• Nico Collins has carved up playoff secondaries: The Texans stud owns a 91.4 postseason PFF receiving grade, tied for the best in PFF history

• Dre Greenlaw‘s impact in January is undeniable: Greenlaw’s 85.5 PFF coverage grade in the playoffs is the fourth-best at the position over the last 20 years.

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Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Some football players have a knack for showing up when the lights are brightest. Others merely see it as reaching their peak physical performance at the intended time.

It can be difficult for us viewers to remember who performs best come January, outside of the obvious answers like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Historically, NFL statistics pay little attention to the happenings of the postseason.

For instance, Caleb Williams will finish the season 58 yards shy of becoming the Chicago Bears’ first ever 4,000-yard passer. Yet despite playing a central part in Chicago’s playoff qualification, Williams (and everybody else) cannot reap the statistical rewards of the extra football games that he earned.

It’s refreshing in a way — come January, individual performance is irrelevant, and all that matters is winning. However, when looking back on years past, it’s easy to remember incredible regular seasons — while those who balled out during the short sample size of the playoffs easily slips our minds.

We looked back through recent years to find which players participating this postseason have proven they can dominate when everything is on the line.

Entering his fifth career playoff game at age 26, Nico Collins is looking to build on an outstanding start to his postseason resumé. Among 170 players with 25-plus targets, Collins’ 91.4 postseason PFF receiving grade is tied for the highest in PFF history alongside Travis Kelce, and just a nose in front of Julio Jones in third place. Collins has 367 receiving yards across his four playoff games along with two touchdowns, and his 20 receiving first downs are more than many playoff stalwarts like Chris Godwin, Donald Driver and Jimmy Graham.

In both prior playoff seasons, Collins entered the postseason hot with 92.4 and 91.3 PFF receiving grades in Week 18 of 2023 and 2024, respectively. That isn’t quite the case this year. While Collins was afforded an additional week of rest ahead of the Texans’ wild-card trip to Pittsburgh, it’ll be over a month since he last posted a 100-yard receiving game (versus Kansas City on Dec. 8).

QB Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Yes, Aaron Rodgers is the obvious choice when it comes to historically great playoff performers at quarterback. However, while Rodgers still commands the highest postseason passing grade in PFF history (91.8), I would argue he falls in the same category with Mahomes and Brady as a heralded legend of January football.

Stafford can also easily find his name mentioned in those conversations too, but let’s not forget Stafford played just three playoff games in the first 13 seasons of his professional career, and lost all of them. Stafford has played less than half the career postseason dropbacks of Rodgers or Mahomes, yet he’s done an excellent job to shrug off what could’ve easily spiralled into an infamous legacy of playoff misery.

Stafford’s 89.8 postseason PFF passing grade is the fifth-highest among all quarterbacks with 25 or more dropbacks, and only scratches the surface of his January success. Stafford also has the fourth highest passer rating in the playoffs over the last two decades, and only Mahomes and Russell Wilson have lower turnover-worthy-play rates among quarterbacks with at least 10 postseason starts.

Protected by domes in both Detroit and now Los Angeles, it’s worth mentioning that Stafford will be playing just his fourth outdoor playoff game this weekend in Charlotte. His PFF passing grade in those three previous outdoor games is 69.8 — a far cry from his 91.6 passing grade when shielded from the elements.

QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (On The Ground)

We are well aware of just how dangerous Josh Allen is through the air in January, but if you think Allen tunes up his rushing ability come crunch time, you’d be right.

Allen is averaging over 50 rushing yards per game in the playoffs throughout his career, 13 yards above his regular-season rate. He is fourth in total postseason rushing yards in the PFF era, with more than names like Frank Gore, Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey.

Likewise, Allen’s 49 rushing first downs in the playoffs are more than any other player over the last two decades, overtaking Marshawn Lynch (46) and outpacing Derrick Henry (44) last season. Averaging more yards after contact and forcing more missed tackles per carry than the regular-season edition of Josh Allen, the man you meet in the playoffs is an entirely different animal.

G Joe Thuney, Chicago Bears

Joe Thuney hasn’t been able to book a vacation in January since he entered the league in 2016. The nine-year veteran hasn’t just made the playoffs every single season — he has won his division all nine times.

His 1,462 playoff snaps are a distant second behind only Tom Brady in the PFF era. However, it’s not just about making the playoffs that matters to Thuney: He has been more than impressive when he gets there.

Pass protection has always been Thuney’s forte. He hasn’t allowed a sack in his last 750 pass-blocking snaps as a guard in the playoffs, dating back all the way to the Patriots’ iconic Super Bowl LI comeback over the Falcons.

After the injury-ravaged Chiefs had no choice but to start Thuney at left tackle for their playoff run last year, he has found himself back at home once again on the interior for the Bears this season. Two of Thuney’s three highest grades of the season both came against the Packers over the past month, with just two combined pressures allowed in those games. These foes will battle for a third time on Saturday night.

Greenlaw has been ravaged by injuries as of late, meaning his presence on the Broncos’ defense has flown under the radar for many. After wounding his hamstring versus the Jaguars in Week 16, Greenlaw missed Denver’s two final regular-season games but will gain an additional week to work his way back into the starting lineup for the AFC’s top seed.

The linebacker’s postseason career started with a bang when he registered a 91.2 PFF defensive grade against the Vikings back in 2019. Greenlaw started in 12 total playoff games, all with the 49ers, before brutally tearing his Achilles when taking the field in Super Bowl LVIII vs. Kansas City. The impact of his loss was felt in that game: Prior to going down, Greenlaw had already caught two interceptions during San Francisco’s crusade through the NFC.

Broadly, Greenlaw’s postseason 85.5 PFF coverage grade is the fourth-highest of any linebacker over the last two decades behind three greats — Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis Sr. and Brian Urlacher.

Not only is he one of the most proven commodities left in the current field of playoff teams remaining, but he may also have the best storyline of anyone involved. Greenlaw has played just 350 defensive snaps since he ruptured his Achilles, performing just as well now as he did beforehand. If Greenlaw can overcome yet another injury obstacle, he could end up having the opportunity to rectify his misfortune from two years ago — in another Super Bowl, in the same stadium where his NFL story began with the 49ers.