NFL playoffs: Biggest storylines to watch, Super Bowl predictions and more

The NFL playoffs are here. The champion of the 2025 season will be crowned during a four-week sprint to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif. It begins with this weekend's Wild Card round featuring six games over three days.

The NFL playoffs are here.

The champion of the 2025 season will be crowned during a four-week sprint to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California. It begins with this weekend's wild-card round, featuring six games over three days.

Following a regular season when no dominant team emerged from either the AFC or the NFC, the championship race is wide open. The Kansas City Chiefs, who made five Super Bowls in the last six years, winning three times, did not even make the playoffs. Neither did the Detroit Lions, the NFC's top seed last season.

Meanwhile, last year's champion, the Philadelphia Eagles, earned the NFC's third seed and won its division for a second consecutive season, yet it has looked uninspiring for long stretches.

The regression of some of the league's title favorites opened the door for the Denver Broncos to grab the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015 — the last time they won the Super Bowl. In the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks enter as the top seed.