{"id":2913,"date":"2026-01-17T16:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T08:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/17\/allen-argues-it-more-drama-in-chicago-nfl-playoff-predictions\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T17:39:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T09:39:25","slug":"allen-argues-it-more-drama-in-chicago-nfl-playoff-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/17\/allen-argues-it-more-drama-in-chicago-nfl-playoff-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Allen argues it &#038; more drama in Chicago &#8211; NFL playoff predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>We&#8217;re approaching Super Bowl 60 with four Divisional Round games to come &#8211; and if this bill delivers anything like the drama from Wildcard Weekend, it&#8217;s going to be quite the treat.<\/p>\n<p>The battle for the Lombardi Trophy is as wide open as it has been in years, and no one will be surprised by the eight remaining sides who will go on to taste glory in Santa Clara next month.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>But who will emerge victorious this weekend as the first number enters the fray?<\/p>\n<p>We have our own panel of experts trying to pick the winners, including Radio 5 Live&#8217;s Rob Staton, BBC Sport reporter Paul Higham and our special guest, former NFL coach Phil McGeoghan.<\/p>\n<p>You can also pick the winners below.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li\/>\n<li\/><\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Divisional Round schedule<\/h2>\n<p><em>All times GMT and AFC\/NFC seeds in brackets<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturday, 17 January<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"\">\n<p>Buffalo Bills (6) @ Denver Broncos (1) &#8211; 21:30<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"\">\n<p>San Francisco 49ers (6) @ Seattle Seahawks (1) &#8211; 01:00 (Sunday)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sunday, 18 January<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"\">\n<p>Houston Texans (5) @ New England Patriots (2) &#8211; 20:00<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"\">\n<p>Los Angeles Rams (5) @ Chicago Bears (2) &#8211; 23:30<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncos<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Rob Staton: Bills<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I just had a feeling that Josh Allen might win his team again. This is his biggest chance this season so can he take it?<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><strong>Phil McGeoghan: Broncos<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My wife is from Buffalo and we met when I was coaching the Buffalo Bills, but I&#8217;ve spent most of my career in Bronco land. So I won&#8217;t say it out loud. He just got shot, but the one we want in this house (Broncos), but that&#8217;s under the house. So I&#8217;m underground Phil. I can&#8217;t wait to see what happens, but I&#8217;ll be doing well underground, enjoying as much peace as possible for the Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mike White: Broncos<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The way this season has unfolded it seems the door has been left open on the AFC side for Josh Allen and the Bills to finally end their wait for not only a return to the big game but also their first Lombardi success.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>However, I find it hard to look past the Broncos who did well in the bye week, had an outstanding defense, know how to win games in comeback mode and were forgotten in the Buffalo way &#8211; especially in the wide receiver area. I&#8217;ll take Denver to advance but ultimately by three points or less.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Higham: Broncos<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Denver won the last Super Bowl at Levi&#8217;s Stadium (site of Super Bowl 60 next month) ten years ago, and it was their last playoff win &#8211; and it&#8217;s the only stadium in the league where Josh Allen has yet to play, so there&#8217;s a glimmer of a future for both sides.<\/p>\n<p>Allen got his first playoff win last week, Buffalo&#8217;s first since 1993, but he got beat in Jacksonville, he has a lot of receivers, and if James Cook goes up against Denver&#8217;s defense again, even Superman himself might have too much to overcome on his own.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>And ironically it may be Bo Nix&#8217;s legs that do the most damage, as Buffalo has given up the most yards per carry to opposing quarterbacks this season. It will be close, but Denver went 11-2 in one-point games this season.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading\">San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<p>Sam Darnold and Brock Purdy will renew their rivalry in Seattle [Getty Images]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Rob Staton: Seahawks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You have to give Kyle Shanahan and his team a ton of credit for what they accomplished during the injury crisis, but in reality this could be a very long game.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mike White: Seahawks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This feels like a long game for the Niners against a highly skilled Seattle that boasts a stout defense while San Fran is battered, injured and without big-name, big-play players like George Kittle, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Sam Darnold is injured this season but is expected to play. In the past, that would have been a boost for any of Seattle&#8217;s opponents, but post-New York Jets Darnold is a different proposition and the former 49ers&#8217; one-time backup will lead them to the NFC title game. Seahawks by 10.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Phil McGeoghan: Niners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a very interesting game. The 49ers were decimated by injuries, but the best predictor of future events is past events. They have found a way to overcome injuries for a long time so that means the culture has taken over and the culture of winning. You don&#8217;t forget to win.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Higham: Seahawks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sam Darnold led the league in turnovers and is injured, so Seattle will hope to win this one with their better game, which has averaged 140 yards a game in the last eight weeks, against San Francisco&#8217;s ailing defense in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The pass rush is another deciding factor &#8211; the Niners rank last in sacks and second in quarterback pressure as their pass rush unit is essentially injured. Seattle, on the other hand, is getting consistent pressure and has dominated the past two weeks increasing their blitz rate.<\/p>\n<p>Throw in the famous Seahawks 12s and the flight back across the country for the 49ers from Philadelphia in a short week and there&#8217;s a lot in favor of the home team.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Houston Texans @ New England Patriots<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img alt=\"The Houston Texans defense before the game\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/0Hr4IPK.hMrTESC_zlFbNg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/b511c9a2c7f64c79529fe23889d62ab2\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<p>Can the Houston Texans defense be good enough to win the Super Bowl? [Getty Images]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Rob Staton: Patriots<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Texans defense is legit and can win them any game, but the movement and play of Drake Maye is a perfect counter. Pats do it.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><strong>Phil McGeoghan: Patriots<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Texans have changed plays, broken plays, so you have to have a Houston Texans defense. They will ruin your weekend. In my mind, though, just looking at the way Drake Maye is playing at this point and the way they&#8217;re moving, I think the Patriots, right?<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m from Boston. So I guess if I come home and I don&#8217;t say the Patriots, I might be in &#8216;port&#8217; or something. So I&#8217;m going to say I think it&#8217;s going to be the Patriots.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mike White: Patriots<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This may have been more intense at several points in the game. The Patriots offense paired with that stout Texans defense sounds like a game to watch. And since CJ Stroud may be without his best receiving option in Nico Collins (concussion), Houston&#8217;s chances just get slimmer.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Mike Vrabel is already a solid coach of the season candidate, and returning the Patriots to their familiar spot in the AFC Championship game will only enhance those credentials. The Pats took it by thumbs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Higham: Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Houston&#8217;s first win of the playoffs last week made a statement against this formidable defense, but the Pats have won a league-leading eight straight games.<\/p>\n<p>Drake Maye&#8217;s departure could slow Houston down, but I don&#8217;t see him doing enough to stop them for the rest of the game. As long as CJ Stroud cleans things up and doesn&#8217;t make five more mistakes, I&#8217;m rooting for the Texans to make their first AFC Championship game.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Los Angeles Rams @ Chicago Bears<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img alt=\"Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams blows a hug from the fans\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/eM6nLT2KEBn7ieti8iSSqA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/dec8a6ed365de0e7419f2bc3cfc2f6e7\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<p>Matthew Stafford is the only quarterback left in the playoffs to ever go to the Super Bowl [Getty Images]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Rob Staton: Bears<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is little magic about the Bears right now and the Rams haven&#8217;t played their best football in the last few weeks. Soldier Field will be rocking and I think Chicago wins the NFC Championship.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mike White: Rams<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The renaissance of the Chicago Bears has been amazing and Ben Johnson deserves a ton of credit for it. As did Caleb Williams who defied many critics of the rookie season in his sophomore year.<\/p>\n<p>That said, this is a Rams team that many have taken the crown for weeks and for no good reason. Whether it&#8217;s the offensive majesty of Sean McVay, the experience and MVP qualities of Matthew Stafford or the magical hands of Puka Nacua, they have all the ingredients for another Super Bowl run. The predicted Arctic conditions may be to some degree but take the Rams by four.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><strong>Phil McGeoghan: Rams<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m such a fan of Sean McVay. His mind, his way of working, his game plans, and his sense of humor. His willingness to open up. All these things are important in football.<\/p>\n<p>Because of his personality and the way he plays with the players, he loves his boys. It&#8217;s not like Davante Adams isn&#8217;t one of the best to ever do it. He doesn&#8217;t pretend he&#8217;s not afraid of Matthew Stafford when he makes one of his flashy plays. Those things really create culture.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why they&#8217;ve won Super Bowls, that&#8217;s why people don&#8217;t leave there unless they get promoted and get better jobs, because McVay is a very good man and he&#8217;s got a smart, smart offensive mind so I&#8217;m picking Sean McVay and the Rams for those reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Higham: Bears<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Only four quarterbacks have thrown for 140-plus yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a playoff win in the past 20 years \u2014 and two of them collided at Soldier Field.<\/p>\n<p>So this can truly be decided by whether Matthew Stafford or Caleb Williams, who have combined for 29 fourth-quarter touchdowns this season, have the ball after both had thrilling wins last week.<\/p>\n<p>Williams has been doing it all season, and watching last week even when they were well behind it seemed inevitable that the Bears would come roaring back to win. It just gives you a funny feeling that they have something special going on in the Windy City.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Divisional Round predictions: Make your picks<\/h2>\n<p>Pick your winners from the four Divisional Round games below&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li\/>\n<li\/><\/ul>\n<p><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?s=598314&amp;p=sport.american-football.articles.cj9rwz0p83po.page&amp;x1=%5Burn%3Abbc%3Aoptimo%3Aasset%3Acj9rwz0p83po%5D&amp;x4=%5Ben-gb%5D&amp;x5=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fsport%2Famerican-football%2Farticles%2Fcj9rwz0p83po%5D&amp;x7=%5Barticle%5D&amp;x8=%5Bsynd_nojs_ISAPI%5D&amp;x9=%5BAllen+up+against+it+%26+more+drama+in+Chicago+-+NFL+play-off+predictions%5D&amp;x11=%5B2026-01-17T07%3A16%3A55.798Z%5D&amp;x12=%5B2026-01-17T07%3A16%3A55.798Z%5D&amp;x19=%5Byahoo.north.america%5D\"\/><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re approaching Super Bowl 60 with four Divisional Round games to come &#8211; and if this bill delivers anything like the drama from Wildcard Weekend, it&#8217;s going to be quite the treat. The battle for the Lombardi Trophy is as wide open as it has been in years, and no one will be surprised by &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2913"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2915,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2913\/revisions\/2915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}