Smolar
With six NFL wild card games in the books only producing a single one-score matchup, many NFL fans will make the argument that the first round of the postseason was a bit of a dud. What it did do, however, was separate the true Super Bowl contenders from borderline playoff teams. The Divisional Round always seems to produce some all-time classic games and often has at least one matchup that feels like it should be happening later on in the playoffs. With that in mind, here’s my ranking of the four games happening this weekend:
4. #6 Washington Commanders @ #1 Detroit Lions, Saturday at 8 p.m.
The fact that this matchup is the “worst” of the weekend is a testament to how good this weekend’s slate truly is. The Commanders have been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises with their rebuild way ahead of schedule as they seem to have found a star at the quarterback position and a culture that has done a complete 180 since hiring Dan Quinn. Heading into Detroit for a matchup against the Lions will be a massive test for Washington as the Lions are gunning for a Super Bowl with anything less being a massive disappointment. Detroit badly needed the bye week they earned with a Week 18 win against the Vikings and should be getting some reinforcements in the form of David Montgomery and possibly Terrion Arnold and Kevin Zeitler. That said, this game could easily turn into a shootout with the Lions defense still missing several key players and two good quarterbacks capable of scoring points in bunches. This game feels similar to the Broncos-Bills matchup from wild card weekend in the sense that a rookie qb on an overachieving team headed on the road to face a team with Super Bowl expectations. The season is a success for Washington no matter what happens. The Lions will not consider the season a success if they fall short on Saturday night.
3. #4 Houston Texans @ #1 Kansas City Chiefs, Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
If someone told you these teams would meet in the playoffs before the season started, that would be easy to believe. The Texans overachieved last year and then added some veteran firepower in the form of Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon and Danielle Hunter among others. Unfortunately for Houston, the injury bug has hit them hard as they lost both Diggs and Tank Dell to season ending injuries and have had some offensive line issues lead to C.J. Stroud taking a ton of sacks and a bit of a sophomore slump. That said, they proved last week against the Chargers that they still have some fight left in them. Beating Patrick Mahomes in the Divisional Round is something nobody has ever done as he carries a 6-0 record into the matchup. Kansas City has been playing with fire all year, winning 11 games by one score, one of those being against the Texans back in Week 16. Still, with only one real loss (Week 18 they rested essentially everybody they were allowed to) and a ton of preparation time, it would be a shock to everybody if Houston became the first team to ever eliminate Mahomes before the AFC Championship Game. KC should be much healthier than they’ve been at any point this year and have one of the league’s best homefield advantages. This game is still intriguing but not as good as it looked before the season.
2. #4 Los Angeles Rams @ #2 Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Rams may very well be carrying the “you don’t want to face this team in the playoffs,” flag with them. Since their blowout loss to Philly back at the end of November, Los Angeles has won six straight games, excluding their Week 18 contest against Seattle that saw them rest most starters. With wins over Buffalo and Minnesota (twice) as well as taking the Lions to overtime back in Week 1, the Rams have proven they are capable of beating anyone when they’re clicking. That said, if they are to pull off an upset, they cannot let Saquon Barkley run wild on them (26 carries for 255 yards and two touchdowns) as he did during their regular season meeting. Both teams made easy work of NFC North squads in the wild card round and probably would rather be facing someone else. The Eagles have looked like one of football’s best teams all season but cannot overlook a young and dangerous Rams team that has caught fire over the past several weeks. Los Angeles has a Super Bowl winning coach, something that can cause problems even for elite teams like Philly.
1. #3 Baltimore Ravens @ #2 Buffalo Bills, Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
The two frontrunners for NFL MVP will wrap up the weekend with a clash in what may very well go down as one of the best playoff games we’ll ever see. Both franchises have consistently been good enough to win a Super Bowl for several years but continue to run into the dynasty of the Kansas City Chiefs in January. One of Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson will earn a trip to the AFC Championship Game while the other will continue to hold the narrative that they can’t win when it matters, even if that’s not entirely fair. While the quarterbacks are the big story, there is plenty of other star power on the field between Derrick Henry, James Cook and (possibly) Zay Flowers among others as well as an intriguing coaching matchup between Sean McDermott and John Harbaugh. The last time these teams met in the playoffs was in the Divisional Round of the COVID season, a 17-3 Bills victory. If you don’t have plans on Sunday night, be in front of the television to watch this game. If you do have plans, reschedule them so you can watch this game. You won’t want to miss it.