to find any rhythm in the rain, and by the time Sam Darnold came in for relief in the fourth quarter, the game was long gone.
The Seahawks defense, led by a rowdy 12th Man at Lumen Field, forced a turnover in the third quarter that basically ended the contest. Every time San Francisco tried to put a drive together, they were met with a sack or a tackle for loss. Seattle is now riding a seven-game win streak into the NFC Championship. They look like the team to beat in the entire league right now.
Breaking Down the Saturday NFL Football Scores
When you look at the final numbers, the disparity in how these games were won is striking. Denver relied on a "bend but don't break" defense that capitalized on mistakes. Seattle relied on sheer, unadulterated physical dominance.
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| Matchup | Final Score | Top Performer | Key Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bills vs. Broncos | 30-33 (OT) | Bo Nix (279 yds, 3 TD) | Denver: 5 Takeaways |
| 49ers vs. Seahawks | 6-41 | Kenneth Walker III (116 yds, 3 TD) | Seattle: 17-0 1st Quarter lead |
The Broncos' win is bittersweet. Coach Sean Payton moved into a tie with legends like Bill Walsh and Bud Grant for 16th-most postseason wins, but he’s doing it now with a backup quarterback.
What This Means for Next Week
The dust hasn't even settled at Empower Field, but the implications are massive. Denver will host the AFC Championship on January 25th at 3 p.m. EST. If you're a betting person, keep an eye on that spread. With Stidham starting, the Broncos might actually be home underdogs despite being the No. 1 seed.
Meanwhile, Seattle is waiting to see if they’ll face the Rams or the Bears. Given how they played tonight, I'm not sure it matters. They are playing a brand of "bully ball" that is incredibly hard to stop in January weather.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
- Monitor the Denver QB Situation: Jarrett Stidham is 1-3 as a starter in his career. The offensive scheme will likely shift to a heavy dose of the run game to protect him.
- Seattle’s Momentum: The Seahawks have covered the spread in five of their last seven games. They are the hottest team in football.
- Josh Allen’s Future: Expect a lot of talk this week about Buffalo’s window closing. Six straight years of divisional or championship round exits is a heavy burden for that locker room.
If you're looking for more details on the Sunday matchups, keep an eye on the injury reports for the Texans and Patriots. The road to the Super Bowl just got a lot more complicated for the AFC, while the NFC seems to have a clear giant standing at the top of the mountain in Seattle.