The NFL postseason is on: all gas, no brakes. Wild Card Weekend action has wound down with the exception of Monday's game between the NFC's fifth-seeded Minnesota Vikings and the NFC's fourth-seeded, NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams. That means we're accelerating toward a divisional round full of some high octane matchups.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will begin their quest to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls plus the first team to win three straight NFL titles since the 1965-1967 Green Bay Packers. Those teams were led by Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi and Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr. Kansas City's journey begins at home at Arrowhead Stadium against an air tight Houston Texans defense with reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. and reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback C.J. Stroud. Meanwhile, the other matchup in the AFC has a stellar QB head-to-head showdown with 2024 first-team All-Pro quarterback and NFL MVP favorite Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens squaring off against 2024 second-team All-Pro quarterback Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park.
In the NFC, the top-seeded NFC North champion Detroit Lions emerge from hibernation (their bye) and will host the Jayden Daniels-led Washington Commanders, who just upset the NFC South champion Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Fresh off their eighth consecutive home win in a wild card victory over the Green Bay Packers, the second-seeded, NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles will host the winner of the Vikings and the Rams. That will be decided on Monday night.
With another thrilling weekend of football on deck, we're here to give you a first look into the action and what's at stake. Here's an early preview at the divisional round and some of the top, initial storylines to follow.
AFC divisional round lookahead
Texans (4) at Chiefs (1)
Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, fubo)
Odds (via Caesars Sportsbook): Chiefs -8, O/U 42
Mahomes' and Co.'s journey for an elusive three-peat kicks off the divisional round action on Saturday against a Texans squad that has one of the best defenses in football coming off an all-time performance in the opening round. Houston threw quarterback Justin Herbert and his Los Angeles Chargers in a body bag in Round 1 with a downright butt kicking in a 32-12 win. That was a game in which they outscored the visiting Chargers 32-6 in the final three quarters.
This Texans team, against the Chargers, became the first time since the historic 2000 season Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens defense in Super Bowl XXXV vs. the New York Giants to allow sub-45% completion percentage (Herbert completed just 14 of his 32 passes, 43.8% completion percentage), at least four interceptions (Herbert threw a career-high four picks) and at least four sacks (they sacked Herbert four times) in a playoff game, per CBS Sports Research. That performance makes some sense when considering Houston led the NFL in completion percentage allowed (58.8%) while ranking second in interceptions (19) and tied for fourth in sacks (49) during the regular season.
That defense will be tasked with slowing down Mahomes, who can tie Hall of Famer Joe Montana for the second-most postseason victories with his 16th postseason win on Saturday against Houston. A victory would also send Kansas City to their seventh consecutive conference championship game appearance, which would be the second-longest streak all-time behind only the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick New England Patriots dynasty's streak of eight in a row. Meanwhile, Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud is looking to lead the Texans to both their first playoff road win in six tries and their first divisional round win in six tries. Yes, the Texans are the only team in the NFL to have never won a road playoff game. One final, fun early wrinkle is Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, an NFL linebacker for 10 seasons, played for Chiefs head coach Andy Reid in his final season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012.
Ravens (3) at Bills (2)
Sunday, Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
Odds (via Caesars Sportsbook): Bills -1, O/U 51.5
This is the juiciest matchup of the entire divisional round. The Bills and Ravens fan bases have been at each other's throats all year, advocating for their respective quarterback to be the 2024 NFL MVP. Now, the two teams will have a chance to settle the score on the field for the second time this season after making light work of their opening round opponents. The Ravens won the first meeting between Jackson and Allen in Baltimore by a score of 35-10, a game in which 2024 second team All-Pro running back Derrick Henry bulldozed the Buffalo defense for 199 yards rushing.
The quarterback matchup of Jackson (45 total touchdowns, 9 turnovers) and Allen (40 total touchdowns, 8 turnovers) is the first playoff battle ever between two starting quarterbacks with at least 40 total touchdowns and under 10 turnovers in the regular season. Offensive fireworks should be plentiful in front of a raucous Buffalo crowd on Sunday night.
| Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen This Regular Season | Jackson | Allen |
|---|---|---|
W-L | 12-5 | 13-4 |
Total TD | 45 | 40 |
Total Yards | 5,087 | 4,269 |
Turnovers | 9 | 8 |
* First playoff matchup ever between QBs with 40+ total TD and under 10 TO
NFC divisional round lookahead
Commanders (6) at Lions (1)
Saturday, Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. ET (FOX, fubo)
Odds (via Caesars Sportsbook): Lions -8.5, O/U 55.5
There's a chance the Commanders and Lions combine for the highest-scoring game of not only this postseason but also the last several postseasons. Detroit (51.6% drive score percentage) and Washington (50% drive score percentage) were the only two teams to score a touchdown or a field goal on at least 50% of their offensive drives during the 2024 regular season. Also, only two teams since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger have had at least three games in a single season with no punts and no turnovers, including the playoffs, and it's the two NFC teams playing on Saturday night: the 2024 Commanders and the 2024 Lions, per CBS Sports Research.
Both of these squads are looking to check off another milestone in their recent franchise turnarounds with a win on Saturday. Washington is playing to reach their first NFC Championship game since 1991, the last season the franchise won the Super Bowl, while Detroit is pushing to make consecutive conference championship game appearances for the first time in team history.
The Lions went from 3-13-1 in 2021, Year 1 under head coach Dan Campbell, to 15-2 in 2024, making them the only team in NFL history to increase their win total by at least three games in three years straight. The Commanders went from 4-13 in 2023 to 13-5 in 2024 including the postseason, making them the second team in NFL history to transform from 13 losses to 13 wins, including the playoffs, from one year to the next. The only other team to do so was Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts in 1998 and 1999 after Indianapolis selected him first overall in the 1998 draft. Washington's rise has also coincided with a top draft pick quarterback panning out in the 2024 draft's second overall pick, Jayden Daniels. Seeing him and the 2016 draft's first overall pick quarterback Jared Goff lead their teams in going score for score should be a treat.
Vikings (5)/Rams (4) at Eagles (2)
Sunday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. ET (NBC, fubo)
Odds (via Caesars Sportsbook): TBD
The Eagles are on fire: they're 13-1 in their past 14 games following a 2-2 start, and they just held the Packers to a season-low 10 points on Sunday. That's impressive considering Green Bay entered the postseason with 29 games in a row of scoring at least 14 points, which was the longest active streak in the NFL, according to CBS Sports Research. Their defense and special teams powered their victory by forcing four Packers turnovers -- three interceptions by quarterback Jordan Love and a fumble on the opening kickoff by All-Pro Keisean Nixon. Running back Saquon Barkley, the 2024 rushing champion, added 119 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Their opponent will be determined Monday night when the Vikings (14-3) and the Rams (10-7) square off at State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals, because of the wildfires in Southern California.
