After an exciting wild card week that saw two blowouts and two games that came down to the wire, the league enters the NFL Divisional Playoffs with the best eight teams ready to decide the respective division championships on the way to the conference finals. Seattle is most vulnerable down the seams, and will probably sell out to defend Greg Olsen in this playoff game, which could leave Brown open on the other side of the field.
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The last time the Chiefs and Patriots met, some people wondered if the Patriots’ dynasty might be slowing down.
He’s become a vital part of New England’s offense since he exploded for 115 receiving yards on 10 catches against Philadelphia in Week 13, and remains a consistent receiving option for Brady. “The Patriots are hardened, tested, and know how to hang in there even when they are out-manned”. They’ll take on a Chiefs team that hasn’t lost since October 18. That means home teams are 20-16 when playing against teams that finished the regular season with a worse record (or the same record) and 10-10 when playing at home against a team with more wins.
New England has been battling injuries, but key players like receiver Julian Edelman, offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer and linebacker Dont’a Hightower are expected to play. While I don’t see that scoreline in this game after the Packers got back to reality in Landover. This is ideal for me: the time will enable me to see the finish of the game!
While it’s safe to say this weekend the Green Bay Packers shouldn’t resemble the team that was embarrassed 38-8 by the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16, it’s also unclear whether the playoff-caliber squad that showed up in the Wild Card Round against Washington will be back for a second consecutive week.
The following bracket contains all the scheduling information you’ll need to know ahead of this weekend’s games, including start times and television broadcasts. Under basic metrics, they have the 10th best scoring defense and the 3rd best scoring offense, and held a +9.4 points differential over the course of the season.
The next day the Seattle Seahawks will look to take down the red-hot Carolina Panthers, while the Pittsburgh Steelers will face off against the Denver Broncos.
There are some interesting matchups in the divisional round, but this looks like the best one. They were extremely fortunate to escape out of the third-coldest game in National Football League history with a win. It’s unknown what the Seahawks will get out of Marshawn Lynch, so the offense will rely heavily on Wilson. This should be a good game. Seattle played very well in the second half of the season and will feel confident going to Charlotte. While Cam Newton and the Panthers have had a great season, the experience of the Seahawks is going to come out on top on Sunday. The defense is full of stars too, like linebacker Luke Kuechly and cornerback Josh Norman. Do you really want to go to bed on Sunday saying, “I can’t believe I bet on the team that played a quarterback with no arm!!!?”
Pittsburgh and Denver last met in the National Football League play-offs back in January 2012 when the Broncos overcame the Steelers thanks to a walk-off 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback/internet sensation Tim Tebow to Demariyus Thomas in overtime.
Will road teams win again?
CBS will live-stream the Chiefs-Patriots game on Saturday and the Steelers-Broncos game on Sunday at CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app for Android, iOS, Windows 10, Xbox One, Apple TV and Roku.
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The Broncos will have a different quarterback. It lends an excitement to the regular season games, gives us narratives to think about and argue about earlier in the season, and makes those rivalry games seem all the more important.
