Patriots, 49ers, Bills, Bears and Rams advance to NFL's divisional round

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New England Patriots defensive end Milton Williams (97), linebacker Christian Elliss (53) and linebacker Robert Spillane (14) celebrate Williams' sack of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton) — New England Patriots defensive end Milton Williams (97), linebacker Christian Elliss (53) and linebacker Robert Spillane (14) celebrate Williams' sack of Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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8:39 PM on Saturday, January 10

By ROB MAADDI

Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, the Patriots dominated the Chargers and Josh Allen willed the Bills past the Jaguars.

San Francisco, New England and Buffalo joined the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams in advancing to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs with victories in the wild-card round.

The No. 6 seed 49ers (13-5) will face the top-seeded Seahawks (14-3) next Saturday. The No. 6 seed Bills (13-5) will visit the No. 1 seed Broncos (14-3), also on Saturday.

On Sunday, the No. 2 seed Bears (12-6) will host the No. 5 seed Rams (13-5), and the No. 2 seed Patriots (15-3) will be home against the winner of Monday night’s game between the Texans and Steelers.

Purdy tossed a 4-yard TD pass to McCaffrey with 2:54 remaining to lift the 49ers to a 23-19 comeback win at Philadelphia on Sunday. McCaffrey also caught a 29-yard TD pass from wide receiver Jauan Jennings.

The Patriots sacked Justin Herbert six times and held Los Angeles to just 207 yards in a 16-3 win on Sunday night.

Allen led Buffalo to a 27-24 comeback victory in Jacksonville in Sunday's first game. Allen scored on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter and Cole Bishop intercepted Trevor Lawrence's pass to secure Buffalo's first playoff win on the road since the 1992 AFC championship game at Miami.

On Saturday, the playoffs kicked off with two wacky games.

The Bears trailed the Green Bay Packers 21-3 at halftime and 27-16 with just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter before Caleb Williams threw a pair of touchdown passes. His 25-yard TD toss to D.J. Moore put Chicago ahead 31-27 with 1:43 remaining. Then Jordan Love's desperation heave into the end zone from the Bears 28 was knocked down as time expired to secure Chicago's first playoff win since the 2010 season.

Williams finished with 361 yards passing, two TDs and two interceptions for the Bears.

In the opener on wild-card weekend, Matthew Stafford threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson in the final minute and Los Angeles rallied to beat the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in a game that was much closer than expected.

The Rams were double-digit favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook against the Panthers (8-10). The Rams jumped to a 14-0 lead, but couldn’t take advantage of first-half turnovers and allowed Carolina to get within 17-14 at halftime.

Stafford, who earned All-Pro honors for the first time in his 17-year career on Saturday, threw for 304 yards, three TDs and had one pick. Puka Nacua, who was a unanimous All-Pro selection, had 10 catches for 111 yards and one TD and also had a 5-yard TD run.

The Rams are back in the divisional round for the second straight season. Last year, they were 13 yards away from eliminating Philadelphia before a sack and an incomplete pass ended their season with a 28-22 loss.

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