Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) runs the ball past Tennessee Titans outside linebackers Truman Jones (56) and Jaylen Harrell, far right, during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

SATURDAY

LA Rams at Carolina, 4:30 p.m. (FOX)

Green Bay at Chicago, 8 p.m. (AMAZON PRIME)

SUNDAY

Buffalo at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS)

San Francisco at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. (FOX)

LA Chargers at New England, 8 p.m. (NBC)

MONDAY

Houston at Pittsburgh, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN-ABC)

The Carolina Panthers are NFC South champions for the first time in 10 years. The Denver Broncos are the AFC’s No. 1 seed. And all but one playoff matchup is locked in.

The Panthers (8-9) clinched the division title when the Falcons beat the Saints 19-17 on Sunday to eliminate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Broncos (14-3) secured a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 19-3 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Seattle earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed on Saturday night, defeating San Francisco 13-3.

The Jaguars won the AFC South with a 41-7 rout of Tennessee. Rookie coach Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence led the Jaguars to a major turnaround after going 4-13 in 2024.

Led by second-year coach Dave Canales and third-year quarterback Bryce Young, the Panthers are making their first playoff appearance under owner David Tepper and first since 2017, when they lost a wild-card game two years after they went 15-1 and lost the Super Bowl.

“I’m so grateful to have one more opportunity to get back to work where we can get on the grass, go through the preparation and have our meetings,” Canales said Sunday. “Once we are in cleats and on that grass it’s like the next thing becomes clear, the focus of what we are doing. … It’s like here we go, we get one opportunity and let’s make this statement true: 1-0 with a chance to win a championship. How long can we keep that statement true?”

The Buccaneers (8-9) beat Carolina on Saturday to stay alive for an extra day but lost a three-team tiebreaker with the Falcons also finishing 8-9. Tampa Bay started 6-2 before losing seven of nine, failing to win its fifth straight division title.

While Sam Darnold and the Seahawks (14-3) earned a first-round bye, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the injury-depleted 49ers missed an opportunity to play at home the rest of the way. Levi’s Stadium, which is San Francisco’s home field, hosts the Super Bowl on Feb. 8.

New England won its first division title since Tom Brady led the franchise to 11 straight from 2009-19.

Buffalo’s run of five consecutive division crowns ended, and the Bills will go on the road in the playoffs.

Jacksonville won its division for the first time since 2022, when first-year coach Doug Pederson guided them to a 9-8 record and a wild-card playoff victory over the Chargers, overcoming a 27-0 deficit.

The Texans secured the No. 5 seed with a 38-30 victory over Indianapolis. Houston is in the playoffs for the third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans and QB C.J. Stroud.

The Broncos ended Kansas City’s nine-year run. Denver hasn’t been the No. 1 seed since Peyton Manning and a stifling defense beat Carolina in the Super Bowl 10 years ago.

The Chargers are in the playoffs for the second straight season under Jim Harbaugh.

The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles became the first team to win this division in consecutive seasons in two decades. They missed a chance to be the No. 2 seed when they rested starters and lost 24-17 to Washington.

The Bears clinched their first division championship since 2018. They lost 19-16 to Detroit but secured the No. 2 seed because the Eagles lost.

The Packers were locked into the No. 7 seed after Week 17.

The Panthers backed into a division title but are ahead of schedule in their rebuilding process.

The Panthers are NFC South champions, and they have the Falcons to thank.

Carolina could have clinched the division on Saturday, but a 16-14 loss at Tampa Bay put the fate of the NFC South in the hands of the two teams that had only pride to play for. A win or a tie by the New Orleans Saints at Atlanta would have given the Buccaneers their fifth straight NFC South title. A Falcons win was the only outcome that would send Carolina to the postseason.

The Falcons delivered with a 19-17 victory on Sunday. The Panthers won a three-way tiebreaker of 8-9 teams to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season and win the division for the first time since their Super Bowl run two years earlier.

Watching on TV, second-year Panthers coach Dave Canales was locked in.

“We were just excited, following it every single play. (We) couldn’t take our eyes off the game.” Canales said. “Just the turn of events, I wouldn’t expect anything less from this matchup. Playing the Saints and knowing the type of football they’ve been playing down the stretch, and the Falcons are really putting things together.”

The game came down to the final minutes. Dee Alford ended a promising Saints drive with an interception he returned 59 yards, putting the Falcons in range for a field goal that gave them a 19-10 lead. New Orleans responded with a touchdown and tried an onside kick with 1:11 remaining that Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts recovered.

Canales said his brother called him after Alford’s interception.

“He’s ready to celebrate, and I’m like, ‘Call me back. This ain’t over!’ Because if I’m (the Saints), I’m thinking I’ve got a shot here. Let’s go down and get the first points, get the onside kick and see what we can do,” Canales said. “So I got kind of (ticked) at him. But it was amazing. We all yelled like crazy. Just really fortunate and proud.”

The Seahawks earned the No. 1 seed for the fourth time in team history. They reached the Super Bowl the first three, winning once.

The Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals 37-20 to secure the No. 5 seed and a rematch at Carolina. The Panthers beat them 31-28 on Nov. 30.

After falling to secure a bye, the 49ers dropped to the No. 6 seed and will face Philadelphia in a rematch of the NFC championship game following the 2022 season.