I don’t think anything can top the fireworks we saw in the Wild Card round last week, but the time to test that theory has arrived: today, the NFL Divisional round Saturday slate officially kicks off.
Last week, this day started with a phenomenal game in Charlotte between the Rams and Panthers. An incredibly feisty Carolina team nearly pulled off a second huge upset over LA, but fell just short after a signature Matthew Stafford touchdown drive at the end.
In the late window, we watched the game of the week: Chicago vs. Green Bay. Of course, that ended in a historic comeback from “Da Bears” that electrified the Windy City and crushed the Packers’ playoff hopes.
Today, we’ll get a mixture of AFC and NFC games, with the Bills heading west to Denver and the Seahawks hosting their division rival 49ers, in Seattle.
If you’re as fired up for these two games as I am, you’re surely looking for some pre-game coverage, and that’s what I’ll bring right here. Let’s dig into some background info and predictions for this Divisional round Saturday.
Buffalo Bills (12-5, 6 Seed) @ Denver Broncos (14-3, 1 Seed)
38 Degrees & Sunny at 3:30 PM CST Kick Off — DEN Favorites By 1.5 Points — 45.5 O/U.
Josh Allen, with momentum after a road victory in Jacksonville, is taking on a dominant defensive one-seed in the Broncos in Mile High. That just screams a fantastic game to start the weekend.
Buffalo and Denver are nearly even in the betting odds, with the latter taking the “favorites” title solely because the game is at home.
However, there is no question about which team is more talented on paper in this matchup. It is the Broncos; they have better weapons and a much better defense, but they don’t have the “Winter Soldier” leading them at quarterback.
With respect to Bo Nix, the Bills have a damn good chance in this game because the quarterback battle is lopsided. Allen is simply one of the top-three QBs in the game, and he looks ready to roll despite an abysmal wide receiver corps around him.
This game will come down to whether the Broncos’ defense can continue their elite play against a former MVP, and if Nix can make enough happen offensively. If not, you will see Allen’s Bills in the AFC Championship game.
San Francisco 49ers (12-5, 6 Seed) @ Seattle Seahawks (14-3, 1 Seed)
43 Degrees & Clear Skies at 7:00 PM CST Kick Off — SEA Favorites By 7.0 Points – 44.5 O/U.
Up in Seattle, we have the largest spread of the week, with Sam Darnold’s Seahawks taking on, for a third time this year, a resilient 49er team.
Let’s be blunt here: there is no way San Francisco should still be playing with all their injuries, and now, they’ve added another with George Kittle tearing his Achilles in their Wild Card matchup with Philadelphia.
Despite that injury and many more, however, they took down the reigning champs and have a chance to continue a ridiculous run with an upset win over Seattle.
What’s standing in their way, you might ask? One of the league’s best defensive coaches, Mike Macdonald, a stellar unit on that side of the ball, and an offense that has the likely OPOY and can drop 40 on any given week.
Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet, and the savvy veteran Cooper Kupp can bring thunder to any defense anytime, if Darnold is on his game. That has been a concern previously, and a new oblique injury has only raised those questions.
For San Fran to win, they’ll need a Darnold “choke” game while also creating enough offense to gain and maintain a lead. That is much harder than it sounds against Seattle, who, with a rowdy home crowd behind them, could end this game very quickly.
Barring some Kyle Shanahan magic, I expect the Hawks to wrap this up early in the fourth quarter and advance to the NFC Championship game.
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