Let's imagine one way the season could play out: Lions, Chargers to the Super Bowl? — SkimNews
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- Detroit Lions advanced to the Super Bowl by edging the Los Angeles Rams 20-17 in the NFC Championship, with Aidan Hutchinson (named Defensive Player of the Year) wrecking the Rams' offensive line and Jared Goff hooking up with Amon-Ra St. Brown for two touchdowns.
- Los Angeles Chargers punched their Super Bowl ticket with a 10-7 road upset of the top-seeded Bills in the AFC Championship, as Josh Allen committed two fumbles and an interception that Tarheeb Still picked off.
- Buffalo Bills earned the AFC's No. 1 seed at 12-5 — edging the Chiefs via head-to-head tiebreaker after a 31-30 Week 12 win over Kansas City — but scored only seven points in the AFC title game, losing at home for another January heartbreak.
- Dallas Cowboys won the NFC East at a mediocre 9-8 (tied with Philadelphia, whom they beat via tiebreaker) and hosted a wild-card game as the worst-record division winner, upsetting defending champion Seattle 31-19 behind two Dak Prescott touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb before falling 27-20 to the Lions.
- Kansas City Chiefs reclaimed the AFC West at 12-5 in a wire-to-wire performance — with Patrick Mahomes back to top-five QBR and Rashee Rice enjoying his first fully healthy season — but lost 27-24 at home to the Chargers in the divisional round.
- Chicago Bears and Houston Texans both finished 6-11 despite preseason hype: Houston went 6-3 before an eight-game losing streak triggered by a resurgent Patriots-style C.J. Stroud swoon and a collapsing defense, while Caleb Williams' accuracy issues persisted in Year 2 under Ben Johnson.
- New York Jets earned the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL draft at 2-15, giving them three first-round selections to choose from a deep QB class that includes Arch Manning, Dante Moore, CJ Carr, Darian Mensah, Drew Mestemaker, and Trinidad Chambliss.
Why it matters: In this simulation, both No. 1 seeds — the Bills and 49ers — lost their conference championship games, and the Cowboys hosted a playoff game at 9-8 as the worst-record division winner. The model offers Lions and Chargers fans a Super Bowl path while delivering another postseason collapse for Buffalo and a second straight NFC title-game exit for the Rams' star-laden roster.
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