With the recent departure of Mike Tomlin from the Pittsburgh Steelers, nine NFL franchises are now searching for a new head coach ahead of the 2026 season. Each opening presents a unique mix of strengths and challenges, but as first-year head coaches like Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson and Liam Coen have shown this season, the right hire can accelerate a turnaround quickly.

It's crunch time in the quest to win a Super Bowl. These three players need to be better in the divisional round for their teams to advance.

Max Chadwick provides one rookie who can be his team's X-factor during the NFL playoffs.

Wild Card Weekend delivered a wide range of quarterback performances that shaped the outcome of playoff games. Rather than focusing on a single box-score outcome, this breakdown examines the best quarterbacks from the opening playoff round across several key categories, highlighting how passers impacted games and separated themselves when the stakes were highest.

The Los Angeles Rams travel to Chicago, Ill., to face the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Jan. 18, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

The Houston Texans travel to Foxborough, Mass., to face the New England Patriots on Sunday, Jan. 18, with kickoff set for 3:00 pm ET on ESPN.

The San Francisco 49ers travel to face the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Wash., on Saturday, Jan. 17, with kickoff set for 8:00 pm ET on FOX.

The Buffalo Bills travel to face the Denver Broncos in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, Jan. 17, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. EST on CBS.

Players like Drake Maye, Parker Washington and Byron Young made major strides during the 2025 NFL season.

Tomlin reached the playoffs in 12 of his 19 seasons in Pittsburgh, but his recent winless streak — and struggles on both sides of the ball — spelled an end.

Undrafted free agents have a long road to NFL snaps, but these 10 players made the most of their workloads during the 2025 regular season.

Josh Allen powered the Bills to a road win with one of his best performances of the season, earning a PFF grade (94.0) while producing three touchdowns, an 8.6% big-time throw rate and zero turnover-worthy plays. Meanwhile, Colston Loveland delivered the best game of his young career for Chicago, hauling in eight receptions on 15 targets for 137 yards and earning a career-high PFF receiving grade (90.1).

The former No. 1 overall pick earned a 77.3 PFF grade, the second-highest among all quarterbacks on Wild Card Weekend. He showcased his full arsenal with six big-time throws, tied for the most by any quarterback in a single game this season.

The Houston Texans enter the divisional round with a 15.7% chance to win the Super Bowl and are projected to reach the game 27% of the time. Seattle also remains firmly in the mix among the eight remaining teams, with its probability profile reflecting a viable path to a deep playoff run.

We break down the advanced metrics after every game of the wild-card slate, giving an in-depth look at the numbers behind every contest.

Based on both the 2025 NFL regular season and wild-card round, below is one schematic key to follow in the four upcoming divisional round showdowns.

PFF grades every player on every play, and these are the top rookies from the wild-card round.

Jim Wyman breaks down the most important player for every team in the divisional playoff round.