Lost in the mayhem of the Rams moving to Los Angeles and multiple teams hiring new head coaches, the Divisional Round of the playoffs are this week. At the end of Sunday, there will only be four teams left.
Chiefs vs Patriots (Saturday)
What happens when you take an 11-game winning streak into Foxborough? Well, we are about to find out. Working in favor of Kansas City is the fact that New England struggled down the stretch. In their final six games, they went 2-4, including two straight losses to close out the season. All of this comes after a 10-game winning streak to open the season. What happened to the Patriots? Simply put, they were hit hard by injuries. Helping their cause this week is the return of wide receiver Julian Edelman from a broken foot. Despite missing the final seven games due to this injury, he still led the Patriots’ wide receivers in receiving yards and touchdowns. Quarterback Tom Brady is sure to be happy to see Edelman back on the field.
Player to Watch: OLB Justin Houston, Chiefs
Speaking of returning from injury, Houston made his return from a knee injury last week. However, he didn’t look 100 percent and didn’t make his usual impact on the game. New England’s offensive line is vulnerable, but is Houston healthy enough to take advantage of the favorable matchup?
Matchup to Watch: Patriots’ TE Rob Gronkowski vs Chiefs’ defenders
A matchup nightmare, Gronkowski is going to face multiple defenders throughout the game. Kansas City defensive coordinator Bob Sutton likes to employ formations with an extra safety, so this should help the Chiefs guard Gronkowski. Adding intrigue here, Gronkowski has been missing practice due to injury.
Packers vs Cardinals (Saturday)
Just a few weeks ago, the Packers traveled to Arizona and were beat thoroughly. Midway through the third quarter, the Cardinals took a commanding 31-0 lead, before going on to win 38-8. It may be tough to think that things have changed in the limited time since week 16, but look no further than the Seahawks-Vikings game from last weekend. Seattle beat Minnesota 38-7 in week 13, but only escaped Minnesota in the playoffs thanks to a bad missed field goal by Blair Walsh. The good news for Green Bay is that their offense looked much, much better last week against Washington than in had in previous games.
Player to Watch: QB Aaron Rodgers, Packers
How bad was the previous game for Rodgers? He posted the lowest QBR of his career (not counting games he left injured). He was under constant duress from the Cardinals’ pass rush and only averaged 5.4 yards per pass attempt while completing 53.6 percent of his passes.
Matchup to Watch: Packers’ offensive line vs Cardinals’ pass rush
The main reason Arizona was able to win so handily was because they took down Green Bay’s quarterback nine times (2.5 of the sacks came from Calais Campbell). Against Washington, Rodgers was only hit twice (one sack and one quarterback hit), which was a major improvement.
Seahawks vs Panthers (Sunday)
For the second year in a row, the Seahawks and Panthers will meet in the divisional round. This time, the game will be played in Carolina, as the Panthers are the No. 1 seed in the NFC––just like Seattle last year. So much has changed since that game. The two most significant developments are improvements by the Panthers. Quarterback Cam Newton is the likely NFL MVP, and Josh Norman has become a lockdown cornerback. This may be a game between the No. 1 and No. 6 seeds, but Seattle enters the game have won seven of their last eight and nine of their last 11 games. They aren’t your average wild card team. When these teams played in October (in Seattle), the Panthers won 27-23.
Player to Watch: TE Greg Olsen, Panthers
The biggest weakness of the Seahawks’ defense this season has been covering tight ends. Just look at the stats Olsen put up in the week six game: seven catches for 131 yards and one touchdown. Olsen is the Panthers’ best receiving target, so Seattle needs to find a way to cover him.
Matchup to Watch: Panthers’ offensive line vs Seahawks’ DE Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett is a one-man wreaking crew on the defensive line, playing outside at defensive end and inside at defensive tackle. Carolina held him in check the first time around, as he failed to record a sack or a quarterback hit, which occurred just three times all season.
Steelers vs Broncos (Sunday)
This game between Pittsburgh and Denver has significant two injury storylines to follow, both coming from the Steelers. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is dealing with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss time during last week’s game. He was able to return late and lead the Steelers to victory, but he was clearly limited and couldn’t throw the ball downfield. Wide receiver Antonio Brown will miss the game after suffering a concussion on big hit from Vontaze Burfict on the final drive of the game. As Roethlisberger was able to finish the game in Cincinnati, I’d expect him to play. What will the Steelers be missing without Brown? He hasn’t had a game with less than 10 targets since October.
Player to Watch: QB Peyton Manning, Broncos
On the non-injury front (kind of), Manning makes his first start since week 10. He may not be completely recovered from his foot injury, but Gary Kubiak is rolling with Manning after Brock Osweiler began to struggle. In his last start, he threw four interceptions and only completed 25 percent of his passes.
Matchup to Watch: Broncos’ wide receivers vs Steelers’ secondary
One big advantage Denver has comes in the passing game. Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders should be able to get open all game long against a poor Steelers’ secondary. When the teams played in week 15 (a 34-27 victory for Pittsburgh), Thomas caught five passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns, while Sanders hauled in 10 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown against his former team.
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