After a blowout filled wildcard weekend, the divisional round matchups should be a lot better and are set up to be some intriguing games. The Packers and Bills will look to conquer their rivals who they’ve both struggled with in years past. As written off teams in the Buccaneers and Texans look to continue their dominance against stronger teams this round. Who’s heading to the AFC and NFC Championship games? Read and find out!
AFC Matchups:
(4) Texans vs (1) Ravens
The Ravens, the best team in the NFL will take on the the best turnaround team in the Texans. Houston is coming off a dominant 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the wildcard round. The Texans lost to the Browns in the regular season but flipped the script against them in the playoffs but the question is can they do that to Baltimore as well? The Ravens beat the Texans back in week 1 25-9 but this is a completely different situation. While the Ravens are still possess a very strong defense they will not be facing the same Texans team as CJ Stroud and the Offensive Line as performed much better than the start of the season. The Texans are a young team coming in with a lot of momentum to this game but their luck just might run out. The Ravens are way too loaded on defense as they hold opponents to 16.5 points per game which is the lowest in the entire league. Baltimore has the best linebacking core with Patrick Queen and Roquon Smith both recording over 130 combined tackles a pieces. The Ravens also have the personnel to compete with Nico Collins with Gene Stone and all pro safety Kyle Hamilton spying on the Texans best receiver. While Houston holds a quality defense, they are going up against a Baltimore team that rarely turns the ball over as the Ravens have the best giveaway to takeaway margin in the NFL. As great of a future this Texans team, they are running up against a much more experienced roster that is coming off of 2 weeks of rest. The Ravens defense will take the win over the Texans and should host the AFC Championship in Baltimore next week.
Prediction: Ravens win 23-13
(3) Chiefs vs (2) Bills
The most prolific rivalry in the NFL takes place for the third time in four years between the Bills and Chiefs. The biggest difference this time is the game is in Buffalo and the Bills are looking to avenge the playoff losses in 2020 and 2021 to the hands of the Chiefs. The Bills unfortunately suffered many key injuries vs the Steelers as their is a possibility that Taron Johnson, Christian Benford, and Terrel Bernard may not suit up for the the defense. Despite the grim news to the Bills, there is a positive for Buffalo as they still hold a strong defense that is top 5 in total interceptions. This is very important as they will face the Chiefs star duo of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The Chiefs have offensive problems for themselves as they led the league with most dropped passes this season. While the Kansas City defense is also a very good group the offensive has had it’s fair share of problems. The game should have plays made by talented quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Pat Mahomes but it should be dictated more by the defenses. When both defenses come to play its a matter of which team can catch a break on offense and in this game that favors the Bills because they can run the ball more. The Bills are top 10 in rushing yard this seasons as mobile quarterback and pro bowler James Cook may be a little too much for this Chiefs team to handle. This should be a similar result of week 14 where the Bills squeaked by with a 20-17 victory. The Bills despite the injuries will be facing an inconsistent Chiefs offense that may see a lower scoring result like the regular season matchup. The Bills should be able to run the ball and control the Chiefs defense where they close out a tight win in Buffalo. The Bills should finally exercise their demons and find themselves in the AFC Championship for the first time since 2020.
Prediction: Bills win 24-20
NFC Matchups:
(7) Packers vs (1) 49ers
Jordan Love seems to be filling in the shoes well once Rodgers left as he got his first career playoff win vs Dallas. Now Love is asked to do something that Rodgers could never do and that is beat the 49ers. This will be no easy task as the Niners have been the best team in the NFC all season long and hold premier talent on both sides of the ball. So for the Packers to come into San Francisco and pull off the upset they need to do what they have been doing the past few weeks, running the ball. Aaron Jones rushed for 118 yards on the ground as this opened up Jordan Love to throw for three touchdowns as the Packers shredded an elite Cowboy defense. However the 49ers posses a strong defensive front that is top 3 in fewest rushing yards allowed. Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave and Fred Warner will be spying on Aaron Jones all game long to limit the Packers to just throwing the ball. Green Bay will also have their hands full on defense as the Niners have plenty of weapons with Brandon Ayiuk, George Kittle and 2023 rushing leader Christian McCaffrey that can have a big play at any time. The Packers have a solid foundation and have been playing really good ball on both sides of the field but the Niners may just be too good. San Francisco is arguably the most talented team in the entire NFL and they are extremely well coached. The Niners will show up and play to their best abilities in these playoffs which is no good for the Packers. Green Bay will make it competitive but at the end of the day the Niners have way too much firepower to be slowed down. The 49ers are the better team as they should win this game to eventually host the NFC championship in San Francisco.
Prediction: 49ers win 35-27
(4) Buccaneers vs (3) Lions
The Lions are coming off their playoff win in 32 years but now Detroit needs to replicate that 1991 team once more and make the NFC championship. The Lions are facing off against the most written off team in the NFL, the Bucs. Nobody believed in Tampa once Tom Brady left but Baker Mayfield has kept this offense respectable as hes thrown for over 4,000 yards. While the Bucs do have good pieces on offense it is there defense that will have to show up in this game. Although Tampa has a strong defense when it comes to stopping the run, they are in the bottom half of passing defense and against this Lions team that may not be a good thing. The Lions have plenty of threats in Sam Laporta, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and their quarterback Jared Goff that can dice up poor secondaries. Back in week 6, Detroit Goff threw for two touchdowns while St. Brown had 124 receiving yards and a touchdown to beat the Bucs 20-6. The Lions should have a formula very similar to this as Detroit being a pass heavy team can dictate the flow of the game and force Tampa to match them in the air. The Bucs should slow down the running game and Baker Mayfield should make some plays for Tampa’s passing game to keep it within range. However if the game depends on who can make more plays in the air, this favors the Lions more so than the Bucs. The Lions are equipped to play in close games and to throw the ball. This should be a tight match but the Lions have a better personnel in a game of passing and that should get Detroit another win at home. The Lions should win their third ever playoff game in team history and make their second NFC Championship appearance.
Prediction: Lions win 21-18
