NFL playoff predictions: Rams take down streaking Jaguars in Super Bowl LX

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It all comes down to this. After 18 weeks of regular season action, just 14 teams remain standing and are about to embark on a mad dash that each franchise hopes will take them all the way to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX. Only two of these squads can make it to the big game and just one gets the right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy when it's all said and done.

We have our guesses as to how we think these playoffs will unfold, and I'm rolling out my predictions for every game through Super Bowl LX. What makes this postseason so fascinating is that it feels like the field is more wide open than it's been in quite some time, so we could see some of the craziness that unfolded throughout the regular season bleed into the postseason.

Without further ado, let's dive into the bracket prediction.

All NFL odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Wild Card Weekend

AFC bracket

No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 2 New England Patriots

Sunday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. ET (NBC)

You can nitpick the Patriots 14-3 record because there's no denying how easy their schedule has been this season. How easy? New England had the easiest strength of schedule of any team since 1999. For reference, Drake Maye was born in 2002. While that inflated their win total, that doesn't mean this team is entirely fool's gold. Maye is playing at an MVP level, the defense is getting healthier, and is led by one of the savviest head coaches in the league in Mike Vrabel. That last point is worth highlighting because we're in for a wonderful chess match between Vrabel and Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. The major question is Justin Herbert, who had four interceptions in his playoff loss last year. I don't think the turnovers will be that abundant, but I do think his shaky playoff history rears its head again, and the Patriots advance.

Projected score: Patriots 24, Chargers 21

No. 6 Buffalo Bills (-1.5) at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. ET (CBS, stream on Paramount+)

The Bills have to be kicking themselves to some degree, right? They were the biggest division favorite in the NFL coming into the season, but found themselves looking up to New England in the AFC East and now need to make a Super Bowl push on the road. That inability to secure a top seed stings even more given that the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson are non-factors this postseason. Why am I pointing all this out? Because it feels like Buffalo is going to let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers. We've seen Josh Allen do some incredible things on a football field, but one of the things we haven't seen him do is win a road playoff game. The Bills QB is 0-4 in his prior road playoff games, and now has to go up against a white-hot Jaguars team that went 7-1 at home this season and had the highest margin of victory (15.8) of any team in the league in their own building. Jacksonville pulls off the upset and continues to put the NFL on notice.

Projected score: Jaguars 30, Bills 24

No. 5 Houston Texans (-3) at No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers

Monday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN, stream on fubo)

I'm throwing out the 30 points the Texans allowed to the Riley Leonard-led Colts in Week 18 and chalking it up to them taking their foot off the gas for the sake of health. This is a lethal defense that can disrupt offenses at every level. While Pittsburgh will get DK Metcalf back for this game after serving his two-game suspension, I don't believe there's enough firepower coming out of Aaron Rodgers' unit to put enough of a dent in Houston to pull off the upset. Meanwhile, did you see how open some of the Ravens pass catchers were on Sunday night? Lamar Jackson's three passing touchdowns went for 38 yards, 50 yards, and 64 yards. C.J. Stroud is capable of doing similar damage, so this could get out of hand in a hurry. Once again, the Steelers are one-and-done.

Projected score: Texans 28, Steelers 20

NFC bracket

No. 7 Green Bay Packers (-1.5) at No. 2 Chicago Bears

Saturday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video)

I'm legitimately stunned that this will be just the third time that the Bears and Packers have squared off in the playoffs. These two have played 212 prior matchups, which makes this the most-played rivalry in NFL history. This season, both games came down to the wire with each team pulling out a late win. In Week 14, Green Bay picked off Caleb Williams in the end zone to clinch the win at Lambeau Field, and Chicago got their revenge with a thrilling comeback in Week 16, where Williams threw a game-winning 46-yard touchdown in overtime. If this rubber match follows in those footsteps, this could end up being the game of the weekend.

I think the two big X-factors in this game will be Green Bay's faltering defense and the fact that this game is set to be played at Soldier Field. The Packers defense has slipped over this current four-game losing streak and is a wildly different unit without Micah Parsons. Even with Parsons, Green Bay had issues on the road and allowed 24.1 points per game away from Lambeau Field this season. With this game being in Chicago, I think the defense proves to be Green Bay's demise.

Projected score: Bears 27, Packers 20

No. 6 San Francisco 49ers at No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles (-5.5)

Sunday, Jan. 11 at 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox, stream on fubo)

If both of these teams were healthy and firing on all cylinders, you could make a legit case for either of them to reach the Super Bowl. However, the 49ers aren't healthy, and I'm not entirely sold that Philly has fixed its offensive issues, which means we might be in for a rock fight. Of these two, I'm the least confident in San Francisco's ability to overcome their health problems. Defensively, they can't rush the passer effectively with Nick Bosa and just got gashed on the ground by the Seahawks, which highlights how much they miss Fred Warner. This could be a scenario where Saquon Barkley runs wild, sending Kyle Shanahan's club home early.

Projected score: Eagles 23, 49ers 20

No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (-10.5) at No. 4 Carolina Panthers

Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox, stream on fubo)

Maybe we're all suckers, and Panthers somehow force Matthew Stafford into three turnovers as they did back in their Week 13 upset. That said, I don't think lightning strikes twice, and I can't fathom Carolina, who essentially made the playoffs by default, advancing much further than this. They are just the seventh team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a losing record, and their -69 point differential is the third-worst by a division champion since 1970. Los Angeles should make light work of this opening round.

Projected score: Rams 30, Panthers 17

Divisional Round

AFC bracket

No. 5 Houston Texans at No. 1 Denver Broncos

(Game information TBD)

I don't know what to make of the Broncos. On the one hand, they have a great home-field advantage and a stellar defense, which should be the recipe for playoff success. That said, I still have trouble fully buying into this offense taking down elite competition, no matter where the game is held. They sort of play up or down to their competition, which included a Week 9 matchup against the Texans, where they narrowly escaped Houston with an 18-15 win, despite facing Davis Mills for the bulk of the contest, with C.J. Stroud getting injured. Houston has a defense that can stifle Bo Nix (limited him to 4.7 yards per attempt in that prior matchup), and Stroud has the talent to make the necessary plays against Denver's unit. After recording their first-ever road playoff win over Wild Card Weekend, Houston makes even more history by winning its first divisional round matchup in franchise history (0-5 all-time).

Projected score: Texans 24, Broncos 20

No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 2 New England Patriots

(Game information TBD)

It feels like Mike Vrabel is most likely going to win Coach of the Year, but it's Liam Coen who gets the last laugh as the last first-year head coach still standing in the AFC. This is where I see New England's remarkable turnaround of a season coming to a close. The Jaguars might have too much firepower on offense, which exposes a weakness with the Patriots. Jacksonville finished the season inside the top-10 in the league in red zone efficiency on offense, scoring on 61.7% of their trips. This season, New England's defense gave up touchdowns on an eye-popping 67.5% of trips, which ranked third-worst in the league. That number was even worse (78.2%) at Gillette Stadium. The Chargers didn't have the manpower to take advantage of that, but the Jags do and advance to the AFC Championship.

Projected score: Jaguars 30, Patriots 27

NFC bracket

No. 5 Los Angeles Rams at No. 1 Seattle Seahawks

(Game information TBD)

Yup, we're knocking off BOTH No. 1 seeds in the divisional round. Given how weird this season has gone, it just seems right. While Seattle certainly has the potential to go far, I think the Rams are a tough draw coming out of the first-round bye. The big question is going to be Sam Darnold, and it feels like Sean McVay may have his number. Of course, if we go back to last postseason, McVay's Rams tormented Darnold (who was with the Vikings), and his offense managed just nine points. This season, L.A. was able to take him down in Week 11, but then collapsed in Week 16 with a loss to Darnold's Seahawks in overtime. The common theme in all three of those matchups was turnovers. Darnold had at least one in each of those games. In total, Darnold has committed eight turnovers (seven interceptions and one fumble) in his last three games against the Rams. I think that continues and bounces Seattle out of the playoffs before its run could really begin.

Projected score: Rams 28, Seahawks 19

No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles at No. 2 Chicago Bears

(Game information TBD)

This is a rematch of the Black Friday showdown from Philadelphia, where the Bears absolutely bullied the Eagles en route to a 24-15 win. Chicago rushed for 281 yards and two touchdowns on a 6.0 yards per carry clip. Jalen Hurts also had two turnovers (an interception and a fumble) in the losing effort. While some may look at this as a clear-cut revenge spot for Philly, I think we're due for more of the same. The Week 18 loss to Detroit notwithstanding, Chicago has a little bit of that it-factor, where they seem to always make the right play at the right time. Meanwhile, the Eagles are a team where if it starts to go off the rails a little bit, the entire unit drops like a house of cards. Philadelphia's offensive issues come to roost, and the defending Super Bowl champions go down.

Projected score: Bears 26, Eagles 17

Championship Sunday

AFC bracket

No. 5 Houston Texans at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars

(Game information TBD)

All of those people who make fun of the AFC South will have to eat some crow in a few weeks when the division guarantees itself as the representative for the conference in Super Bowl LX, as the AFC Championship will be between the Texans and Jaguars. These division rivals split the season series, but haven't played one another since Week 10. That was when Davis Mills (filling in for the injured C.J. Stroud) pulled off a 19-point fourth-quarter comeback.

While that was one of the more memorable games of the season, these are two different teams at this stage of the season, particularly Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence flipped a switch down the stretch and has been arguably the best quarterback in the league. In his past six games to end the regular season, Lawrence has 19 total touchdowns and just one turnover. I expect that level of play to continue into the playoffs, especially with Liam Coen pulling the strings from the sideline. Over their eight game-winning streak, the Jaguars have outscored teams by 153 points, making them arguably the hottest team in the NFL entering the playoffs. Houston's defense could derail Lawrence and Co. a bit, but with this game being in Jacksonville, the Jaguars punch their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl.

Projected score: Jaguars 23, Texans 21

NFC bracket

No. 5 Los Angeles Rams at No. 2 Chicago Bears

(Game information TBD)

The narrative for this game will be a potential changing of the guard in the NFC, with Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson being the new wunderkinds on the block, with Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford as the old guard set to pass the baton. But hold your horses, everybody! This old dog in Stafford still has a few vintage performances up his sleeve. This NFC Championship looks an awful lot like Chicago's Week 17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that turned into a shootout with 80 points being tallied on the board. That plays perfectly into the hands of McVay and Stafford, who'll throw it all over the yard at Soldier Field as they advance to their second Super Bowl together.

Projected score: Rams 33, Bears 30

Super Bowl LX

Los Angeles Rams vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET in Santa Clara (NBC)

On the one hand, no one will be surprised if the Rams make it to this point as the NFC's representative in the Super Bowl. At DraftKings Sportsbook, they possess the second-highest odds to come out of the conference at +225 and have the second-best odds of winning Super Bowl LX at +425. The Jaguars, on the other hand, would be something out of left field. They are +550 to win the AFC, looking up at the Broncos (+230), Patriots (+380), and Bills (+500). Despite that, we have them overcoming and reaching the big game. But they fall just short.

Here, we lean to the team that has been there and done that, and that leads up to the Rams winning their second Super Bowl title of the Stafford era. Their combination of elite quarterback plays, skill position players, and sturdy defense gets them over the hump over a Jaguars team where the future remains bright, but just isn't their year.

Speaking of Stafford, who could accomplish a rare feat of winning NFL MVP and the Super Bowl, we'll also predict that this will be his John Elway/Peyton Manning moment, retiring as a two-time Super Bowl champion.

Projected score: Rams 27, Jaguars 21