Pro football’s opening postseason weekend produced an especially wild showing, featuring a record 12 fourth-quarter lead changes across six games. This week, Seattle and Denver will return from a bye to join last week’s victors in the divisional playoffs.
The action will resume on Saturday as Buffalo takes on Denver. From there, the nightcap will feature a classic rivalry, San Francisco vs. Seattle, for the third time this season.
Sunday will also bring two contests of the divisional round. First up, we’ll see Houston vs. New England in the afternoon slot. Then, the slate will be wrapped up on Sunday night with Los Angeles vs. Chicago.
Will this year’s divisional playoffs prove to be the most entertaining spot on the pro football calendar? Let’s see what Kalshi traders think we’re in store for this year.
This is an opinion and not financial advice. The author cannot trade on Kalshi.
Kickoff between No. 6 Buffalo and No. 1 Denver is set for 4:30 p.m. ET, with Empower Field at Mile High playing host. CBS will carry the broadcast, as these respective sides are meeting for the second consecutive playoffs.
Despite Denver earning the top seed and a week of rest, Buffalo has been favored by Kalshi’s traders since Sunday, opening at 55¢.
Buffalo shows a 53% probability to eliminate Denver for the second-straight year. Buffalo is predicted to win by 2.5 points here (Yes 45¢). In regard to the game total, Kalshi projects 47.5 points (Over 47¢).
Buffalo is also viewed favorably on Kalshi’s pro football champion board. Led by reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen (65.0 QBR) and a bruising running game, they are tagged with a 15% likelihood to win their first world title this season. Buffalo has scored 28.3 points per game (PPG), which is the second-highest clip in the conference. Still, there is a blistering defense in the Mile High that would love a shot to slow down Allen and company.
Denver is built with one of the top defenses, allowing only 18.3 PPG this year. This unit had a fabulous campaign in terms of getting after opposing quarterbacks; Denver’s 68 sacks, led by Nik Bonitto’s 14, paced all other teams in 2025, while setting an all-time franchise record.
What could make life especially difficult for Buffalo in Colorado is their opponent’s ability to stop the run. Denver surrendered only 91.1 YPG rushing this season, and its defensive front will be incredibly motivated to avenge last year’s playoff loss to Buffalo.
Meeting in their third head-to-head bid of the season, No. 6 San Francisco and No. 1 Seattle will face off at Lumen Field on Saturday evening. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
After an idle week, Seattle is viewed as the favorite both in this game (74%) and to win the upcoming pro football championship (24%). Subsequently, Seattle is predicted to defeat San Francisco by 7.5 points (48¢), while the combined totals reflect 45.5 points (Over 51¢).
Seattle trounced San Francisco as recently as Week 18, dominating en route to a 13-3 victory in Santa Clara. However, these familiar foes have split the past four head-to-head matchups, in which the road team has won each time.
Utilizing a hyper-talented defensive line, Seattle has bullied a majority of its opponents in 2025. This group gave up only 17.2 PPG this season, ranking first among all teams. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (11 TFL) is the unit’s undisputed leader, and they operate knowing they have an athletic secondary on the back end. Seattle’s 18 regular-season interceptions landed second in the conference.
San Francisco has been powered by a next-man-up mentality this year, and there was no better example than last Sunday in Philadelphia, where they managed to scrap out an upset victory. But the team lost star tight end George Kittle (Achilles) in the process. San Francisco will miss Kittle in a multitude of ways, however, they were mostly without him for their Week 1 victory in Seattle; Kittle (hamstring) left that contest in the first quarter.
Seattle will look to suffocate San Francisco’s dynamic offense, a group that has output 30.0 PPG over its past eight outings, for the second time in three weeks. With that, Kalshi’s traders have Seattle as the largest favorite of the divisional round.
For a meeting of teams that are rather similar, prepare for No. 5 Houston and No. 2 New England. The pair play on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium, and the game will be aired on ABC/ESPN.
Per Kalshi’s traders, New England is priced at 63¢ to emerge victorious at home for a third-straight week. New England is also favored by 3.5 points (Yes 48¢) in this spot, and the total displays a modest 41.5 points (Over 48¢).
New England and Houston are both geared behind stifling defensive units. New England kept its opponents to just 18.8 PPG this regular season. Meanwhile, Houston was a tad better in that category, giving up only 17.4 PPG.
With MVP frontrunner Drake Maye (77.2 QBR) taking the snaps, New England’s offense should put up a formidable challenge against Houston’s top-rated defense. Transparently, that matchup will likely decide this game’s ultimate outcome. Maye would be wise to keep a close eye on Houston edge rusher Will Anderson, Jr., who has posted 12 sacks and 20 TFL this campaign.
Maye did not look as awesome in his playoff debut versus Los Angeles (C), but he did well to connect on a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown pass from 28 yards out. Now that Maye has his postseason feet wet, he’ll need to prepare for a more arduous challenge with Houston coming to town.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Houston’s C.J. Stroud struggled in the opening round against Pittsburgh. If Stroud can cut down the turnovers, Houston should have a quality shot in Foxborough.
To close out the divisional round, prepare for No. 5 Los Angeles (R) and No. 2 Chicago from historic Soldier Field at 6:30 p.m. ET. As always, NBC will carry Sunday night’s broadcast. You won’t want to miss this one!
According to Kalshi’s traders, Los Angeles has a 63% winning probability on the road. LA is favored by 3.5 points (Yes 53¢) here, and this contest shows the largest total of the weekend: 50.5 points (Over 45¢).
Los Angeles and Chicago are two of the highest-flying offenses in the league. Both teams are powered by quarterbacks drafted first overall à la Matthew Stafford (71.1 QBR) and Caleb Williams (58.4 QBR). Expect ridiculous arm talent to be on display in the Midway.
Los Angeles scored 30.5 PPG in 2025, which was the top clip this past regular season. From there, Chicago churned out 25.9 PPG, landing sixth overall. However, the unit that can successfully operate in single-digit temperatures will likely prevail.
Sunday evening’s forecast for Greater Chicagoland displays single-digit temperatures. Naturally, it will be quite frigid for this game on the shores of Lake Michigan. Williams and Stafford (from his time with Detroit) both know these playing conditions well, but who can give their side the edge?
Many around the league like Stafford as the 2025-26 Most Valuable Player, and with 46 passing touchdowns this season, that narrative is tough to talk down. Regardless, Stafford has committed seven interceptions and two fumbles over his past six contests. Across the way, Chicago’s defense forced a league-best 33 turnovers in 2025, so get your popcorn ready.
The takeaway:
Kalshi markets now forecast:
Pro football champion odds:
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