Canal Street Chronicles
The 2026 NFL Playoffs continue with this weekend’s Divisional Round. Last week’s Wild Card round featured four amazingly close games and two mismatches. Hopefully the Divisional Round will find a way to continue to give us four entertaining games. Let’s take a look at all of the games this Divisional Playoff weekend!
Last week, I went 6-0
I told you so: 49ers over Eagles!
What do I know: Everything last week, apparently!
Saturday, January 17th – 3:30pm CST – CBS
Last weekend’s Wild Card game in Jacksonville gave us a classic Josh Allen performance, as the 2024 NFL MVP carried Buffalo to victory once again. With his path clear from Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and most importantly, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen carries the pressure of having the “easy” road to the Super Bowl in the AFC. Now, that “easy” road runs right through Denver, who not only fields a top-three defense in the NFL, but who has a severe advantage at head coach. Although Denver’s Bo Nix is nowhere close to the level Josh Allen plays at, Nix can, and will, depend on his coach and his defense to take the Broncos to their first AFC Championship Game in a decade. The wait continues for Josh Allen and the Bills. Denver wins 27-23.
Pick: Broncos
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Saturday, January 17th – 7:00pm CST – FOX
Seattle starts their playoff journey the way they ended their regular season two weeks ago, against San Francisco. Although it may be a tough task, Seattle is up to the challenge, as they field the NFL’s top-ranked defense, which held the Niners to just 3 points two weeks ago. Hot head coaching candidate, and current Seattle OC, Klint Kubiak’s offense will be led by Sam Darnold, looking for his first playoff win, but is suddenly dealing with an oblique injury at the absolute worst time. Speaking of injuries, the 49ers have been decimated with them all season, but losing All-Pro TE George Kittle to a brutal Achilles injury last week in the Wild Card round may be the toughest injury for the Niners yet. This one will be a coaching chess match, and the winner will be the coach that puts his pieces in the absolute best positions during the m most crucial moments in this tight contest. Like the Lions from a year ago, the Seahawks will be the next NFC top seed to fall at home in the Divisional Round. San Francisco wins 14-13.
Pick: 49ers
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Sunday, January 18th – 2:00pm CST – ESPN
No teams dominated Wild Card Weekend like New England and Houston, both led by their dominant defenses. Now, these defenses clash in what should be one of the hardest-hitting games in these playoffs. This game will ultimately be decided by which QB makes the...
