Last weekend's NFL Wild Card round most exciting start to playoffs

Story byJosh Petry, Touchdown WireThu, January 15, 2026 at 8:36 PM UTC·2 min readThe NFL's opening Wild Card Weekend was one of the most exciting starts to a postseason in the league's history. There were 12 fourth-quarter lead changes with four teams winning after trailing in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter across the six Wild Card games, both the most in a single postseason in NFL history. Three teams – the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, and Los Angeles Rams – scored the game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, the most such wins in a postseason all-time. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFour teams that did not win their division – Buffalo, Houston, the Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco – won on Wild Card Weekend for the third time ever, joining 2015 and 2020. Over 80 percent of the plays (775 of 968) during Wild Card Week occurred during a one-score game, and four games were decided by four points or fewer, the most in a single round in NFL postseason history. For the first time in 16 seasons (since 2010), four different teams will host Divisional playoff games than the prior season, and three Divisional games will be hosted by teams – Chicago, New England, and Seattle – that missed the playoffs last season. The NFC West – with the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco, and Seattle – is the fourth division all-time to have three teams compete in the Divisional playoffs, joining the 2022 NFC East, 1997 NFC Central, and 1992 NFC East. Seven of the eight remaining starting quarterbacks are under the age of 30, with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (age 37) as the only starting quarterback left who has previously led his team to a Super Bowl title.