In addition to our game previews below, be sure to keep an eye on our NFL injury report and the latest fantasy football news. For player usage updates and roster context, check out RotoWire's NFL depth charts, and don't miss the Weekly Projections to see how this week's matchups shape up.
SUNDAY
New England at Denver (+4.5), o/u 42.5 – Sunday, 3 p.m. EST
The Patriots utterly bamboozled C.J. Stroud last week in a 28-16 win, picking him off four times to book their tickets to the Super Bowl. Sorry, jumping the gun a bit there, but this really does line up for them to claim their first AFC title of the post-Brady/Belichick era. For one thing, New England has yet to lose a road game this season — their three losses (Week 1 vs. the Raiders, Week 3 vs. the Steelers and Week 15 vs. the Bills) all came at Gillette Stadium. For another, the Pats are the healthier team coming into Sunday, and not just at quarterback. They might have the advantage there even if Bo Nix were able to play, as Drake Maye's delivered a 12:3 TD:INT the last five games while completing 69.8 percent of his passes with a 9.2 YPA. He has also lost four fumbles during that stretch, though, and he's been sacked 10 times in two playoff games by the Chargers and Texans, two above-average pass rushes that still finished more than 20 sacks back of the Broncos during the regular season. If Denver has a hope of winning this one, that's the path to pulling it off.
Even with the league's best pass rush, the odds aren't in the Broncos' favor. Nix's broken ankle on the last real play of last week's OT win over the Bills in the divisional round casts a pall over Denver's prep, and while Sean Payton is saying all the right things about how ready Jarrett Stidham will be for this moment, the team's still going to be relying on a guy who hasn't thrown a pass in an NFL game since 2023 to get them to the Super Bowl. Stidham's got some revenge-game motivation too — he was a fourth-round pick of the Patriots in 2019 — but not only is he untested, he could be working with a third-string center, and Denver might be down two of its top three wideouts as well. There's a small chance J.K. Dobbins could come off IR for this one, giving Stidham another backfield option if the Broncos go with a full ball-control, ground-and-pound approach. Without Nik Bonitto, Patrick Surtain and company putting together a performance for the ages, though, this is likely going down as a big "what if" season for the franchise.
Key Info
NE injury report: C Garrett Bradbury (questionable, illness), EDGE Harold Landry (out, knee), LB Christian Elliss (questionable, hip), CB Carlton Davis (questionable, head)
DEN injury report: QB Bo Nix (out, ankle), RB J.K. Dobbins (IR, foot), WR Troy Franklin (questionable, hamstring), WR Pat Bryant (questionable, concussion), C Luke Wattenberg (IR, shoulder), C Alex Forsyth (questionable, ankle), S Brandon Jones (IR, pectoral)
Slight lean: WR DeMario Douglas (DEN 25th in DVOA vs. WR3)
Strong lean: WR Courtland Sutton (NE 31st in DVOA vs. WR1)
Slight fade: QB Drake Maye (DEN third in passing DVOA, t-fourth in passing TDs allowed)
Slight fade: WR Troy Franklin (NE second in receiving yards per game allowed to WR2s)
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NFL weather report: temperature in the high 10s, 1-10 percent chance of snow
The Scoop: Rhamondre Stevenson leads the NE backfield with 80 yards and a touchdown. Maye throws for 240 yards and two TDs, finding Douglas and Hunter Henry. Harvey leads the DEN backfield with 80 scrimmage yards and a score. Stidham throws for less than 200 yards and a touchdown to Sutton. Patriots 27-14
L.A. Rams (+2.5) at Seattle, o/u 46.5 – Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST
Another week, another narrow escape for the Rams. After barely getting by the Panthers in the wild-card round, Sean McVay's crew needed overtime to put away the Bears in the divisional round, though the game only went to OT in the first place because Caleb Williams is ridiculous. Matthew Stafford wasn't sharp, and in fact he's looked a bit worn down over the last month or so, failing to complete 60 percent of his passes in four of the last five games and posting a 12:4 TD:INT and 7.3 YPA during that stretch. Kyren Williams picked up some of the slack last week, scoring two rushing TDs, while the defense has come through with five takeaways in the two postseason wins. The Rams might be close to running on fumes, though. Since late November, their travel schedule has taken them from Carolina, to Arizona, to L.A., to Seattle, to Atlanta, back to L.A., back to Carolina, to Chicago and now back to Seattle. The Rams certainly have the talent to get through to the Super Bowl, if they can make one last push, and both games against Seattle in 2025 have been wars that could have gone either way.
The Seahawks may have established themselves as Super Bowl favorites in the eyes of the media with last week's dismantling of the 49ers, but the win came at a cost, as Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL. I'm also not sure how much of a conclusion you can draw from beating up on a roster held together by duct tape and chewing gum. The Niners were going to fall apart at some point; the Seahawks were just the lucky team standing across from them when it happened, and had the added advantage of San Francisco having been the last team they played before the bye to begin the playoffs. That's not to take away from the amazing season Mike Macdonald's squad has had. An elite defense paired with a good-enough offense that features one elite offensive talent in Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been a Super Bowl-winning formula before, but whether they advance may come down to whether Sam Darnold can finally solve Chris Shula's defensive scheme. In the two meetings with the Rams this season, Darnold has a 2:6 TD:INT, and the Seahawks really only avoided getting swept on one of the strangest plays of the year.
Key Info
LAR injury report: RT Rob Havenstein (IR, ankle), EDGE Byron Young (questionable, knee), CB Ahkello Witherspoon (IR, shoulder)
SEA injury report: QB Sam Darnold (questionable, oblique), RB Zach Charbonnet (IR, knee), WR Tory Horton (IR, shin), LT Charles Cross (questionable, foot)
Slight lean: TE Colby Parkinson / Terrance Ferguson / Tyler Higbee (SEA 28th in receptions per game allowed to TEs)
Slight lean: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (LAR 30th in receiving yards per game allowed to WR1s)
Strong fade: RB Kyren Williams (SEA first in rushing DVOA, third in rushing yards allowed to RBs, t-first in rushing TDs allowed to RBs, sixth in passing DVOA vs. RB)
Strong fade: WR Puka Nacua (SEA first in DVOA vs. WR1)
Slight fade: WR Cooper Kupp (LAR seventh in DVOA vs. WR2)
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NFL weather report: 50-60 percent chance of rain
Head-to-head record, last five-plus years including playoffs: 8-5 LAR, average score 22-19 LAR, average margin of victory seven points. The last five meetings, and seven of the last eight, have been decided by six points or fewer. The home team won both meetings this season, and the two games in the rivalry were decided by a combined three points.
The Scoop: Williams gets held to 60 yards, while Blake Corum scores a TD. Stafford throws for 260 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Davante Adams and Parkinson. Kenneth Walker churns out 90 yards and a score. Darnold throws for less than 200 yards and a TD to JSN, but another late pick ends up costing Seattle its season. Rams 24-23
Last week's record: 3-1, 2-2 ATS, 2-2 o/u
2025 postseason record: 8-2, 6-4 ATS, 5-5 o/u
2025 regular-season record: 173-98-1 (.638), 143-121-8 ATS (.542), 141-130-1 o/u (.520)
