Now that the NFL Playoff hopefuls and pretenders have been eliminated, we head on into the Divisional Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs. All these games hold unique storylines and are believed to provide much closer games than the past NFL Wild Card Weekend. Like last week, we expect there to be the same amount of surprises awaiting us in this weekend's playoff matchups.
NFL Divisional Round Ravens Vs. Texans: Ravens Hope to Shroud Stroud
Saturday 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Saturday looks to be the day of underdogs as we kick off the NFL Divisional Round with the matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans. Everyone's favorite rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has already proven to be a remarkable talent, but the Houston quarterback can really cement himself as larger than life if he defeats the Ravens at home.
No one said or even thinks this will be an easy task, facing off against the NFL MVP favorite quarterback, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson. And overcoming Jackson's talent is only half the battle, as the Ravens have a defense that has given even the best of quarterbacks an extremely difficult time.
Lamar Jackson's stats this year aren't as eye popping as his past MVP year's, but many can argue that Jackson has developed into a much better quarterback in that time. New Ravens offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, has unlocked Jackson in the passing game as Lamar threw for the most yards in his career this year. Also, the addition of rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers and veteran wideout Odell Beckham Jr., helped as well. This year's tape proves that a team cannot simply bottle Jackson up in the run solely and must keep honest in the pass.
But the Ravens aren't going to take this match lightly, because the quarterback on the other side is no joke either. Stroud dismantled the Cleveland Browns top ranked defense while the Texans defense went on a scoring parade, housing two Joe Flacco interceptions for touchdowns. Stroud will have a lot to overcome as the Ravens linebacking core is one of the best in the league and will be flying all over the field. Stroud has come a long way since their Week 1 matchup earlier in the season, and even in that game he seemed extremely mature for a young quarterback.
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NFL Divisional Round 49ers Vs. Packers: Pack Is Back!
Saturday 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time
The Green Bay Packers seemed to have found their quarterback for the next 10 years, and we're all sick of hearing about it. History remained the same as the Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys at home as usual, but can Green Bay change the tide of history by defeating their playoff bane, the San Francisco 49ers at home?
Green Bay continues their Cinderella story, being the lowest playoff seed alive, as they take on a powerhouse 49ers team. History has proven the 49ers to be a problem for the Packers in the playoffs, sending Green Bay home in the NFC Championship games multiple times. With the youngest team in the NFL, can the Packers pull off another astonishing upset.
The 49ers are well rested, coming off essentially two weeks of rest, as they clinched the NFC one seed back in Week 17. The Packers have been an exciting team to watch as they play with a "nothing to lose" mentality, but will be put to the test in a game against arguably the most complete team in the NFL.
NFL Divisional Round Lions Vs. Buccaneers: Unlikely Foes
Sunday 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time
The Detroit Lions survived the matchup against their old friend quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams, but now look to their next home playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Detroit Lions had to face their past and overcome the woes of their franchise in last week's game against the Rams. In a physical game, the defense was able to halt Stafford in his final attempt at a game winning drive. While on the other hand, the Bucs made light work of the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. It will be interesting to see how this game unfolds being that both teams hold potentially explosive offenses and defenses that definitely have their flaws.
This is a matchup between two teams that can honestly make a real run at the Super Bowl given they hit their stride at the right time. So far, the Buccaneers have definitely proven that they can hang with the upper end teams of the NFC, even though the Eagles turned out to be playoff pretenders. But this is not to discredit the Bucs, as their quarterback Baker Mayfield may have found a home to settle in. Mayfield is playing his best football right now and looks as comfortable as ever in Tampa Bay.
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NFL Divisional Round Bills Vs. Chiefs: Pay the Bills, Keep the Receipts
Sunday 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Here comes the matchup everyone has been dying to see and the NFL has been swinging games to line up to. Sunday Night we will see Bills Vs. Chiefs, Josh Allen Vs. Patrick Mahomes, and most importantly, Taylor Swift Vs. Hailee Steinfeld.
We have the new classic of the Buffalo Bills Vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, and this time around the Bills finally get to take on the Chiefs in Buffalo. Both teams are probably still defrosting after their frozen matches during the NFL Wild Card Weekend and now we get to see who the real champion of arctic weather is.
The Chiefs have been chipping their way through the season, never necessarily looking as dominant as they have in the past. But this is no team to take lightly and Buffalo knows this very well. Kansas City still has a top defense, great offensive line, and a good run game; their only major flaw is that their wide receivers are more likely to catch a cold opposed to passes from their quarterback.
Now, the Bills are playing their best brand of football in the past few years. Earlier in the season it looked as if the window for a Buffalo Super Bowl was closing quickly with an under performing offense and a banged up defense. But after an offensive coordinator change a little over the mid-way point of the season, the Bills look to be rolling out a high octane offense lead by their quarterback Josh Allen; who, after a near perfect game last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, seems to have saved his best style of football for the most important time of the season, the playoffs.
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