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MMQB Staff Predictions for Playoffs and Super Bowl LX
Welcome, one and all, to the NFL playoffs. Eighteen teams are now home for the offseason while the 14 left will treat us to 13 more games with everything on the line. It’s been one of the most unpredictable seasons anyone can remember, but how much of that will carry over into the playoffs? Will some of the upstarts and underdogs and unheralded young quarterbacks push all the way through to Super Bowl LX? Or will the few remaining veterans and familiar faces forge their way to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8.
Here at the MMQB, we’ve just about wrapped up our coverage of the regular season, with our staff voting on season awards, report cards for the eliminated teams in the AFC and NFC, and much more. Now it’s time to put our prognosticators to the test and have our writers and editors fill out postseason brackets.
Our voters:
Albert Breer, senior NFL reporter
Conor Orr, senior writer
Gilberto Manzano, staff writer
Matt Verderame, staff writer
Greg Bishop, senior writer
Michael Rosenberg, senior writer
Andrew Brandt, business of football columnist
John Pluym, managing editor
Mitch Goldich, senior editor
Clare Brennan, associate editor
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Albert Breer
Super Bowl: Rams 38, Bills 35
MVP: Matthew Stafford
I’ll say this is the year I feel like I don’t really know anything. And to explain that, I’ll go back to October when I was vocal in saying the Chiefs and Ravens would be fine, and that this might not be as wide-open a race to Santa Clara as people thought it would be. I was wrong.
So now, I’ll try to plant my flag and be right—about my preseason pick. In September, I picked the Bills to beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. At midseason, I stuck with my prediction. And I’m going to ride that out. Only now … I’ll flip the winner, and have the Rams beating Buffalo. There’s logic to it, too. On the Buffalo side, I think we saw a different version of the Bills for most of November and December. They fell behind against the Buccaneers, Steelers, Bengals, and Patriots—and roared back to dominate the second half in winning those four games within a five-game stretch. They’ve gotten better at running the ball. They’ve gotten better on defense. They have arguably the best player on the planet as it stands right now. So in a wide-open AFC field, where I think the seeding will quickly look irrelevant, I’m going with the most established team that has the best quarterback.
On the NFC side, well, you can call this a hunch. Like the Bills, the Rams will almost certainly have to win three straight on the road. But they’re rugged up front on both sides of the ball, have a violent pair of running backs, can get to the quarterback, and have perhaps the NFL’s most varied and difficult-to-handle passing game with the ultimate field general at the trigger. The one issue they have to manage may be at corner—but on the path I have them going (beating the Panthers, Bears and Seahawks) that can at least be managed. And then give me the Rams in a shootout in Santa Clara. Either way, if the two make it that far, either this pick will be right, or my pre- and mid-season picks will be. Which would be a rarity.
Conor Orr
Super Bowl: Rams 44, Bills 37
MVP: Puka Nacua
This year, it’s all about me. Honestly, when a playoff bracket is as wide open as this one, I am going to simply manipulate the board in a way that delivers exactly what I want to see. I would like Josh Allen in the Super Bowl and I would like Sean McVay there, too. I would like the Rams and Seahawks to play one more time, and I would like the AFC to go through Mile High with a wintry mix of snow trickling down overhead—this, before all NFL stadiums are turned into hybrid Costcos.
I’m just being real about it. I can tell you that I like Green Bay over Chicago if Zach Tom is healthy enough to play, which it looks like he is, and that Green Bay’s running game will gain enough heft to run that offense at closer to full strength. I could try to excuse my pick of the Chargers over the Patriots, but the truth is I think it would make good theater and better set up my ideal AFC championship game matchup.
I could try to sound very smart by having my research department dig up some ridiculous stat like, the past 17 times a coach of Italian descent faced the 49ers on a cross-country road trip, the Italian coach won 76% of the time with an average EPA per play of 10.365. But instead, I would say that I like the idea of the Eagles winning and setting up an Eagles-Rams rematch en route to the Rams-Seahawks rematch I would also like to see.
And, finally, as we get to my MVP pick, I would like to see Puka Nacua recognized for the absolute force that he’s become. I’m not saying that it is independent of Matthew Stafford or that he’s more important than Stafford, merely that quarterbacks always get the award and I like watching Nacua play. And, again, this is about what I would like. Thanks for visiting my store.
Gilberto Manzano
Super Bowl: Texans 23, Eagles 20
MVP: Will Anderson Jr. MVP
Last month, I predicted that this postseason will be defined by the best defenses in the league. I’m sticking with that because I can’t get over how the Texans’ elite defense made Josh Allen look ordinary in Week 12. And we just saw the Seahawks’ dominant defense shut down the 49ers’ red-hot offense in a winner-take-all regular-season finale. There’s also the Eagles’ physical defense that’s loaded with playmakers in all three phases. And let’s not forget about the Broncos’ stout defense, led by Patrick Surtain II and Nik Bonitto.
I’m confident at least three of those defenses will make it to championship Sunday. I’ll give the Rams the edge over the Seahawks because they have Matthew Stafford, perhaps the league MVP, and a defense that’s capable of being dominant if the pass rushers are able to mask the issues in the back end.
However, L.A. is not the most complete team in the NFC. I’m still giving that title to the defending Super Bowl champions and I’m not too worried about Philadelphia’s inconsistent offense. This experienced team is capable of turning it on when it matters most, and Jalen Hurts thrives in the playoffs. Perhaps the Eagles will benefit from not giving Saquon Barkley a heavy workload in 2025 and saving his best for the playoffs. Barkley had 280 carries compared to last year’s 345.
In regards to the Texans, I’m going to overlook another inconsistent offense here, one with plenty of inexperienced players around C.J. Stroud, with rookies at the skill positions and even with first-year offensive play-caller Nick Caley. Houston can overcome that because of its special defense, the type of unit that could be remembered for years to come if it can hoist the Lombardi Trophy next month. Also, the Texans might not even face Allen or a much-improved Trevor Lawrence if my bracket comes to fruition. The Jaguars were one of the rare teams that had success against Houston’s defense this season. The Texans, however, could run into Drake Maye and the Patriots in the divisional round. Still, I’d rather side with this defense than a second-year quarterback participating in the postseason for the first time.
This should be a fun postseason with so many new faces, but Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. will prove why he should be regarded as a top-five overall player in the NFL.
Matt Verderame
Super Bowl: Rams 27, Patriots 24
MVP: Matthew Stafford MVP
Nobody is great this year, but there are some teams with fewer weaknesses than the others.
In the AFC, what’s not to like about the Patriots? They have a potential MVP quarterback in second-year man Drake Maye. They also have two excellent weapons in receiver Stefon Diggs and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson, along with a top-tier coaching staff led by Mike Vrabel. And I loved what they showed down the stretch. In their final two games, against the Jets and Dolphins, they won by a combined score of 83–20. That’s focusing on the task, which is not easy for young teams.
Meanwhile, give me the most talented team in football to figure it out in the NFC. The Rams have the other potential MVP quarterback in Matthew Stafford and get a pseudo-bye in the wild-card round against the Panthers, the only team in the postseason field without a winning record. There’s also a real chance Los Angeles will end up hosting a game, with the wild cards all being very realistic threats to win a game or two in the playoffs.
Finally, the Rams have been there before. Stafford and coach Sean McVay have rings for a reason. Los Angeles also has the best receiver combo in the playoffs, with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, a good offensive line and a nasty runner in Kyren Williams. Factor in a terrific front seven and defensive coordinator Chris Shula, who may get a head coaching job this offseason, and I like the Rams to win it all once again.
Greg Bishop
Super Bowl: Rams 27, Bills 18
MVP: Davante Adams
I’ve noted this before, how this exercise in prognosticating is primarily an exercise in arguments about nothing. It feels especially so this year. How to make sense of the AFC? You cannot. I picked the Bills because of Josh Allen. In tight games, in cold weather, do you like him? Or Bo Nix? Or Trevor Lawrence? The other obvious choice would be New England. The bet here is that the Patriots are a year away from winning the whole thing.
The NFC, for me, hinges on Davante Adams’s health. The wider football public seems to look at two late-season losses for the Rams. One came down to an epic two-point conversion by the Seahawks on a day L.A.’s offense gained more than 500 yards. The other was another close loss in which Matthew Stafford & Co. staged a massive comeback in Atlanta, without Adams for the second consecutive week. If the Rams have been resting Adams to allow him to reach something closer to full health, I like their chances against anybody. If he’s still banged up and just trying to see if he can play, then the Seahawks or the Eagles make more sense. I don’t think the Bears are seasoned enough this year. The 49ers are capable but their draw—and their offensive “performance” in Seattle—knocked them down a peg for me. I’m still unsure about Sam Darnold, too.
The best team, then, is the one that won a Super Bowl four years ago. The Rams must run the ball more effectively than they have in recent weeks. Getting Adams back should help with that. The Rams need to score more points as they amass such gaudy yardage totals. Adams should help with that, too. The Rams have an elite defense. They have elite play-callers on both sides of the ball. They’re deep. They’re balanced. And, if Adams is healthy, the only true weak point I see is their kicking unit. Which, even while typing that, cast doubt on this pick. See? Football isn’t as easy to understand as most think it is. Which makes this wide-open, no-favorites postseason as fascinating as any in recent memory.
Michael Rosenberg
Super Bowl: Rams 23, Texans 20
MVP: Matthew Stafford
At this time of year, it’s very easy to look out at the gray skies and snow-covered ground, and fall victim to SAD: Season Amnesia Disorder. As any therapist with three fantasy teams will tell you, Season Amnesia Disorder occurs in patients who forget everything they saw for the past four months, and assume the NFL’s playoff seedings reflect the relative strength of each team.
The difference between the No. 1 Seahawks and No. 5 Rams is that ridiculous backward-pass, fumble, defense-thought-the-play-was-dead two-point conversion in December. I would love to live in a world where the backward-pass, fumble, defense-thought-the-play-was-dead two-point conversion is a staple of a team’s playbook, but we do not.
The Broncos have one of the league’s nastiest defenses and a Super Bowl–winning coach, and they have been the presumptive No. 1 seed for a few weeks, so we have gotten used to the idea. But look under the hood: Of Denver’s 14 wins, 11 were by one score. The Broncos trailed the Jets and Giants in the fourth quarter. That’s hard to do! Eight of their wins came against quarterbacks who should not have been taking meaningful snaps in 2025: Chris Oladokun, Trey Lance, Marcus Mariota, Justin Fields, Davis Mills (who replaced an injured C.J. Stroud), Jake Browning and Geno Smith twice. They beat Cam Ward in his first NFL game and Jaxson Dart in his fourth. They trailed Green Bay until Micah Parsons got hurt.
It’s been a strange season. The quarterbacks of the two No. 1 seeds, Sam Darnold and Bo Nix, have combined to win zero career playoff games. The best player of this generation, Patrick Mahomes, missed the playoffs entirely. Last year’s Super Bowl MVP, Jalen Hurts, has put up basically the same numbers as Jacoby Brissett, even though Hurts is surrounded by more talent. I feel like I should trust Hurts and the Eagles this month, because they have done this before and they might have the league’s most talented roster. But I don’t.
I think the 49ers are playing well enough to win a couple of games, but ultimately they will miss Nick Bosa and (presumably) Fred Warner too much. The Bills are tempting because Mahomes can’t beat them this year, but I have a hard time trusting a team with a history of crunch-time failure and a defense that gives up 5.1 yards per carry.
Ultimately, I decided the two No. 5 seeds happen to be the two best teams—or at least, the two I am most comfortable picking.
Andrew Brandt
Super Bowl: Eagles 31, Broncos 17
MVP: Jalen Hurts
With a prediction that may cause most fans to roll their eyes, and even a few Eagles fans among them, I am once again predicting an Eagles Super Bowl victory. After correctly predicting that they would not only be in the Super Bowl a year ago but would rout the Chiefs, I am back picking them again despite some lackluster play in long stretches, especially by their offense. Although there is some bias baked in, as I know the organization well and consulted there years ago, this is not an emotional pick, as that would have been picking the Packers (although I do believe they will revert to their early-season form and reach the NFC championship game). My pick of the Eagles is a nod to a simple formula that, after all the analysis, prognostications and bloviating, one thing usually wins out: talent. The Eagles are stacked with talent, just as they were last year. They will be superior to every other team at the majority of the positions on the field.
In the AFC, there is truly no team that stands out to me, so I will pick the team with the easiest path to the Super Bowl, the Broncos, thinking they will win a couple of low-scoring games at home to advance. But like the Chiefs last year, they will be no match for the juggernaut Eagles, who will turn the talent switch on when they need it and repeat as champions.
John Pluym
Super Bowl: Rams 28, Jaguars 24
MVP: Matthew Stafford MVP
I was the only person in our staff preseason predictions to pick the Jaguars to win the NFC South. And I’m going to stick with the Jags throughout the AFC playoffs. I love how coach Liam Coen has gotten Trevor Lawrence to take his play to the next level, including performing like the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft. Plus, the Jaguars beat the Broncos, 34–20, at Mile High only a few weeks ago. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are as talented pass rushers as the Broncos have on their side of the ball, too. The AFC field is strong, but I trust Lawrence more than I do Bo Nix at this point. As far as the Bills go, too many fatal flaws on offense and defense will hurt Josh Allen’s chances of getting to a Super Bowl, even though he won’t have to deal with Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow.
In the NFC, it’s all about who’s hot right now, and I really like the Rams and Seahawks, who treated us to the best game of the season in Week 16 when Seattle overcame a 16-point, second-half deficit to pull out a 38–37 OT victory. The Seahawks are on a roll right now, with their defense playing lights out, including their Week 18 knockout of the 49ers. I know there are a few skeptics now that the Rams dropped two of their final three games. However, I think the Rams are too talented on both sides of the ball and will prevail in Seattle this time to advance to their second Super Bowl with Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford. Maybe Stafford won’t win the regular-season MVP after cooling off against the Seahawks and Falcons, but he’s still one of the top quarterbacks in football. Plus, he loves big moments. Remember Super Bowl LVI? The Rams will get it done again—350 miles from where they beat the Bengals in 2022.
Mitch Goldich
Super Bowl: Texans 20, Seahawks 17
MVP: Will Anderson Jr.
I have been saying for over a month now that I think the Texans are undervalued in the AFC, and they have remained so even as they’ve kept winning games. They have the best defense in the league. They have the longest winning streak in the league. They have more playoff experience than any of the AFC’s other real contenders except for the Bills, whom they beat in Week 12 as the team was rounding into form. In our MMQB season awards voting, Houston had three of the top six players in the DPOY race. I had been hoping for a while that I might be the only person picking them to win the AFC, but as people have joined me on the bandwagon I have still mentally prepared to take victory lap for being early to the party. It may seem strange to think about the Houston Texans coming out of the mighty AFC to play in their first Super Bowl, but it will feel natural in hindsight.
In the NFC, I know a lot of people will have a hard time advancing a Sam Darnold team through a series of playoff rounds in their brackets, but this is a vote of confidence for the strength of the team around him—including contributors on both sides of the ball. It’s been such a strange season, that resulted in such a wide-open playoff field, that it feels like a throwback for my Super Bowl pick to paint me as a “defense wins championships” guy after decades of everyone simplifying playoff predictions by picking the best quarterbacks (which, to be clear, has often been right!). I think the 49ers are just too beaten up. The Rams are probably the Seahawks’ biggest threat, but we know that matchup is a virtual toss-up and the Seahawks get to enjoy a week of rest first. The Eagles can beat anyone in the league on any day, but I don’t think they’ll do it four times in a row. I’ll stick with the team that is two home games away from the Super Bowl.
I am flexible. I am willing to change my opinions based on new information. But neither Houston nor Seattle has lost a game or given me any reason to budge since I said this five-plus weeks ago, so I’m letting it ride.
Look, just among friends, all I’m saying is to imagine yourself watching a Seahawks-Texans Super Bowl.
— Mitch Goldich 🐙 (@mitchgoldich) December 8, 2025
Clare Brennan
Super Bowl: Rams 34, Bills 31
MVP: Matthew Stafford MVP
Always go with the hot hand … unless generational talents like Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen are in the mix. Perhaps against my better judgment, I am favoring experience over momentum with my playoff predictions. The Bills and Rams are coasting, if not limping, into the postseason, while teams such as the Jaguars and Seahawks are red hot. But in the playoffs, the importance of quarterback play is amplified, and Stafford and Allen are capable of pulling off heroics under the brightest lights. This will be a taller order for Allen, with very few weapons around him, and his team facing off against what looks like a runaway train led by Trevor Lawrence in the wild-card round. He has the chips stacked against him, but it’s hard to rule out Allen—especially considering this could be his best shot at the Lombardi Trophy, with AFC rivals Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow out of the playoffs. The Broncos aren’t the most convincing No. 1 seed, either, with Bo Nix putting together a string of inconsistent performances this season. Without an apparent giant to slay, is the path clear enough for Allen to carry this wanting Buffalo side over the line?
For Stafford & Co., they will need to regain their rhythm on the fly. Los Angeles has looked less than convincing to end the regular season, losing two of its past three games. Some of that can be chalked up to injuries, and Sean McVay expects Davante Adams to return for the team’s wild-card matchup against the Panthers, which will certainly help matters. But even with key players returning, it’s not easy for a team to right the ship while under the pressure of the postseason. This is where Stafford’s experience and poise will be key. He and McVay have been here before. They’ve won a Super Bowl together and know what it takes to emerge victorious from the NFL postseason. The sheer talent on the Rams’ roster, combined with the team’s postseason know-how, should make them a scary playoff proposition. And—while vibes-based predictions are ill-advised—it just feels like Stafford’s year (again).
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