After a brilliant but busy few days watching the wildcard playoff matches, we have moved onto the divisional round with 8 teams left. A weekend full of great performances and big upsets is what we had last time, and this weekend could have just as many surprises.
Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens
AFC champions Baltimore Ravens are playing their first game of the playoffs against a young and exciting Houston Texans team coached by DeMeco Ryans. On Saturday the Texans travel to Baltimore, after demolishing the Cleveland Browns 45-14.
The regular NFL season began with the Ravens beating the Texans but this Texans team are not ready to end their Super Bowl dreams yet. Rookie CJ Stroud had an excellent performance in the wild-card game with 274 yards, 3 touchdowns and 76% pass completion success.
No matter how good CJ Stroud and his team have been this season it will be a challenge up against the best defence in the league, leading in sacks, scoring and takeaways and ultimately have been labelled ‘the best unit since Ray Lewis’ who retired in 2012.
Baltimore Ravens are clear favourites going into this, and a win will put Lemar Jackson one step closer to winning the MVP award. Zay Flowers, Odell Beckham Jr and Gus Edward’s are also offensive players the Texan's defence has to be aware of on Saturday.
Prediction: Ravens 28 - 17 Texans
Green Bay Packers @ San Fransisco 49er's
The San Fransisco 49ers have been one of the best teams in the NFC this season and after enjoying their bye week they are hosting the Green Bay Packers who caused a huge upset in the Wild card round beating the Dallas Cowboys 48-32 thanks to a brilliant performance from Jordan Love on his play off debut.
The Packers have been knocked out in the playoffs by the 49ers in two of the last four seasons and once again they are the favourites with Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle making up most of their offence.
The 49ers Ranked in the Top Five in the NFL in terms of both passing and rushing yards. They have accumulated nearly 5,500 yards and 46 Touchdowns collectively, and they should pose a serious threat to the Green Bay defence at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday.
The game against the Cowboys couldn’t have been more perfect for Green Bay last Sunday. Jordan Love recorded three touchdowns, 272 yards and completed 16 of 21 pass attempts. The 25-year-old has thrown 21 TD passes and only one interception in his last 9 games.
A close game is expected between these two teams but the 49ers will be well rested and ready for the game. The 49er's defence will be much tougher for the Packers compared to when they faced the Cowboys.
Prediction: 49ers 31 - 24 Packers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions
After a long 32 years, the wait is over, the Detroit Lions have finally won a playoff game, Matt Stafford returned to Detroit whilst Jared Goff faced his old team , the Los Angeles Rams and after a very close game the Lions came out on top winning 24-23.
The last time these teams faced off in the Regular season, the Lions won. With their powerful Quarter Back Jared Goff and their other offensive standouts such as David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon Ra St Brown and Sam Laporta a win is likely to be on the cards for the Detroit Lions.
Tampa Bay Bucs battered the Philadelphia Eagles 32 - 9 with comeback player of the year - Baker Mayfield recording over 300 yards and scored 3 passing Touchdowns. With standout offensive players this season being Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Cade Otton.
A lot of the Bucs' success this season and in particular in the wild card game, was their Blitz heavy defence, they need to be careful with this as although Jared Goff has thrown lots of picks and Interceptions, he has also thrown a lot of touchdowns .
Detroit Lions recorded the 4th loudest stadium in History of the NFL with their win against the Rams, proving the Home advantage can make a huge difference in their road to the Super Bowl. The game should be a lot closer than last time out.
Detroit Lions 26 - 17 Tampa Bay Bucs
Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills
Possibly the best matchup out of all the divisional playoff games, with two elite Quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes facing off against each other.
The Bills overcame the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Buffalo snow whilst the Chiefs beat the helpless Miami Dolphins in the freezing cold weather at Arrowhead.
The Chiefs have knocked the Bills out of the playoffs twice in the last four years in 2020 and 2022 coming in overtime. It was the first time both Quarterbacks threw 300 yards, scored 3 touchdowns, had 0 interceptions and rushed 50 yards in the same game making it one to remember.
The Chiefs are current Super Bowl holders beating the Eagles in Arizona, but for the first time in Mahomes’ history in the postseason he’ll be playing on the road and the High Mark Stadium will not be an easy place to travel to.
Travis Kelce and rookie Rasheed Rice have been brilliant this season and are the main threats to the Bills defence. They have combined 1,922 yards and 12 touchdowns between them. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco is also a threat for the Bills defence averaging 66.8 rushing yards through 14 games whilst also scoring 7 rushing Touchdowns.
The main threat for the Bills is Josh Allen, a fantastic player and arguably the best QB in the league. Over 4000 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns in 17 games in the regular season, but his rushing stats can’t be overlooked either having 524 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. James Cook, Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis are other notable threats for the Bills.
It’s going to be a fantastic game with both teams being excellent this season. The Bills have the chance to win their first Super Bowl and with the home advantage and already beating the Chiefs twice this season, I think Josh Allen and his team will progress to the next round.
Prediction: Buffalo Bills 38 - 27 Chiefs