Story byDoug FarrarThu, January 22, 2026 at 5:45 PM UTC·4 min readAnd then, there were four. With the divisional round in the rear view, we have just four teams left in the NFL’s tournament to see who gets to play in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8. The NFC Championship game is a particularly interesting pier-sixer in that it has two teams that have already faced off twice this season, with the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams splitting the series in the regular season — both times in thrilling fashion. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhen we look at X-Factors for each team in these games, for the Denver Broncos, it’s obviously quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who replaces the injured Bo Nix as Denver prepares a hopeful run for a fourth Lombardi Trophy. Stidham hasn’t started a regular-season game since January 7, 2024, and there are reasons that he’s a career backup, but he’s shown some things in Sean Payton’s offense that should give the New England Patriots pause.