The last playoff berth came down to the final play in the last game of the regular season. Now the question is: What's next for the 14 teams in the postseason?
RotoWire used ChatGPT to predict the results to be for each wild card round game as the playoffs begin on Saturday. We asked the AI tool for 10 simulations of each matchup, with scores, using NFL rosters and available injury information as of Jan. 5. After that, we averaged the margin of victory for each matchup. RotoWire.com, as part of our NFL betting coverage, got these simulated results:
ChatGPT Predicts NFL Wild Card Round Results
Matchup | Result | Visitors Avg. MOV | Home Avg.MOV |
LAR at CAR |
| 8.4 | 1.5 |
GB at CHI |
| 3.0 | 6.1 |
BUF at JAX | 5-5 | 2.6 | 4.6 |
SF at PHI |
| 1.5 | 4.8 |
LAC at NE |
| 2.7 | 3.9 |
HOU at PIT |
| 2.8 | 3.5 |
Rams 8-2
Bears 7-3
Eagles 8-2
Patriots 7-3
Steelers 6-4This analysis is exclusive to RotoWire.com, where we review real money sportsbook apps so you can shop around. The top seeds in each conference, the Denver Broncos (AFC) and Seattle Seahawks (NFC) get the week off with a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
All times below are Eastern.
Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers (4:30 p.m. Saturday, FOX)
These teams met in the regular season, with the 
Panthers pulling off a 31-28 upset on Nov. 30 in Charlotte.
Now No. 4 seed Carolina (8-9) aims to be the first team with a losing record to win a playoff game since ... the 2014 Panthers. The Rams will try to regain momentum after losing three of their past six games, falling from the No. 1 seed in the NFC down to the No. 5 spot.
Customers using the BetMGM bonus code can get the Rams (12-5) as a 10-point favorite as of Jan. 5. ChatGPT agrees that the Rams are very likely to advance; Los Angeles won eight out of 10 simulated games, with an average margin of victory of 8.4 points, the largest spread among the six games this weekend.
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (8 p.m. Saturday, Amazon Prime)
These age-old foes meet in the postseason for the third time ever. On Jan. 23, 2011, the 
Packers won the NFC Championship Game 21-14 at Soldier Field on their way to a Super Bowl crown.
Green Bay (9-7-1) will try to replicate that feat against a Bears team that won the NFC North for the first time since 2018. The rivals split the season series, with each team winning at home. Chicago captured an overtime thriller, 22-16, on Dec. 20 on its way to the No. 2 seed.
Chicago (11-6) forced the most turnovers in the NFL (33) and is a narrow favorite at most sports betting operators. However, at FanDuel Sportsbook, the seventh-seeded Packers are favored, so Bears backers can get plus-1.5 points on the spread. The Bears won seven out of our 10 simulations.
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars (1 p.m. Sunday, CBS)
No AFC South team has reached the conference title game since the 
Jaguars in 2017. Can No. 3 seed Jacksonville (13-4) buck that trend on the heels of an eight-game winning streak to end the regular season?
The sixth-seeded Bills (12-5) saw their five-year reign as AFC East champions end, though Buffalo now owns the longest playoff streak in the league with a seventh consecutive berth. Bills quarterback Josh Allen (above) made his 135th consecutive start on Sunday by handing off once, then he left the game. Allen again put up stellar numbers this season but lost seven fumbles and threw 10 interceptions; he'll want to be careful against a Jags team that intercepted 22 passes, second behind Chicago (23).
At BetRivers Sportsbook, the 
Bills are a 1-point favorite, a narrow margin reflected with several other operators we surveyed. ChatGPT reflects the expectation of a tight margin; this was the only first-round matchup to be split after 10 simulated games.
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles (4:30 p.m. Sunday, FOX)
San Francisco (12-5) had a chance for homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, but lost 13-3 at home against Seattle on Saturday and slid to the No. 6 seed. That the 
49ers have gotten this far is a testament to the roster that has been assembled because this team was without several injured starters for long stretches this season, including QB Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles (11-6) had a chance at the second seed, but head coach Nick Sirianni decided to rest several starters and Philly lost at home to Washington, thus settling for the No. 3 spot.
The Eagles are a consensus 3.5-point home favorite among major operators, including DraftKings Sportsbook, and AI gives Philly a commanding 8-2 edge.
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots (8 p.m. Sunday, NBC)
The 
Chargers (11-6) rested QB Justin Herbert in Sunday's defeat at Denver and settled for the seventh seed. The franchise has not won a playoff game since 2018 and their task won't be any easier this time.
The No. 2 seed Patriots (14-3) improved by 10 wins compared to last season behind second-year quarterback and MVP candidate Drake Maye.
The Patriots were a unanimous 3.5-point favorite with the operators we surveyed, including Caesars Sportsbook, to earn their first playoff victory of the post-Tom Brady era. New England won seven of 10 simulated games.
Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers (8 p.m. Monday, ABC/ESPN)
The 
Texans are in the playoffs for the ninth time, but they have never reached the AFC Championship Game. Oddly, this is the first time in franchise history that Houston has earned a wild-card spot. Can QB CJ Stroud and the league's stingiest defense (allowing 277.2 yards per game) push No. 5 seed Houston (12-5) to new heights?
Pittsburgh earned the AFC's fourth seed with a wild 26-24 victory Sunday night over archrival Baltimore. Normally excellent kicker Chris Boswell missed the PAT after Calvin Austin's 26-yard touchdown catch from Aaron Rodgers put the Steelers ahead with 55 second left. The Ravens drove downfield and had a chance to win at the final gun, but Tyler Loop's 44-yard field goal attempt drifted wide right.
The Steelers (10-7) came out ahead in our projections, taking six out of 10, but the margins were extremely tight. As we saw again Sunday, a last-second kick could decide this game.
The spread on Houston vacillates between 3.0 and 3.5 points as of Monday; folks using the bet365 promo code can lay the even 3 and avoid giving away the hook. Remember that point spreads are always subject to change, especially in this case with a full week before this Monday night game.
NFL Wild Card Round Projections Q&A
Q: How did ChatGPT simulate NFL Wild Card Round games?
A: RotoWire ran 10 simulations for every matchup for the first round of the playoffs using ChatGPT, with rosters updated as of Jan. 5, 2026. Each game produced projected scores, a winner, and a calculated average margin of victory (MOV). This allowed us to compare not only who wins most often but also how decisively they win.
Q: Which teams dominated the ChatGPT simulations?
A: The Rams (against the Panthers) and the Eagles (against the 49ers) won eight out of 10 projected matchups for wild card weekend. The Rams had the highest average margin of victory for any team, at 8.4 points.
Q: What were the closest or most balanced matchups in the simulations?
A: The Bills at Jaguars game was the only 5-5 split after 10 simulated matchups. The Steelers (against the Texans) had a narrow 6-4 margin with an average MOV of just 3.5 points.
