The anticipation for the Super Bowl rises as Feb. 9 approaches. First, the Divisional Round, where we see (gamble, maybe cry) who makes it to the NFC and AFC championship games.
Here are The Huntington News’ predictions for this weekend:
NFC
(6) Washington Commanders vs. (1) Detroit Lions (8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18)
The Washington Commanders take on the Detroit Lions at home Jan. 18. (Who would have thought that the Commanders would have made it this far?)
The Commanders have been doing well with their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who managed to stabilize the entire organization and was ranked third in quarterback ratings throughout the regular season by ESPN.
The Commanders’ defense has stepped up this season — it has only allowed an average of 189 passing yards, the third lowest in the NFL. However, it is No. 29 — or third to last — in allowing rushing yards. Detroit’s running back Jahmyr Gibbs is fifth in the NFL with his rushes, so this could be a weak spot for the Commanders.
Despite their Cinderella story, the Commanders still won’t be able to topple the Detroit Lions, who have had an excellent season all year, tying the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the entire NFL at 15-2. The weak spot for the Commanders is where Detroit thrives with Gibbs.
In addition to Gibbs, the other parts of the Lion’s offense have been a standout this season, coming in second in total units, second in passing and sixth in rushing. Detroit tops the charts in scoring, averaging 33.3 points per game.
Detroit’s quarterback Jared Goff was ranked sixth and has been leading his team to its victorious regular season with two major blowouts against the Dallas Cowboys (47-9) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (52-6).
The past few weeks the Lions have faced injuries, but as the No. 1 seed, they had a bye last week, which will be useful in this game. It won’t be easy for the Detroit defense as Daniels possesses the best of both worlds — the ability to throw and rush. But beating the Commanders is still attainable.
Still, being extra rested and having nursed their injuries, we predict the Lions will come out on top.
(4) Los Angeles Rams vs. (2) Philadelphia Eagles (3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19)
A major upset victory for the Los Angeles Rams broke everyone’s bracket Jan. 13 after they stomped on the Minnesota Vikings, sacking quarterback Sam Darnold nine times.
This week they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, where the crowd can be vicious and snappy — some call it passion.
These two have met up once this regular season, where the Eagles came out on top 37-20 in Week 12.
The Rams were not an eye-catching team, especially not in Week 12. But they were able to find their rhythm in order to get this far in the playoffs.
In terms of their rushing defense, they sit at 22 out of the 32 teams in the NFL. With Philadelphia’s new addition of Saquon Barkley, as well as Landon Dickerson, who creates the gaps with his block, they’ll be able to close those gaps. It won’t be a pretty sight for L.A. if it isn’t able to shut Barkley down.
However, Barkley is not the only runner on the team; quarterback Jalen Hurts is not afraid to take the ball for himself. Hurts was out with a concussion Week 16 through Week 18 but he was able to return to the field just in time for the playoffs. The quarterback proved he was back last week against the Green Bay Packers after he rushed 36 yards for six carries.
In terms of passing defense, the No. 20 Rams also need to be on top of their game this weekend as the Eagles are stacked with wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith (or, as Philadelphians like myself like to call him, “Skinny Batman”) as well as tight end Dallas Goedert.
With this defense, the Rams are going to be unable to shut the Eagles down. The L.A. offense could be a source of hope for Rams fans, but only a sliver.
The Rams are ranked No. 10 for their passing offense and 24th for rushing. The Eagles are the No. 1 defense in the league, including topping the chart for passing and 10 for rushing. Philly has two rookie cornerbacks, Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson who has been shutting down the offense throughout the season. Gardner-Johnson collected six interceptions this season and a pick-6 against the Cowboys.
The Eagles will win over the Rams, but the score will depend on how L.A. adjusts to Philadelphia’s offense.
AFC
(4) Houston Texans vs. (1) Kansas City Chiefs (4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18)
A Week 16 rematch is on slate for the first divisional round matchup of the 2024 NFL playoffs between the Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) and the Houston Texans (11-7). The Chiefs won the Week 16 game 27-19 and the teams met in the divisional round in the 2019 season, where the Texans had a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter, only to find themselves trailing 28-24 at the half and ultimately losing 51-31. Kansas City has been patiently waiting for its opponent after receiving a first round bye, but it won’t have such an easy time outlasting Houston in this one.
The Texans are coming off a dominant 32-12 victory Jan. 11 over the Los Angeles Chargers in which their defense had four interceptions against Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. They also added four sacks on top of their constant defensive pressure.
Defense kept the Chargers from making any offensive advances in the second half, but it was quarterback C.J. Stroud’s playmaking ability that changed the game in what was a close, low-scoring contest early.
The Chiefs head into Saturday with an offense and defense that doesn’t look too menacing on paper, but when seen on the screen and paired with their record, proves they have the weapons and coaching needed to win.
Kansas City has the fourth-best defense in the NFL in terms of points allowed per game at 19.2. This would be a problem for the Texans if they hadn’t just blown out the No. 1 defense in the same category as the Chargers, who also had one of the best turnover differentials in the NFL at +12. Herbert also threw just three interceptions in the regular season.
If the Texans want to win this one, Stroud will have to be flawless through the air, and the offense’s 5-14 third down conversion rate against the Chargers will need to be improved against Kansas City who converts on third down 48.5% of the time — the second best in the NFL. Luckily for the Texans, Houston’s defense holds its opponents to a 35.9 conversion percentage.
The Chiefs will narrowly win this matchup because of their efficiency on offense, but expect the Texans to put up a strong effort until the end.
(3) Baltimore Ravens vs. (2) Buffalo Bills (6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19)
The two MVP favorites and top AFC offensive machines face off in Buffalo (13-4, 8-0 home) for a Week 4 rematch after the Ravens (13-5, 6-3 away) won in a blowout 35-10 in Baltimore on September 29. This time, the location is flipped and will ultimately decide the winner in the final divisional round matchup of the playoffs.
Baltimore is coming off a 28-14 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round where running back Derrick Henry rushed for almost 200 yards and added two touchdowns, a merely identical statline to the Bills-Ravens matchup in the regular season.
The Ravens aren’t showing any signs of slowing down, and their No. 1 ranked offense in both total yardage and rushing yards is going to be a problem for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen will have to handle the heavy lifting against a Baltimore defense that allows the fewest rushing yards per game in the league at 80.1.
The Bills are coming off their own dominant wild-card round victory where they won 31-7 against the Denver Broncos. Denver is third in the NFL in least rushing yards allowed per game at 96.4, but the Bills ran for 210 yards with 120 and a touchdown from James Cook, a large sign that the Ravens No. 1 rushing defense should be worried this Sunday. If they can contain the run like they have all year — and in the two teams’ previous matchup this season where Buffalo was held to just 81 yards on 23 rushes — we’ll be in for a lopsided rushing battle.
Henry will have no difficulty breaking away for a few long runs, but Allen’s playmaking ability will be on full display in another close score, where the Bills will take the win in Highmark Stadium and move on to the AFC championship.
