After plenty of blowouts, confused referees, and horrendous play calls during Wild Card Weekend, the Divisional Round is upon us. Finally, fans are able to watch the cream of the crop duke it out as we inch closer and closer to the big game. This is one of the first years in recent memory where it feels like any one of these teams can win the Super Bowl. With the competition being so tight, let’s get into what should be a highly entertaining Divisional Round of football.

Saturday 1/22

(4) Cincinnati Bengals @ (1) Tennessee Titans: 4:30 PM ET (CBS)

Expected Weather: 34℉, 3 mph wind, 1% precipitation

Current Game Line: Titans -3.5

The recently victorious, Cincinnati Bengals, are taking on the AFC’s forgotten number 1 seed in the Tennessee Titans for the first matchup of the divisional round. Throughout the 2021 season, it felt like the Titans were losing players to injury almost every week. Major pieces like Julio Jones, A.J. Brown, Taylor Lewan, and Caleb Farley have all missed plenty of time at different points of the season. The most impactful of those injuries was the loss of their otherworldly running back, Derrick Henry, to a Jones fracture in Week 8. 

However, after not being on the field for the past 11 weeks, Henry is looking likely to return for the Titan’s most important game of the year. The Bengals were a top-five rush defense during 2021 but just allowed Raiders running back, Josh Jacobs, to average 6.4 yards per carry during the Wild Card round. Josh Jacobs is talented, but he’s no Derrick Henry, so it will be interesting to see how he fares against Cincinnati’s defense.

Coming off of their win against the Raiders, the Bengals are looking for an improved performance against the Titans. Cincinnati had plenty of opportunities to take a much larger lead throughout the game but continuously floundered in the red zone and had to settle for field goals. Against Tennessee, the Bengals will look to convert on more of those red zone opportunities as field goals can only do so much against a team as dangerous as the Titans. 

In 2021, both of these teams were pretty similar defensively as they each ranked in the bottom 10 for pass defense while also ranking in the top 5 for run defense. Offensively, they were complete opposites as Cincinnatti excelled in the passing game while Tennessee excelled in the run game. The keys to this matchup will be if Joe Burrow can extend his incredible hot streak and how effective this Titans offense can be with most of the previously injured players available. 

The Pick: As for my prediction on the winner, I’m rolling with the upset as I expect Cincinnati to take down the Titans in Nashville. The main reasoning for this result stems back to the Bengals being nearly unstoppable in the passing game with the combination of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd while the Titans struggle against the pass. Tennesse just seems too hobbled and while Derrick Henry could easily go off in his return, it will be hard to rely heavily on the run against a Bengal’s offense that can put up points in a hurry. 

(6) San Francisco 49ers @ (1) Green Bay Packers: 8:15 PM ET (FOX)

Expected Weather: 11℉, 9 mph wind, 5% precipitation

Current Game Line: Packers -5.5

In what has been rumored as the possible final season for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, the Packers will look to return to the NFC championship for the third year in a row. Before they can do that though, they’re going to have to get past a 49ers team that can be very dangerous when they’re rolling. These two teams faced off already way back in Week 3 when the 49ers made the classic blunder of leaving too much time on the clock for Aaron Rodgers to work with at the end of the game. That mistake led to the 49ers losing on a last-second field goal that pushed Green Bay to a 30-28 victory. 

This time around, the 49ers are a different team than what they were in Week 3. Their rushing attack is led by rookie sensation Elijah Mitchell rather than Trey Sermon, Brandon Aiyuk has escaped the dog house, and Deebo Samuel has emerged to become one of the greatest offensive weapons in football. Their defense is top-3 but they will need to be perfect to overcome the historically great ability that Aaron Rodgers possesses. 

Aaron Rodgers has been fantastic as he is likely to be the league MVP for the second straight year. He’s been incredibly efficient while leading the league in passer rating and throwing only four interceptions to his 37 touchdowns. Along with Rodgers is arguably the top wide receiver in the NFL, Davante Adams, and the talented two-headed backfield of A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones. The offense is also welcoming back most of their lineman with the return of David Bakhtiari, Josh Myers, and Billy Turner. 

On the defensive side, Green Bay ranked 9th in yards allowed per game despite being without Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith for most of the year. Those two are most likely returning to the lineup this weekend as well. With all of these returning players, the Packers are entering the divisional round as one of the healthier teams in football which makes them even more dangerous than before.  

The Pick: This weekend, I believe that the top-seeded Packers are going to come out of Green Bay with a win as they advance to their third straight NFC championship game. While the 49ers have shown their talent is immense, they seem to be prone to mistakes with Jimmy Garoppolo leading the team. This was seen with his late interception that brought the Cowboys back into their Wild Card game last week. Also, the Packers have home-field advantage, and there is no NFL team that means more to than the Green Bay Packers.

When at home, the Packers defense allows an average quarterback rating of 74.7 compared to their away rating of 99.1 while they’ve also allowed 16 fewer touchdowns at Lambeau Field. To put it simply, the Packers have a massive advantage when playing in the frozen tundra and I believe that will come into play when facing a quarterback who has been prone to errors this season.

Sunday 1/23

(4) Los Angeles Rams @ (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3:05 PM ET (NBC)

Expected Weather: 58℉, 10 mph wind, 0% precipitation

Current Game Line: Buccaneers -2.5

The Rams will be facing off against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay on Sunday. In the Wild Card round, both of these teams won in convincing fashion as the Rams flattened the Cardinals while the Bucs smacked around the 7th seeded Eagles. This game could be an interesting one as these teams faced off for a competitive matchup back in Week 3. The Rams ended up winning that game 34-24 despite Tom Brady passing for 432 yards. 

Each of these teams are fairly similar as they have top-5 passing offenses and lower-tier rushing offenses even with talented running backs. Defensively, they are both top-6 run defenses but bottom-12 passing defenses. They each offer similar offensive and defensive strengths which could bring heavy passing numbers into this matchup. While each team is fairly similar in its strategy, the availability of players on both sides is still a question mark. 

Sean McVay recently confirmed that LT Andrew Whitworth will miss Sunday’s game and FS Taylor Rapp will miss his second consecutive game. Those two are huge losses for the Rams as they need all the help they can get on the offensive line versus a feared Tampa defensive front and veteran, Eric Weddle, will likely be pushed into a starting role despite playing in his first NFL game in two years on Monday. 

On the Tampa side, their offensive line has taken some hits as well with RT Tristan Wirfs and C Ryan Jensen both having injured their ankles in the Bucs win against the Eagles. According to reports, Jensen seems to be progressing nicely while Wirfs made his first appearance at practice on Friday and has been participating in very light drills. Head coach, Bruce Arians, has said that the team won’t make the decision on both of these players possibly until 90 minutes before kickoff. Even if both decide to suit up, they definitely won’t be 100 percent. That certainly muddies the situation a bit since the Buccaneers will have a tough time running their offense with backup linemen against the Rams stacked defensive line. 

The Pick: With all of these injuries considered, I’m picking the Rams to advance to the NFC Championship. The Buccaneers are already depleted at wide receiver with Mike Evans being the only real weapon on the outside. He will likely be covered by All-Pro Jalen Ramsey for the entirety of the game so Tom Brady will have limited weapons when passing the ball. A lack of weapons is the last thing the Buccaneers need when facing this star-studded Rams defense. Also, considering the uncertainty surrounding Tampa’s offensive line, any of the Rams pass rushers could find a way to wreck this game. While the Rams are dealing with injuries of their own, I can see them taking down Tom Brady with a great pass rush, which has been a key factor to defeating Brady in the past. 

(3) Buffalo Bills @ (2) Kansas City Chiefs: 6:30 PM ET (CBS)

Expected Weather: 40℉, 5 mph wind, 1% precipitation

Current Game Line: Chiefs -2

In the most heavily anticipated game of the divisional round, the Bills and Chiefs will face off in Kansas City for a rematch of the 2020 AFC Championship game. In the Wild Card round, both of these teams won convincingly as the Bills crushed the Patriots 47-17, and the Chiefs ended Ben Roethlisberger’s career with a 42-21 route. As is with what feels like every playoff matchup so far, these two teams faced off already in the regular season. Back in Week 5, the Bills took down a struggling Chiefs team 38-20 behind four total touchdowns from Josh Allen. 

This time around, the game should be different. At that point in the season, the Chiefs were a shell of themselves as they were still attempting to adjust to defenses shutting down their deep pass-centric offense. Now, the Chiefs are a more careful team that is limiting the number of dumb mistakes that used to be more prevalent. Patrick Mahomes will still make the occasional cross-body throw that could easily be intercepted once in a while, but the offense looks much more controlled than it was earlier in the season. Their defense was ranked near the bottom of the league but they improved immensely down the stretch as they formed into a respectable unit. 

The Bills on the other hand went through a similar stretch as the Chiefs. Their defense was always top-notch with the number one overall unit in the league but the offense was missing those deep shots that carried them so often in 2020 as defenses adjusted to their play style. After a tough midseason stretch that saw the Bills lose to the Jaguars, Buffalo has gained back confidence due to a couple of factors. They’ve bought into running the ball more with Devin Singletary which has proven beneficial and they’ve incorporated different options like Gabriel Davis and Isaiah McKenzie.  

The Pick: These are two of the most electric teams in football and it will be a fun game for fans to watch. When picking the winner though, I have to go with the Bills. As a team, they are coming off of possibly the greatest playoff performance in recent memory and they’re clicking in every facet of their game. Kansas City is always dangerous but I don’t know if I’m completely buying into them. Against the Steelers, Mahomes was still running around and trying to make too much happen, similar to what occurred in last year’s Super Bowl. The Bills are also much more dangerous as a team than what the Steelers are so this matchup will give us the opportunity to see if the Chiefs are for real. Anything can happen in this heavyweight matchup but I expect Josh Allen and the Bills to take down their midwestern adversary.