Divisional Round Playoff Predictions

 

Wild Card Record (2-4)

 

NFC

Green Bay Packers Vs San Francisco 49ers

The Packers are coming off of a huge win over the Cowboys and now come rolling into San Francisco on fire! A big reason why is Aaron Jones came back from injury and has pretty much been averaging about 100 yards per game the last five or six games. The 49ers are, by far, one of the most talented teams in the league and come into this one healthy and ready to go! Christian McCaffrey had one of the best seasons of his career and Brock Purdy hasn’t lost a step since he stepped in as starter for the team. The edge in this matchup will be the 9ers defense. They will need to stop the run and force the pressure onto Love to make mistakes. The 9ers shouldn’t have a problem with this and may even force some turnovers. The offense can control the game on the ground and make the big plays when needed against the pretty soft Packers defense. Deebo Samuel is difficult for anyone to tackle and this will be a problem for the Packers. The 49ers have too much talent for the Packers to stop in this matchup.

49ers over Packers 31-21

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vs Detroit Lions

Detroit is coming off of one of the biggest wins of their entire franchise, hopefully they don’t keep riding that high into this week because this is a new game and nobody cares that you finally got a playoff win. The Bucs are, by far, one of the most surprising teams in the postseason because once Tom Brady left we all assumed they’d be trash and turns out they aren’t half bad. Their defense is lights out and will make things difficult for the Lions to get going on the ground, which means they will have to ride the shoulders of Jared Goff, who has had a solid season, but he has had a problem with turnovers at critical moments throughout the season. The Bucs offense has been extremely inconsistent, one game they will blow you up, and the next they will be lucky if they can score a field goal. These inconsistencies usually magnify once you hit the postseason against a good team like the Lions. Detroit has a stout defense who have made quarterbacks lives hell all season long and that was a big reason why they got the win last week against the Rams. I feel like the defense will come into play, yet again, and cause some issues for the Bucs on offense and the Lions will move onto their first Conference Championship game!

Lions over Buccaneers 24-17

 

AFC

Houston Texans Vs Baltimore Ravens

It’s been a great turnaround for the Texans this season, and it’s extremely shocking that they have made it this far with a rookie quarterback and coach! C.J. Stroud has really held it down and didn’t look rattled at all in his first playoff game last week, unfortunately, for him he is going up against a buzzsaw in this matchup. The Ravens defense takes no prisoners and have been one of the top defenses all year. They lead the league in sacks and have no issues causing turnovers. Then you turn to the offense and Lamar Jackson has elevated his game to a whole new level! He is a pocket passer who has been tearing defenses up, but still can kill you on the ground. The Ravens have the best ground attack in the league and I don’t believe the Texans defense will be able to handle them. It’s been a good run for the Texans, but the Ravens are legit and should take care of the Texans easily!

Ravens over Texans 28-20

Kansas City Chiefs Vs Buffalo Bills

Over the years this matchup has turned into a marquee rivalry. In my opinion, it can’t be considered a rivalry until Josh Allen and the Bills win one of these matchups in the postseason. The Chiefs come into this one playing fairly mediocre football for the entire season, but they’ve been able to get by and hang on and here they remain. Even though the Chiefs won last week, all of their problems were there, poor in the redzone, dropping passes, and just not looking that dominant as they have in the past. They just went up against an awful opponent who was never going to win that one on their best day. The Bills, on the other hand, have been one of the hottest teams headed into the playoffs. They had a rocky start, but finally found a ground attack and have been on their way to winning. The Bills defense has also been a big reason for the wins, and I believe they will play a huge role in this matchup. While no defense can really contain Patrick Mahomes, you can force him into some bad positions, and get some turnovers, and I believe that’s what the Bills will do. Mahomes has had to carry the load all season and his entire offense has let him down for the most part, at some point that will catch up to you, and I believe that this week is when that will happen.

Bills over Chiefs 27-20