NFL Play-offs shocks! - (2026)

Updated: 25/02/2026

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Here's every Wild Card Weekend touchdown, courtesy of NFL.com

Postseason began spectacularly, as Wild Card Weekend produced its share of shocks. In this tumultuous NFL season that’s been so difficult to second-guess no-one was surely the slightest bit surprised! The graphic above indicates the next stage, the Divisional Round, as teams try to navigate their way to eventual Super Bowl glory.

As for the AFC Wild Card matches – the Colts are on a bit of a roll but in truth the Texans never turned up. An early burst of scoring settled any nerves nicely, and Indy never relinquished their grip, winning 21-7.

Houston found desperately little on offense, and we now have the fascinating prospect of a team with perhaps the most potent offense in football, Kansas City, entertaining the Colts, who have shown themselves to be highly competent on both sides of the ball – and their zone defense was extra special at weekend.

The other AFC clash saw a tight contest in Baltimore that went the way of visitors Los Angeles Chargers, 23-17. The main talking point during and certainly in the aftermath of the Ravens’ disappointing defeat was Joe Flacco. The experienced Ravens’ QB sat on the bench watching young Lamar Jackson endure a seven-sack nightmare that was only partially relieved with 2 fourth-quarter TD’s that gave Baltimore a glimmer.

Flacco is the past, Jackson is the future, was the gist of coach Harbaugh’s response to calls asking why a Super Bowl MVP was sitting it out while a young rookie was finding the occasion perhaps a little too daunting.

Jackson fumbled in midfield with just 19 seconds remaining to end Baltimore's involvement in the postseason process, and for LA their reward is a trip next weekend to New England. Their Tom Brady-led offense is certain to pose many more problems than Baltimore’s did.

In the NFC, Dallas and Seattle fought out a thriller in Arlington that went the way of the Cowboys, narrowly, 24-22. Could have gone either way, and Dallas now head to LA, Todd Gurley, and the waiting Rams. Good luck with that one.

The final wild card match-up featured absolute heartbreak at Soldier Field, with a last-gasp 43-yard field goal that would have taken Chicago past Philadelphia agonisingly missed. Veteran Cody Parkey struck his kick against first the post, then the crossbar, before it bounced the wrong side of the uprights for Bears’ fans, who loudly booed the hapless kicker.

Here's all that last-gasp kick drama, courtesy of NFL.com

The match had appeared in reasonable, low-scoring Bears' safekeeping for long periods, and it’s frankly a major shock that the NFC North champions are out already. One-and-done wasn’t how the Chicago faithful envisaged this first tilt at postseason for many years ending.

For Philly, the legend of St Nick Foles continues to grow. He must now find a way past New Orleans in the remaining Divisional match at the Superdome, where the Saints have been chalked up early doors at -8.5. Mission Impossible it may not be – but it’s up there!

We’ll have a look at the Divisional Round in more detail later in the week. For now, only one of 8 remaining teams can eventually be Super Bowl 53 champions. Who that might be is a very interesting conundrum to attempt to solve at this stage.

The outright Super Bowl betting is led by New Orleans @ 5/2; then Kansas City and LA Rams, both @ 4/1; New England 6/1, LA Chargers 8/1, Colts 14’s, Eagles 16’s and 20/1 the Cowboys – all quoted.

Divisional matches, Conference and Super Bowl betting, with Betfred

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