NFL divisional round bold predictions: Travel-weary 49ers shock Seahawks, Josh Allen's playoff streak ends

Anything can happen in the 2025 postseason -- seriously, anything. These playoffs already have the most fourth-quarter lead changes (12) and the most game-winning touchdowns in the final three minutes in a single postseason in NFL history. That's through just one round of action!

The Los Angeles Rams' narrow 34-31 victory at the Carolina Panthers kicked off the action before the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears put on a historic showing. The Packers blowing an 18-point lead, 21-3, against the Bears in Chicago's 31-27 comeback win now stands as the largest comeback win in Chicago's playoff history and the largest collapse in the Packers' playoff history. The Buffalo Bills' 27-24 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars had four lead changes in the fourth quarter, which is tied for the most in a playoff game in NFL history.

What does that mean for the divisional round ahead this weekend? Anything could happen, so what could some of those surprising outcomes be? Here are five bold predictions for the 2025 divisional round. 

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

49ers upset No. 1 seed Seahawks

The No. 6 seed 49ers drew the short end of the stick when it came to their playoff scheduling. They had to fly across the country to face the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild card round on Sunday, and after their victory, they received a bittersweet reward: having to fly 3,000 miles back to play the rested No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks on a short week by playing on Saturday. 

Teams with a short week against a team coming off a bye are 5-10 in the playoffs since 2002 -- since divisional realignment. The last team to overcome this trend was the 2024 No. 6 seed Washington Commanders, who defeated the top-seeded Detroit Lions after facing this exact scenario a year ago. The Commanders traveled to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the opening round of the playoffs last season. 

Coach Kyle Shanahan's San Francisco 49ers have also pulled off this feat before, too. His sixth-seeded 49ers upset the then-No. 1 Green Bay Packers on the road in the divisional round back in 2021, with San Francisco coming off five days' rest and the Packers coming off a bye. 

The key for San Francisco will be speeding up Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold. In Darnold's playoff debut as a Minnesota Viking last season, he tied the NFL's single-game playoff record by taking nine sacks in an opening round defeat. Yes, the 49ers produced the fewest sacks in the NFL this regular season, 20, after losing All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa, first-round rookie edge rusher Mykel Williams and All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. However, the 49ers' defense will deliver a surprise performance, as their offense did in the win against Philadelphia. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson had 276 total receiving yards in the regular season, but he went off for 111 yards and a touchdown on six catches in the wild card round against the Eagles. 

That will make Shanahan the first head coach to reach multiple conference championship games as a No. 6 seed.

Broncos defense forces Bills QB Josh Allen into multiple turnovers 

Josh Allen, the 2024 NFL MVP, is on a postseason heater: he is the first quarterback in NFL playoff history without a turnover in six straight playoff starts. In that span, Allen has accounted for 16 total touchdowns and no turnovers. He's fresh off a three-total-touchdown, zero-turnover performance in Buffalo's wild-card win at the Jaguars. 

However, he'll commit multiple turnovers against the Broncos' defense on Saturday despite their low takeaway production. Even though Denver has the league's No. 3 scoring defense (18.3 points per game) and the most sacks in the NFL (68, tied for the fifth most of all time), the Broncos' defense generated 14 takeaways, which was tied for the fourth fewest in the league.  

Denver is also allowing the second-lowest completion percentage (57.8%) and yards per pass attempt (6.1) in the league this season, thanks to a secondary led by 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Pat Surtain II. That allows them to play man coverage at a high level, something Allen struggled against when he actually dropped back and threw the ball. Allen faced the third most man coverage this season, 33% of his dropbacks, and he tied for the NFL lead in interceptions vs. man coverage with five. The Broncos play man at the third-highest rate in the NFL this season (32%), and they are allowing the fifth-lowest yards per dropback (4.3) when in man coverage. 

Broncos Pro Bowl edge rusher Nik Bonitto, whose 14 sacks ranked as the fifth-most in the NFL this season, and Co. will speed up Allen and cause him to turn the ball over twice. Making him read the full field in man coverage while attempting to throw to his beat-up receiving core will lead to him putting the football in harm's way. 

RB James Cook outruns Broncos' No. 2 run defense for 100-yard game

The Bills were the NFL's No. 1 rushing offense thanks to having 2025 rushing champion running back James Cook (1,621 rushing yards) and 2025 quarterback rushing champion Josh Allen (579 rushing yards). 

However, Cook struggled against the Jaguars' No. 1 rushing defense in the Bills' wild card win with 46 yards rushing on 15 carries for 3.1 yards per carry. Cook's task doesn't get much easier in the divisional round, facing the NFL's No. 2 rushing defense (91.1 rushing yards per game) and No. 2 rushing efficiency (3.9 yards per game) defense. However, he'll be able to go off for over 100 yards with the Broncos' defense preoccupied with slowing down Josh Allen through the air. Allen shredded Denver in the wild card round a year ago, completing 20 of his 26 throws for 272 yards and two passing touchdowns. The Broncos' emphasis on Buffalo's passing game will open up opportunities for Cook in the run game. 

Drake Maye isn't sacked more than once vs. Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr. 

The Houston Texans lived up to their regular-season production in the opening round of the playoffs. In the 2025 regular season, they were the NFL's No. 2 scoring defense (17.4 points per game allowed) and the league's No. 1 total defense (277.2 total yards per game allowed) thanks to the best pass-rush tandem today: five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Danielle Hunter (15 sacks this season, the third most in the NFL) and two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. (12 sacks this season, tied for the eighth most in the NFL).  

They threw Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense into the torture chamber, leading to a 30-6 win on Monday, becoming the second team in NFL playoff history to score multiple defensive touchdowns and allow no touchdowns in a game. The other such team to accomplish the feat was the Chicago Bears in their 73-0 victory over Washington in the 1940 NFL Championship. 

That doesn't bode well for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. He absorbed five sacks in a 16-3 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. In rookie left tackle Will Campbell's second game back from a knee injury that sidelined him for four games late in the season, the fourth overall pick allowed just one sack and five quarterback pressures. Campbell will be even better with some more rust knocked off of him in the divisional round, which allows Maye to avoid being sacked multiple times against the ferocious Texans twosome of Hunter and Anderson. 

RB D'Andre Swift goes off for 180 yards from scrimmage vs. Rams

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift is having a career year under first-year head coach Ben Johnson: he's totaled a career-high 11 scrimmage touchdowns this season, including the playoffs. However, he's been struggling on the ground of late with fewer than 60 rushing yards in four consecutive games, the longest streak of the season. 

That streak will end in a big way on Sunday with Swift going off for 180 yards from scrimmage on Sunday, including at least 85 yards on the ground against the Rams. Chicago won the last meeting against Los Angeles 24-18 back in 2024 with Swift running wild for 165 yards from scrimmage (93 rushing and 72 receiving). He'll top that performance in the divisional round with 180 yards from scrimmage on Sunday, with Johnson featuring him as a safety valve against a ferocious Rams' pass rush.