Saturday
Houston Texans (11-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (15-2), 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN and ABC
Kansas City begins the playoffs following a first-round bye with the focus on becoming the first team in NFL history to claim three straight Super Bowls. Fifth-seeded Houston thumped the Los Angeles Chargers, runners-up to KC in the AFC West, 32-12, in a wild-card game fueled by prominent efforts from all three phases, especially the defense. Houston’s pass rush brings a lot of pressure off the edge. Will Anderson Jr. and Mario Edwards Jr. both had 1.5 sacks against Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who threw four interceptions to surpass total of three in 17 regular-season games. Edge Danielle Hunter leads the NFL in pass-rush win rate. Last week, Derek Stingley Jr. hauled in two of the Texans’ picks, while Eric Murray returned his interception 38 yards for a score.
These teams met earlier this season and Houston held a lead in the second quarter at Kansas City but lost 27-19, struggling to regroup after a would-be, game-tying PAT kick in the third quarter was no good. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed and rushed for a touchdown on an ankle he sprained the previous week. Texans counterpart C.J. Stroud passed for two scores but was intercepted twice. Mahomes is 6-0 in divisional games in his career. He rested in Week 18 after matching a season high with three touchdown passes in the previous game. He and his wife welcomed their third child, daughter Golden, to start the week.
Mahomes said he’s focused on the task at hand after a 15-2 regular season in which 11 games were decided by eight points or fewer. He flipped his social media profile pictures to his collection of Super Bowl rings to send a message that he’s back in business. With 15 career postseason wins, Mahomes can tie Joe Montana (16 wins) for second place all-time in playoff wins by a quarterback behind Tom Brady (35). Mahomes is in fifth places behind Brady for the all-time playoff touchdown record, and just five TDs would bump him up to second place on that list. Brady has 88 TD passes in 48 playoff games; Mahomes has 41 in 18 games. Aaron Rodgers (45), Montana (45) and Brett Favre (44) stand between the two. Texans running back Joe Mixon did not practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday with an ankle injury and is listed as questionable for the game. He had 25 carries for 106 yards and a 17-yard touchdown last week. The Texans are aiming for the franchise’s first AFC title game after five losses in as many trips to the divisional round. Kansas City overcame a 24-0 second-quarter deficit against the visiting Texans in a divisional game after the 2019 season, winning 51-31 en route to a Super Bowl title.
Washington Commanders (13-5) at Detroit Lions (15-2), 8 p.m. ET, FOX
The only repeat NFC team in the divisional round from the 2024 postseason, Detroit claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time in franchise history. Runners up to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC last season, the Lions set a franchise record for wins in the 2024 regular season, clinching the NFC North with a Week 18 win over the Minnesota Vikings. That victory secured the only first-round bye in the conference. While the Lions rested and plotted ways to protect their injury-ravaged defense, the Commanders scored their first postseason victory since 2005 at Tampa Bay, 23-20 behind rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. A completion percentage of 72 percent with 12 touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime helped define Daniels’ stellar rookie season. He threw a TD pass to No. 1 receiver Terry McLaurin on fourth down at Tampa Bay to take the lead, and after the Buccaneers tied the game, he calmly connected on three straight passes and ran for a first down to set up the game-winning field goal. Daniels led five comeback wins and helped Washington crash the playoffs with three fourth-quarter touchdown passes to beat the Philadelphia Eagles last month. Rookie quarterbacks are 5-7 in the Divisional Playoffs since 1950 and 1-4 since 2010. Only Mark Sanchez (2009 with the Jets) and Joe Flacco (2008, Ravens) have won multiple road games as rookie starters. Daniels, described by his coach as a “killer inside that helmet,” might not fit the description of a rookie at this point in the season. He helped the Commanders improve from four wins to a 12-5 finish and was 8-3 in one-score games. The No. 6 seed in the NFC goes back on the road for the fourth playoff matchup with the Lions, who are 0-3 against Washington in the playoffs. With a win, the Commanders would advance to the conference championship for the first time since they defeated the Lions in the 1991 NFC title game.
No. 1 in the NFL in scoring offense (33.2 points per game) and second in total offense (409.5 yards per game) during the regular season, Detroit welcomes the return of running back David Montgomery (1,116 yards from scrimmage, 12 rushing TDs in 2024) after he missed three games with a knee injury sustained Dec. 15. Montgomery was considered a surgery candidate but said rehab has him feeling stronger than he was before the injury. A key to slowing Montgomery down for the Commanders is middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. A second-team All-Pro in 2024, Wagner injured his ankle on the second-to-last defensive play of the wild-card win last week and expects to play despite limited practice time this week. Wagner followed head coach Dan Quinn to Washington and topped 100 tackles for the 11th consecutive season. The 230-pound Montgomery’s pad-popping running style is the ideal complement to speedy Jahmyr Gibbs, who topped 21 miles per hour on two of his TDs (70-yard run, 54-yard reception), according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Gibbs led the team with 1,412 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, plus 52 catches for 517 yards and four more TDs. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was named All-Pro in 2024 with a team-high 115 receptions for 1,263 yards and 12 TDs, and Goff throwing 37 TD passes and Jared Goff completing 72.4 percent of his attempts.
Sunday
Los Angeles Rams (11-7) at Philadelphia Eagles (15-3), 3 p.m. ET, NBC
Eagles RB Saquon Barkley will be a focal point when the Eagles host the Rams on Sunday afternoon in an NFC divisional-round playoff matchup. That much is a given. No. 2 seed Philadelphia is coming off a win over the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round, and No. 4 seed Los Angeles advanced after a wild-card win over the Minnesota Vikings. It will be the second meeting of the season between the Eagles and Rams. Barkley erupted for a career-high 302 yards from scrimmage, including a franchise-record 255 rushing yards, to go along with two touchdowns, when Philadelphia cruised to a 37-20 win and scored on 8 of 10 possessions in Week 12. Barkley became the sixth player in NFL history to record multiple rushing touchdowns of 70-plus yards in a game.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni knows the Rams want to avoid a blockbuster sequel. Neither club is a stranger to the big stage. Sirianni and the Eagles are looking to reach the conference title game for the second time in the past three seasons, and Rams coach Sean McVay is aiming for his third championship game in eight seasons.
The teams took far different paths to this point in the postseason.
Philadelphia was one of the best teams in the NFL for much of the regular season as it surged to a 12-2 start and finished 14-3 as the NFC East champions.
Los Angeles, on the other hand, lost four of its first five games and sat at 5-6 in the standings after the loss to Barkley and the Eagles on Nov. 24. But then the Rams closed the regular season on a 5-1 run to clinch the NFC West, and they dominated the Vikings in their playoff opener, 27-9, despite the game being moved to Arizona because of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
Matthew Stafford is the steadying influence who runs the Rams offense. He passed for 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions in the regular season, and he posted a 117.7 passer rating last week while completing 19 of 27 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings. Stafford is 5-1 in the playoffs with the Rams.
Wideouts Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are Stafford’s top two weapons in the passing game and will test the Philadelphia secondary. Running back Kyren Williams racked up 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns in the regular season and also will pose a threat.
QB Jalen Hurts will look to build upon a playoff opener in which he completed 13 of 21 passes for 131 yards and two scores in the Eagles’ 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers in the wild-cars round. He also rushed six times for 36 yards, and he will give Philadelphia a dual threat as the Rams primarily focus on Barkley.
Eagles wideout A.J. Brown will try to break out in the receiving game after catching only one pass for 10 yards last week. Brown missed practice Wednesday to rest his knee but said he would return to practice later in the week and be ready to play Sunday. On defense, the Rams are coming in hot after matching an NFL playoff record with nine sacks against the Vikings a week ago. Kobie Turner had two sacks, and Byron Young and Neville Gallimore finished with 1 1/2 sacks apiece. The Eagles also boast a high-energy defense. Philadelphia turned in a stellar defensive performance with four takeaways against the Packers in the wild-card round. The unit led the NFL in turnover margin (plus-17) and points scored off takeaways (97) over the final 11 weeks of the regular season. This is the fourth time the teams have met in the playoffs and the first time since the 2001 season. The Rams hold a 2-1 edge in the series.
Baltimore Ravens (13-5) at Buffalo Bills (14-4), 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS
The two leading candidates for the NFL MVP award will share the field Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens visit the Buffalo Bills in an AFC divisional playoff game. But neither Lamar Jackson nor Josh Allen view it as a one-on-one battle when the teams square off at Orchard Park, N.Y.
The second-seeded Bills recorded a 31-7 rout of the visiting Denver Broncos in last week’s wild-card round while the third-seeded Ravens dominated the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers 28-14. Baltimore racked up 299 rushing yards against the Steelers with Derrick Henry rushing for 186 and two touchdowns on 26 carries.
Henry was signed as a free agent in March after spending his career with the Tennessee Titans and has given the Ravens an extra element. He rushed for 1,921 yards and tied for the NFL lead with 16 rushing touchdowns in the regular season.
Baltimore is trying to return to the AFC Championship Game. The Ravens lost at home to the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 last season.
This game is forecast to kick off with a real-feel temperature in the low single digits. That would make it the coldest game in Jackson’s career. Jackson is just 3-4 as a playoff starter and Baltimore is trying to win two games in the same postseason for the first time since Joe Flacco quarterbacked them to the Super Bowl title in the 2012 season.
Jackson’s top wide receiver, Zay Flowers (knee), did not play last week and could miss Sunday’s game after not practicing this week.
Buffalo has lost in this round in three straight campaigns after reaching the AFC title game in the 2020 season, where the Bills fell to the Chiefs. Allen is 6-5 as a playoff starter, including a 17-3 divisional-round win over the Ravens in the 2020 campaign.
Earlier this season, the Ravens rolled to a 35-10 home victory over the Bills on Sept. 29. Henry scored on an 87-yard run as part of a season-best 199-yard day on the ground. Jackson passed for two touchdowns that day while Allen didn’t throw for any.
–Field Level Media
Comments