Mile High Report
Welcome to the Divisional Round of the 2026 NFL Playoffs. Last week with my Wild Card Round picks, I guessed three right and three wrong. That’s not great at all, but at least it was an awesome and eventful slate of games. I’m hoping to do better this weekend. Let’s see how I fare with my Divisional Round picks.
Winner: Broncos
After a top-flight regular season campaign, the Broncos will square off against the Bills in the postseason for the second year in a row. This time they are hoping for a much different outcome. While Denver hopes to enjoy the perks of homefield advantage and loud and cheerful crowd, star quarterback Josh Allen will be a lot for them to handle. Allen will certainly be the ultimate x-factor in this game.
In last year’s matchup, the Bills throttled the Broncos. It wasn’t even close and a tough loss for Broncos Country to digest. Buffalo controlled the clock for over 40 minutes in last year’s Wild Card Round matchup. That’s something the Denver will need to avoid if they want to earn the honor of hosting the AFC Championship Game.
Like most every game the Broncos have played to date, I expect this one to be a hard-fought nailbiter. In the end, I think Denver finds a way to do enough on offense and defense to advance in the postseason. Let the Mile High Magic continue!
Winner: 49ers
Saturday Night Football sports an NFC West division rivalry game with the 49ers heading on the road to take on the Seahawks. It will be Brock Purdy going up against Sam Darnold to see who can lead their team to the NFC Championship game. Both these teams had impressive regular seasons in an ultra-competitive division. I think this is going to be a tremendous matchup.
Recent history can’t be predictive of what transpires on Saturday. However, it’s worth noting San Francisco has toppled Seattle seven of the past nine matchups. This season they split their games in two low scoring affairs. I have no doubts this will be a close game.
Kyle Shanahan has done a fantastic job coaching the 49ers this season. They have experienced a ton of significant injuries. Most recently, star tight end George Kittle last weekend. Even with all the injuries, I think the 49ers pull off an upset here and keep their season alive. They just seem to have a knack for overcoming adversity.
Winner: Texans
This is another exciting matchup with the Texans trekking to Foxborough to take on the Patriots. Second-year signal caller Drake Maye has been electric for the Patriots and helped revitalize their offense. What they accomplished as AFC East champs this year is praiseworthy.
Meanwhile, the Texans boast one of the league’s best defenses. They have been opportunistic forcing...
