There are now just three weekends of NFL football between now and the first week of September. While that is undeniably sad, let’s focus on the fact that there were six excellent games in the Wild Card Round, and with the seemingly eight best teams still in it, this weekend should feature some incredible games as well. So, let’s dive right into the ClutchPoints 2025 NFL Divisional Round picks, predictions, and odds. column.
As the final eight teams play on, we say goodbye to the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. And we tip our caps to four of those teams (sorry, Chargers and Steelers) who put up an incredible fight.
This weekend, we welcome the first-place Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks to the NFL playoffs with tough matchups against the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. We also look forward to the Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots game, which should be an intense defensive battle, and the Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears game, which is destined to come down to the late fourth quarter.
With no truly great teams this season, the Lombardi Trophy is fully up for grabs in a way we haven’t felt for a long time. That means great games, drama, and two days of intense NFL action.
The NFL Divisional Round schedule brings us two Saturday games at 4:30 pm (Bills at Broncos) and 8:00 pm ET (49ers at Seahawks), two Sunday games with 3:00 pm (Texans at Patriots) and 6:30 pm (Rams at Bears) kicks.
The NFL Playoffs are where the best go to shine, and that’s exactly what we did last week. We went a spotless 6-0 against the spread and 5-1 straight up, with only the Eagles letting us down to win. That helps our overall season record and puts us on track for a perfect postseason. Through 19 weeks of picks, we are now 170-108 when just picking winners and 131-141-6 ATS.
Previous weeks: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13| Week 14| Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17| Week 18 | Wild Card
So, with that, let’s get right into the NFL Divisional Round picks, predictions, and odds.
Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the NFL odds.
Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos (-1.5)
This is the only line that has moved since the beginning of the week, and if you like the Bills in this situation, you probably want to wait as long as possible to get your bet in. If this line moves like last week, it could jump to as big as Broncos by -3 or -3.5 just like it did with the Jaguars as the late money pours in.
That late money means the sharps were all over the Jags, which makes sense as the records, home field advantage, and all the underlying numbers and analytics favored Jacksonville. The only problem was that all these professional bettors discounted one thing: Josh Allen.
Allen was beaten, battered, and bruised by the excellent Jaguars defense, but was undeterred. In the biggest moments, this football game came down to the two most important people on the field, Allen and Trevor Lawrence.
When the chips were down, Allen delivered (with a little help from O’Cyrus Torrence, who carried the QB 10 yards on a tush push), and Lawrence did not. It was the most predictable thing ever, if you accept the premise that the Bills QB is the greatest football player on the planet right now…
Which brings us to Saturday, when the Bills take on a Broncos team in Mile High Stadium against the squad with the best record in the AFC. Once again, the Broncos’ record is better, their defense is better, and they have an even bigger home-field advantage than the Jags.
However, when placing your bet for Saturday, ask yourself this. As the game winds down, are you comfortable with placing your hopes (and hard-earned money) on Bo Nix to take you home? Or do you want the best football player on the planet in your corner?
The NFL Divisional Round picks, predictions, and odds. column will take the latter.
Pick: Bills 33-30
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (-7)
We could end the NFC’s side of the 2025 NFL season with back-to-back trilogies if the Rams can get out of the Bears game alive. We’ll get into that soon enough, but first let’s talk 49ers-Seahawks III.
This matchup opened these teams’ season, with the 49ers stealing a 17-13 win at home in Week 1. It also closed the regular season as the Seahawks took their rivals down 13-3 in Week 18. Now, the third installment will officially end one of these teams’ campaigns as well.
The game two weeks ago should be informative, as both teams were going all out to win because the victor got the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the all-important bye. That week off was crucial, too, as the Seahawks got rested and healthier while the 49ers sadly lost superstar tight end George Kittle to a torn Achilles last Sunday.
San Francisco’s injuries have compounded all season, and while they will have offensive tackle Trent Williams and maybe even wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, not having Kittle is terrible. He now joins linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa as 49ers stars who will miss this crucial matchup.
On the Seahawks' side, we once again look to an incredible defense and home-field advantage as two aspects that back the favorite on Sunday. The only real issue here is the heretofore horrific history of Sam Darnold in big games.
If you are a regular reader of the NFL Divisional Round picks, predictions, and odds. column, though, you will know that—starting in Week 16 against the Rams—we’ve jumped on the Darnold bandwagon and now believe he can get the job done no matter the stakes. So, while we'll take the Seahawks, this is still a divisional game, and you know are feelings on that. This will be loser than a touchdown score.
Pick: Seahawks 20-17
Houston Texans at New England Patriots (-3)
With an over/under of 40.5, you know this game is going to be a defensive slugfest. The Texans' defense is the best in the league, and what they did to Aaron Rodgers in what could have been his last NFL game is downright mean.
Not to be outdone, the Patriots' defense confused the Chargers' offensive line so badly and hit Justin Herbert so hard that Jim Harbaugh should have called “no mas” and stopped the fight.
If the Texans have any hope in this game, C.J. Stroud will have to play much (much, much) better than he did against the Steelers. If he drops five fumbles in front of the Patriots' D, this game will be over before it gets off the ground.
This will not be an easy game, and the shaky New England offensive line is going to be a problem for the home team. Again, though—and you may be sensing a theme here in the NFL Divisional Round picks, predictions, and odds. column—which quarterback do you trust more?
Drake Maye could be the NFL MVP this season, and despite plenty of Patriots' flaws, he consistently has found ways to get the job done with Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniel in his corner. On the flip side, while DeMeco Ryans has the defense firing on all cylinders, offensive coordinator Nick Caley hasn’t quite found the formula Bobby Slowik had in Stoud’s rookie season to get unlock his full potential.
This will be a fun game to watch if you like elite defense, and even though it won’t be pretty, we’ll take Maye and the Pats to be kneeling at the end with more than a field goal lead.
Pick: Patriots 16-10
Los Angeles Rams (-3.5) at Chicago Bears
This game will be a dream continuing, no matter how it turns out. Are the Bears simply the team of destiny this season, with last-minute win after last-minute win? Or will Matthew Stafford author a fairytale ending and ride off into the sunset as a champion, just as his high school teammate Clayton Kershaw did just a few months ago?
The Bears have won in ridiculous ways all season, but at the core, they are doing it with an excellent young play caller and an offensive-minded head coach. So, those building blocks create a solid foundation. Yes, the bounces and turnover luck are not repeatable year to year, but as this season rolls on, there is no reason to think it won’t continue.
On the Rams' side, there are some concerns after the team faltered in the last few weeks of the season. The defense has been the biggest issue, giving up 30.0 points per game in the last five games. Sure, Stafford and company can often best that number, but will they in eight-degree wind chill?
And that ultimately is the deciding factor for the NFL Divisional Round picks, predictions, and odds. column. The Rams are a dome team from Southern California, while the Bears luxuriate in the harsh Windy City conditions. If this becomes an ugly cold-weather—or even snow—game, the Bears should become the favorite.
Pick: Bears 24-23
