The Seattle Seahawks steamrolled the San Francisco 49ers in a lopsided 41–6 playoff win, punching their ticket to the NFC Championship Game.
Seattle set the tone immediately with a 95-yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown, igniting the home crowd and putting the 49ers on their heels from the start.
From there, it was all Seahawks. Kenneth Walker III powered the offense with three rushing touchdowns, while Seattle’s defense smothered San Francisco, allowing nothing but two field goals all night.
Seattle will face the New England Patriots in the NFC Championship Game.
In the AFC Divisional Round, Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye carved up the weather and the Houston Texans’ defense with three touchdown passes and a pair of clutch throws, guiding New England to a 28–16 victory on Sunday.
The game swung early when the Patriots defense took over — Houston’s C.J. Stroud threw four interceptions, and cornerback Marcus Jones returned one for a touchdown, giving New England a lead it would never relinquish. An amazing one-handed TD catch by Kayshon Boutte late in the fourth quarter stretched the lead and basically sealed the win, turning what had been a one-score game into a two-touchdown edge.
The Patriots — now 16–3 — celebrated their first trip to the AFC Championship Game in seven years.
Next up for New England is a showdown with the Denver Broncos in Denver next Sunday, with a chance to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams survived an incredible throw by Caleb Williams that forced overtime, beating the Chicago Bears 20-17 on Sunday night to advance to the NFC championship game.
Harrison Mevis kicked a 42-yard field goal in OT after Kam Curl intercepted a deep pass by Williams on the Bears’ first possession of the extra period. Stafford completed a 16-yard pass to Puka Nacua to get the Rams into field-goal range and set up Mevis.
The Rams (14-5) will visit NFC West rival Seattle next Sunday in their first trip to the conference championship game since the 2021 team won the Super Bowl. The Seahawks beat San Francisco 41-6 on Saturday.
**Los Angeles led 17-10 in the final minute and the Bears faced fourth-and-4 from the 14-yard line when Williams backpedaled to avoid the pass rush and heaved the ball to Cole Kmet for the tying touchdown with 18 seconds left. Although officially a 14-yard pass, the ball traveled 51.2 yards in the air.
Williams threw for two touchdowns but was intercepted three times for the Bears (12-7), who pulled off a series of improbable wins under first-year coach Ben Johnson but came up short this time.
The Denver Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship with a 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field, sealed by a 23-yard field goal after two pass interference calls on Buffalo’s Tre’Davious White.
The pivotal moment came on a third-and-10 when officials ruled Allen’s pass incomplete despite Cooks briefly securing it, as McMillian forced a fumble under NFL’s ‘surviving the ground’ rule—upheld after review.
Bills coach Sean McDermott vented frustration post-game, while Josh Allen threw for 350 yards and three TDs amid four turnovers; Bo Nix passed for 312 yards and three scores despite a possible broken ankle.
Backup QB Jarrett Stidham will star for Denver against the New England Patriots.
