This weekends games are scheduled
There were some great games over the NFL’s three day Super Wildcard Weekend and now we know the matchups for this weekend’s divisional round. We have four games to watch over two days, with an AFC and NFC game each day.
The NFL’s Divisional playoff rounds starts Saturday afternoon with an AFC game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Jaguars looked like they were done when they were down 27-0 against the Los Angeles Chargers. QB Trevor Lawrence threw 4 interceptions, but the 2nd half was all Jaguars. They scored a touchdown late in the 4th quarter, and Head Coach Doug Pederson decided to go for two after a penalty on Joey Bosa. They stopped the Chargers next drive and drove down the field to kick the game-winning field goal. Now Jacksonville will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the league’s likely MVP(QB Patrick Mahomes) and the #1 seed in the conference.
The Saturday night game is the one Washington fans will really be paying attention to. The New York Giants defeated Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings to move on to the next round. Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley are both free agents next season, and they are making the Giants decision not to sign them look worse as they move deeper in the playoffs. They will face the #1 seed Philadelphia Eagles who had a bye week to rest up some of their injured players. QB Jalen Hurts came back for the Week 18 game against a Giants team that had nothing to play for. Now he has to beat the Giants at full strength.
Sunday starts off with the AFC again, and will feature a rematch between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills. Their first game was cancelled after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after a tackle, and his heartbeat had to be restored on the field. Hamlin is recovering, but their game was never rescheduled, and now they get the chance to run it back. The Bengals were big favorites against the Ravens yesterday, but that game was a lot closer than some people expected. The Bengals were in real trouble until the ball was popped out of backup QB Tyler Huntley’s hands as he attempted to dive over the pile at the goalline and Cincinnati DE Sam Hubbard ran it back 98 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The Bills also let their game get way closer than it should have been against division rival Miami Dolphins who were starting third-string QB Skylar Thompson.
The divisional round finishes on Sunday night with a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas just put away Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. The 49ers took care of their division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, on Sunday. The 49ers currently have the best odds to win the Super Bowl out of the 8 teams still in the playoffs.
Divisional Round: Jan. 21, 22
NFC
(6) New York Giants at (1) Philadelphia Eagles
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes
DraftKings Sportsbook odds: Philadelphia -7 1/2, O/U 48
(5) Dallas Cowboys at (2) San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes
DraftKings Sportsbook odds: San Francisco -3 1/2, O/U 46
AFC
(4) Jacksonville Jaguars at (1) Kansas City Chiefs
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, Universo
DraftKings Sportsbook odds: Kansas City -8 1/2, O/U 51 1/2
(3) Cincinnati Bengals at (2) Buffalo Bills
Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on CBS, Paramount+
DraftKings Sportsbook odds: Bills -5, O/U 50 1/2