Jan. 18, 2026, 10:03 a.m. CT
Several former New Orleans Saints played gigantic roles in the results of two NFL Divisional Playoff games played on Saturday. Much to the chagrin of New Orleans fans, a number of their former players stood tall, as the Saints themselves watched the postseason from home for the fifth consecutive year.
Sean Payton led the top-seeded Broncos to a nail-biting overtime win for a spot in the AFC Championship game. It is the fourth time in Payton’s coaching career that he’ll coach in a conference title game, but his first with Denver. In the process, several of Payton’s former New Orleans Saints players helped him and the Broncos get there.
Broncos kicker Wil Lutz would hit the game-winning field goal in overtime. Lutz converted all four of his field goal attempts and all three extra points on the day, including a 50-yard field goal to close out the first half. Denver wideout Lil’Jordan Humphrey didn’t play a big role during the regular season, but stepped up big for the Broncos against Buffalo. Humphrey was targeted 5 times, catching 2 balls for 33 yards. One of those was a 29-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter for the Broncos to regain the lead in a game where every point was needed. On the defensive side, Denver gave up a lot of yards but made some timely big plays. A few of the biggest came from defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, who had 1.5 of his team’s three sacks along with a fumble recovery, one of 5 turnovers forced by Denver.
It wouldn’t be a playoff game involving Sean Payton without some officiating controversy. And two of the biggest of the game involved former New Orleans and current Buffalo receiver Brandin Cooks. Late in the game, the Bills were driving for an eventual field goal to send the game into overtime. Prior to the kick, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw a pass down the right sideline into the end zone for Cooks. The pass was incomplete, but there was contact from the Denver defensive back that went (correctly) uncalled. Buffalo’s first drive of overtime had them nearing long field goal range when Allen went deep to Cooks again to around the Denver 20 for what would have been an easy game-winning kick. Cooks appeared to make the catch, but had it pulled from him by Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian as they hit the ground for a ruled interception. Denver took advantage of the turnover by driving for the game-winner from Lutz.
Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.Seattle Seahawks 41, San Francisco 49ers 6
Seattle got off to a torrid start thanks to ex-Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. The explosive Shaheed took the game’s opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. His return sparked the Seahawks to a 17-0 first quarter surge and 24-6 halftime lead.
Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who served in the same role for the Saints in 2024, designed an excellent game plan against the 49ers. The Seahawks especially had a ton of success on off-tackle zone rushing plays while hitting well-timed key passes to keep the sticks moving and put points on the board. It was more than enough to move the top-seeded Seahawks into the NFC Championship game.