The regular National Football League (NFL) season ended Sunday, January 4, 2026, and the playoffs began this Saturday, January 10, 2026.
According to the NFL, the first playoff weekend had the Los Angeles Rams play the Carolina Panthers, with the Rams taking the game 34-31, and the Green Bay Packers falling to the Chicago Bears 31-27. Both of these games occurred on Saturday, January 10.
Then on Sunday, January 11, the Buffalo Bills played in a tight-fought game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the end, the Bills beat the Jaguars 27-24.
“
I think the Bills are doing great! I think they are going to win their divisional round this Saturday. I hope, and I pray. The Chiefs are not in their way this year and Josh Allen is doing great!
— Villeroy Favour Nsanyui
.sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 { display: flex; float: left; margin: 30px 30px 30px 0; width: 50%; border-color: #870505; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; } .sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 p.quotespeaker { } .sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 .pullquotepic { width: 33%; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-story-body .sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 p.pullquotetext { font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 .largequote { color: #888888; } .sno-pullquote-6968222df0863 .quotebody { width: unset; }The evening game was a tough loss for many people in Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Eagles fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 23-19. Finally, the night game had the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3.
The final game of the first week was held on Monday, January 12, with the Texas Texans beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 in a devastating end for the Steelers.
“We struggled a lot defensively, which we haven’t for the past couple of seasons, but we made it to the playoffs, at least, which was something. It was a rough ending, and it was even more surprising that our head coach stepped down,” says Sophie Best, ‘26.
The Denver Broncos took the first spot in the American Football Conference (AFC), and the Seattle Seahawks took the number one spot in the National Football Conference (NFC). They had a bye week and do not have to play until the bracket is narrowed down.
The playoffs will continue on Saturday, January 17, 2026. Stay tuned for more on the postseason.