NFL Playoffs Pick’em Pool Picks & Advice (2026)

Picks, advice, and analysis for 2025-26 NFL playoffs pools and pick'em contests, from the Wild Card Round to the Super Bowl.

by Jason Lisk - Jan 13, 2026

Leonard Williams #99 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates winning the NFC West after an NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers on January 3, 2026 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

(Photo by Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)

IMPORTANT: The Football Pick’em Picks product works differently for the NFL playoffs. It does not provide customized picks for each of your pools. Instead, this pick strategy article will be updated to guide your pick selections.

Welcome to the PoolGenius NFL Playoff Pick’em Pool Advice & Strategy hub for the 2026 postseason. This is a premium article for subscribers with access to our Football Pick’em Picks product.

Quick note before we get rolling: NFL Playoff Pick’em is a different animal. Because of that complexity, our Football Pick’em Picks product doesn’t generate customized, pool-specific picks for the playoffs the same way it does during the regular season.

So instead, this article becomes the pick strategy guide.

We’ll share our data-driven pick advice from the Wild Card Round all the way through the Super Bowl, and we’ll keep updating it multiple times each week as things change. Injuries pop up. Lines move. If the news is likely to swing the NFL Pick’em strategy, we’ll flag it here and adjust accordingly.

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DIVISIONAL ROUND WEEK CONTENT

  • Tue, Jan. 13: Matchups and Spreads
  • Tue, Jan. 13: Round Advancement Odds
  • Wed, Jan. 14: Pick Popularity
  • Wed, Jan. 14: Game-Winner Pick Strategy
  • Thu, Jan. 15: Spread Pool Pick Strategy
  • Fri, Jan. 16: Advice for Confidence Pools

Tuesday 1/13

2026 Divisional Round Matchups and Spreads

Here are the Divisional Round matchups, listed in descending order of spread and our projected win odds:

  • Seattle (-7.5) vs. San Francisco, 76% win odds
  • LA Rams (-3.5) at Chicago, 64% win odds
  • New England (-3.5) vs. Houston, 63% win odds
  • Buffalo (PK) at Denver, 50% win odds

We will update with pick popularity data and pick analysis on Wednesday.

Tuesday 1/13

NFL Playoffs Round-By-Round Advancement Odds

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