The first weekend of the NFL playoffs isn’t even over, and this year is already turning into one of the most dramatic postseasons in league history. Basically, Wild Card Weekend has lived up to its name so far, because things have gotten wild.
The Bills, Bears and Rams all won their opening playoff games by scoring a touchdown in the final three minutes, marking the first time in NFL history that three different playoff games have ended with a game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes.
There had been four instances (1982, 2002, 2011 and 2023) in which two playoff games in the same postseason ended with a game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes, but it had never happened three times.
Matthew Stafford started the series of suspenseful finishes on Saturday when he hit Colby Parkinson from 19 yards out for a game-winning touchdown with just 38 seconds left to play to give the Rams a 34-31 win over the Panthers.
The drama continued Saturday night when the Bears overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to beat the Packers, 31-27. Caleb Williams threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore with 1:43 left for the game-winning score.
With their touchdowns, the Rams and Bears tied the record for the most game-winning touchdowns in the final two minutes in one postseason, and then Josh Allen set the record when he scored on a 1-yard run with 1:04 left to give Buffalo a 27-24 win over Jacksonville.
The Bills-Jaguars game featured four go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter, matching the total from the Rams-Panthers game. In NFL history, there have been only four games with four go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and two of them have come this year.
The 49ers also pulled off a dramatic win and although they didn’t get a game-winning touchdown pass in the final two minutes, they did get one with 2:54 left to play when Brock Purdy hit Christian McCaffrey for a 4-yard score.
Through four games, there have been 12 fourth-quarter lead changes, which is the most for any postseason in NFL history. Again, that isn’t just a record for the wild card round — it’s the NFL record for an entire postseason and we’re not even all the way through Wild Card Weekend.
It’s been a postseason unlike any other.
The wild card round can sometimes lack drama. Just last year, five of the six games were decided by 12 points or more. However, the 2025 season has delivered one of the most dramatic opening rounds in recent NFL history. This marks the first time since 2013 that three wild card games have been decided by four points or less. Coincidentally, the two top seeds that year were the Seahawks and Broncos, who also happen to be the top seeds this year.
The NFL was unpredictable this year, and that unpredictability has led to one of the most exciting wild card rounds in league history.
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