NFL Playoffs: Divisional Weekend – Game Overviews and Predictions

After a WILD wildcard weekend, we are left with eight teams still in contention for a Super Bowl berth. Three of the remaining eight have never won (Texans, Lions, Bills), so additional fire should be expected from those teams as they inch their way closer to Las Vegas.

With four games this weekend, they will be split up evenly between Saturday and Sunday. The schedule is as follows:

Saturday

AFC – 4:30 PM (ET): (4) Houston Texans at (1) Baltimore Ravens

NFC – 8:15 PM (ET): (7) Green Bay Packers at (1) San Francisco 49ers

Sunday

NFC – 3:00 PM (ET): (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers at (3) Detroit Lions

AFC – 6:30 PM (ET): (3) Kansas City Chiefs at (2) Buffalo Bills

Let’s dive into each matchup and see what we’re working with here.

(4) Houston Texans at (1) Baltimore Ravens

If there was any remaining doubt about C.J. Stroud, that was thrown out of the window after last weekend.

Going against what was alleged to be a historic defense (and also his first playoff game and rookie season), Stroud led Houston’s offense to 31 points with three touchdown passes and a near perfect passer rating. His playmaking ability and visible comfort in the pocket should make Texans fans excited to see him play against any opponent, even the Ravens.

Meanwhile, the Ravens dominated any and all opponents down the stretch of the season and cruised to the AFC one seed with a 13-4 record on the shoulders of Lamar Jackson, who all but has the MVP award locked up for this year.

What’s also worth noting however is despite all the noise with Joe Flacco and his newfound success in Cleveland’s offense, DeMeco Ryans’ defense was able to shut him out in the second half, sacking him four times and strumming up two pick-sixes.

I give Baltimore the edge here, but don’t expect Houston to go down without a fight.

Score Prediction: Texans 20, Ravens 27

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(7) Green Bay Packers at (1) San Francisco 49ers

In a similar boat as Stroud, Jordan Love hit his stride when it mattered most and stunned the Cowboys in Dallas, tossing three of his own touchdowns with a passer rating actually identical to Stroud.

I also need to humbly apologize to Aaron Jones for saying he couldn’t carry the load for 60 minutes. He profoundly proved me wrong.

On the other hand, the 49ers are sitting pretty atop the NFC across from Baltimore after career years from both Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy. It was very evident during and after their three-game skid that they’re almost unstoppable when everyone’s healthy, and since everyone’s healthy (minus Clenin Ferrell) heading into Saturday, it’s tough to see Green Bay edging this one out.

But I said that last week, and look what happened.

Dak Prescott was allotted some stat-padding plays in garbage time last week, but if Matt LaFleur’s defense can play like they did for the first 55 minutes of their wildcard game, they could give Purdy some trouble. I find it tough to believe they’ll be able to contain both Purdy and McCaffrey, however.

Score Prediction: Packers 27, 49ers 36

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(4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers at (3) Detroit Lions

After squeaking by the Rams, the Lions find themselves not only around for a second round but also hosting an additional playoff game. Aidan Hutchinson and co. were surprisingly able to keep Kyren Williams in check, which I think was the difference-maker in prevailing even though they were cooked by Puka Nacua.

They’ll have to clean that up if they hope to kick Tampa Bay out of town however, as Baker Mayfield caught fire AGAIN and shocked the Eagles. Todd Bowles delivered on what I predicted to be a lucrative defensive scheme that made Jalen Hurts uncomfortable and held D’Andre Swift to 34 yards, plus he’s effectively planning for the weather expected in Detroit this weekend.

I like the Lions in this game, the one-two punch of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs may pose too much for Bowles to handle alongside Detroit’s explosive wide receivers, but it’ll be another close one.

Score Prediction: Bucs 24, Lions 27

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(3) Kansas City Chiefs at (2) Buffalo Bills

Rounding out our divisional weekend this year is the matchup everybody loves to watch nowadays: Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen. There are a plethora of stats, schematics, what ifs, and strategies you could indulge in surrounding this game, but to avoid rambling and keep things simple, I won’t take you through all that.

Of course, we know what happened when these guys met during the regular season:

And also what happened when these guys last met in the playoffs:

As much as I keep telling myself the Bills will win this time – they’re in Buffalo, everything’s clicking for them right now – you can’t beat around the bush with Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs, you just can’t.

A concerning amount of defensive injuries also piled up for the Bills last week, which cannot be ignored. Of course this game is gonna be awesome, but I have the Chiefs remaining undefeated against Buffalo in the playoffs. Sorry, Bills fans.

Score Prediction: Chiefs 30, Bills 23