If you’re frantically asking your phone to show me today's nfl scores, you probably caught the tail end of a heartbreaker or just woke up to a notification that looks like a typo. It wasn’t a typo. Saturday’s Divisional Round was absolute carnage.
We just watched the Denver Broncos end the Buffalo Bills' season in a game that felt like it lasted three days, followed by a Seattle Seahawks masterclass that turned a "rivalry" into a blowout.
The playoffs are supposed to be tight. They're supposed to be predictable grinds. Today? Today was just weird.
The Scores You Missed (and the Chaos Behind Them)
Let's look at the damage. The AFC and NFC matchups today weren't just games; they were franchise-altering moments.
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Denver Broncos 33, Buffalo Bills 30 (Overtime)
This was the heavy hitter. If you just saw the final score, you missed a game where Josh Allen was basically a one-man army who somehow still lost. He threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns, but those four turnovers? They were killers.
Denver won it on a 23-yard field goal by Wil Lutz in overtime. But the real story is Bo Nix. He led the Broncos to their first AFC Championship appearance in a decade, but at a massive cost. Coach Sean Payton confirmed after the game that Nix broke his ankle. He’s out for the season.
Seattle Seahawks 41, San Francisco 49ers 6
Honestly, "beatdown" doesn't even cover it. Seattle went up 17-0 in the first quarter and never looked back. Sam Darnold—yes, that Sam Darnold—was incredibly efficient, throwing for 124 yards and a touchdown before Drew Lock came in to finish the job.
San Francisco looked like they forgot there was a game scheduled. Six points? In a playoff game? That’s going to be a long flight back to the Bay Area.
Why Today’s NFL Scores Still Matter for the Bracket
The ripple effect here is huge. Usually, when you check the scores, you're just looking for who moves on. But the "how" matters more today.
- The Broncos are QB-less: They are heading to the AFC Championship Game, but they’ll be starting Jarrett Stidham. Think about that. A top seed playing for a trip to the Super Bowl with a backup who has barely seen the field this year.
- The Seahawks are the team to beat: They didn't just win; they embarrassed a divisional rival. With a home-field advantage at Lumen Field for the NFC Championship, they look like a runaway freight train.
- The Bills' "Window" conversation starts again: Josh Allen was in tears. He told reporters, "I feel like I let my teammates down." When you lose a game where you had the ball for 40 minutes and outgained the opponent by 100 yards, it stings differently.
Breaking Down the Stat Sheet
The box scores tell a crazy story of inefficiency and luck. Denver only had 70 rushing yards. Seventy! You aren't supposed to win playoff games with that little production on the ground. But they forced five takeaways.
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Buffalo's defense actually played okay, but they got flagged for two massive pass interference penalties in overtime. That basically handed Denver the game-winning field goal on a silver platter.
Seattle, meanwhile, had DeMarcus Lawrence living in the 49ers' backfield. They forced a turnover on downs early and just suffocated Brock Purdy and the Niners' offense. It was a defensive clinic that most people didn't see coming, especially not with a 35-point margin of victory.
What This Means for Tomorrow
If today was the appetizer, tomorrow is the main course. We have the Houston Texans visiting the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams taking on the Chicago Bears.
New England is favored, but after seeing Denver lose their starting QB while winning, the AFC feels wide open. Whoever wins that Texans-Pats game is going to look at a Nix-less Broncos team and think, "Why not us?"
The Bears vs. Rams game at Soldier Field is going to be a frozen battle. Chicago’s defense has been elite, but Matt Stafford in the playoffs is always a gamble you don't want to bet against.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Bet or Bracket
Stop looking at the seed numbers. They don't mean much right now.
- Watch the Injury Reports: If you're following the AFC, the news about Bo Nix changes the betting lines for the Championship game instantly. Denver is no longer a safe bet.
- Evaluate the "Blowout" Momentum: Seattle is playing with a level of confidence we haven't seen since the Legion of Boom days.
- Don't Sleep on the Underdogs: Buffalo was the higher-performing team in almost every metric except the one that mattered: turnovers.
The road to Super Bowl LX just got a lot more complicated. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just someone who needs to know the scores to survive the Monday morning water cooler talk, today was a reminder that in the NFL, "today's scores" are usually just the beginning of the drama.
Keep an eye on the official injury designations as they come out on Tuesday. That’s when we’ll see the true fallout of this Saturday slaughter.