(1) Ravens vs. (4) Texans: Saturday, 4:30
This game will be a matchup between the (1) Baltimore Ravens and the (4) Houston Texans. The Baltimore Ravens have one of the most talented teams in the league with MVP favorite Lamar Jackson at quarterback and loaded with young talent at the running back and wide receiver position including veteran Odell Beckham Jr. However, they lost Mark Andrews, one of the best tight ends in the NFL, to an injury. On the defensive side, they have the best linebacking core in the NFL behind Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith who is a first team all pro. Additionally their defensive line leads the league in sacks, and they have a dominant secondary with first-team all-pro Kyle Hamilton and talented Veteran Marlon Humphrey. Right now this team looks like the best in the NFL and it will be extremely difficult to take this juggernaut down. On the other side The Houston Texans came out with a huge win over the Browns 45-15 showing they are a contender with the young players they have that are playing as well as they ever have. With a great coaching staff on both sides anything could happen, but we do not see a huge upset here.
Final Prediction: Ravens 34, Texans 27
(1) 49ers vs. (7) Packers: Saturday, 8:15
Saturday night the (7) Green Bay Packers will travel to Santa Clara to face the (1) San Francisco 49ers, who are coming off of their wildcard bye. The underdog Packers are coming into this week riding the momentum from their 48-32 upset over Dallas. The Packers offense was dominant, scoring 6 times throughout the game behind running back Aaron Jones who rushed for over 100 yards and scored 3 times, and quarterback Jordan Love who had an excellent game against the Cowboys 5th ranked defense in both points and yards allowed. The Packers defense got out to a strong start as well, forcing 2 turnovers, one returned for a touchdown, but apart from that the cowboys offense was over 500 total yards against the packers defense. The Packers however will have a much tougher time against the 49ers offense which has an outstanding run game, and thus will be able to protect the ball, and not have as many giveaways as the Cowboys did. That combined with the fact that the 49ers defense has allowed the third least points in the league, I don’t think the Packers will be able to keep up with the 49ers in this matchup.
Final Prediction: 49ers 33, Packers 23
(3) Lions vs. (4) Buccaneers: Sunday, 3:00
For the first time in roughly 30 years, the (3) Detroit Lions will be playing in the divisional round, and will face the (5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions edged out the Rams last week in a close battle, while the Buccaneers appear to be on fire after a 32-9 victory over Philadelphia. On the Buccaneers side, QB Baker Mayfield torched the Eagles secondary and put up 337 yards and 3 touchdowns. For the Lions, Jared Goff had a solid performance putting up 277 yards and a touchdown, and running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs each respectively scoring a touchdown as well. This will be a high scoring offensive battle, as both teams have explosive passing offenses, but also have bottom 6 pass defenses. Each team’s receiving corps will have big days, especially Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam Laporta for the Lions, and Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on the Buccaneers side. In the end though, the Lions will be able to control the tempo of the game more, behind their running back duo David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, which will ultimately win them this matchup.
Final Prediction: Lions 42, Buccaneers 36
(2) Bills vs. (3) Chiefs: Sunday, 6:30
Sunday night the (3) Kansas City Chiefs will head to Highmark stadium to face the (2) Buffalo Bills, in what will be an exciting rematch of the controversial week 14 game, that ended with the Bills prevailing after a Chiefs touchdown got called back in the final minutes because of a penalty. Josh Allen and the Bills will look to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs who were victorious in both of their previous playoff meetings. Kansas City is coming off of a demanding win against the Dolphins, while the Bills are coming off their home win against Pittsburgh. This week, Josh Allen is facing an elite Chiefs defense that is 2nd in yards and points allowed. Mahomes on the other hand is facing a Bills defense, that although is playing well, is heavily injured all around, especially in the secondary and linebacker core. This game is going to be like just every other Chiefs Bills matchup; an exciting matchup that comes down to the wire. However, history often repeats itself, and history tells us that we cannot bet against Mahomes in the playoffs.
Final Prediction: Chiefs 24, Bills 21
