The 2025 playoffs have been surreal. Following the conclusion of the divisional round, none of the NFL’s top seven teams in preseason Super Bowl odds are left in the playoff field, according to Sports Odds History via BetMGM betting data.
The Buffalo Bills were the last such team, and they’re now going home after their third consecutive playoff loss by three or fewer points, following Saturday’s 33-30 overtime defeat at the Denver Broncos. They’re now the only NFL team to ever do that, per CBS Sports Research. Buffalo’s 73 regular-season wins since 2020 are the most in the league this decade, but they are now the most ever in a six-season span without a Super Bowl appearance. The Seattle Seahawks’ 41-6 steamrolling of the San Francisco 49ers tied their most lopsided playoff win in team history.
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud made the wrong kind of NFL history on Sunday in a 28-16 defeat at the New England Patriots, and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams produced the full Williams rollercoaster experience in the Los Angeles Rams’ 20-17 overtime victory.
With all that and more going down in the NFL across the last two days, it’s time to dig into the divisional round’s biggest winners and losers.
Broncos triumph over Bills 33-30 in overtime
Winner & loser: Bo Nix
Bo Nix ended up as both a winner and a loser, following Denver’s thrilling 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills. He’s a winner for tying the Broncos’ single-game playoff passing touchdowns record with three, the last of which came on a dime to wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. to put the Broncos up 30-27 with 55 seconds left in regulation. Nix quieted his doubters by following up that throw by leading Denver on his eighth game-winning drive of the season, which tied an NFL single-season record including the playoffs.
He is a loser because even though his team won, his 2025 NFL season is finished. Head coach Sean Payton announced postgame that Nix fractured a bone in his ankle on the penultimate play of the game and will have surgery on Tuesday. Brutal blow for Nix to lose the chance to start an AFC Championship on his home field.
Loser: Josh Allen
There is no bigger loser in the entire divisional round of the 2025 postseason than Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Allen’s Bills’ prior five playoff losses were against Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals. All of the teams he lost to went to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl with some of the best quarterback talents in the league today.
Mahomes, Burrow and two-time NFL MVP Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson all weren’t present in the AFC’s 2025 season playoff bracket. Not only did Allen fall short despite his Bills being favored on Saturday, but he literally helped give the game away. After not turning the ball over in his previous six playoff games, Allen turned the ball over four times — twice via interceptions and twice via lost fumbles. The Broncos scored nine points off of Allen’s giveaways, including a 50-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer and the game-winning, 23-yard field goal in overtime. He became just the fourth quarterback in the 21st century to throw multiple interceptions and lose multiple fumbles in a single playoff game. He also airmailed a pass to a wide-open Dawson Knox with 16 seconds left in regulation that could have easily been the game-winning touchdown pass with nearly no time remaining. Allen could have had a signature playoff moment, but he just couldn’t connect in the clutch.
Instead, his Bills are now the first team ever to lose a playoff game in three consecutive seasons by three or fewer points, according to CBS Sports Research.
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BUF Josh Allen |
2025 |
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ARI Carson Palmer |
2015 |
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DEN Jake Plummer |
2005 |
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NYJ Chad Pennington |
2002 |
Allen may never have a postseason path appear to be as easy as the one that was presented to him in 2025, which is why he fought through tears and said, “I feel like I let my teammates down,” at the postgame podium.
Winners: Sean Payton and Wil Lutz
Both Sean Payton and Broncos kicker Wil Lutz were together on the 2018 New Orleans Saints where they were on the wrong side of a pass interference call in an eventual 26-23 overtime NFC Championship game defeat against the Los Angeles Rams.
Against the Bills, the Broncos netted 47 yards combined on two pass interference penalties in overtime that helped set up Lutz’s game-winning, 23-yard field goal. That’s a win for those two.
Seahawks pummel 49ers 41-6
Winner: Kenneth Walker III
Kenneth Walker is set to become a free agent this offseason, and his stock couldn’t be any higher after his performance in the divisional round. He amassed 145 yards from scrimmage (119 rushing and 29 receiving) and three rushing touchdowns in a winning effort. He joined 2005 NFL MVP running back Shaun Alexander as the only players in Seahawks history with at least three rushing touchdowns in a playoff game. Walker is primed to cash in come March.
Winner: Sam Darnold’s oblique
Sam Darnold was a late addition to the Seahawks’ injury report on Thursday, the last day of practice ahead of the divisional round, as a limited practice participant with an oblique injury.
Come game time, he seemed completely unaffected by the injury and the 49ers’ defense. Darnold played an efficient brand of football, connecting on 12 of his 17 throws for 124 yards and a touchdown. With an extra day of rest ahead of the NFC Championship on Jan. 25, Darnold could be back to full strength when Seattle returns to action with a trip to Super Bowl LX on the line.
Loser: Kyle Shanahan
It was a rough overall year for Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers. His top six highest-paid players missed a combined 64 games including the playoffs. All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa (torn ACL), All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner (fractured and dislocated ankle) and All-Pro tight end George Kittle (torn Achilles) all suffered what became season-ending injuries.
To add insult to injury, Shanahan’s 49ers were absolutely dominated by Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks all season long. San Francisco concluded its 2025 season scoring a total of 26 points in three games versus the Seahawks. That is tied for the fewest points scored by any team among 76 single-season head-to-head matchups with three games in the Super Bowl era, since 1966, according to CBS Sports Research. The 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers also held the Cleveland Browns to a combined 26 points across three matchups. The 49ers were decimated by injuries and embarrassed by an NFC West rival over and over again. It doesn’t get much worse than that.
Patriots defeat Texans 28-16
Winners: Patriots’ defense and LB coach Zak Kuhr
The Patriots now have more playoff wins (two) than touchdowns allowed (one) this postseason. Their one touchdown allowed is tied for the fewest touchdowns allowed across the wild card and divisional rounds in the 21st century. The other two teams who accomplished this feat, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and the 2006 Indianapolis Colts, both won the Super Bowl. The Patriots turned the Texans over a whopping five times on Sunday afternoon, and they continuously got their hands on the football.
New England’s 14 passes defended ranks as the mo