By: Kyle Tooley ~Sports Editor~
After a lackluster Wild Card weekend that saw the closest matchup decided by two scores, the NFL Playoffs continue with the Divisional round on Jan. 14 and 15, with two games played on both days.
Saturday’s slate will see Seattle travel to Atlanta and Houston take on the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. Sunday’s action will feature Pittsburgh at Kansas City and Green Bay at Dallas.
After handily topping Detroit in what was supposed to be a close contest, Seattle takes its high-powered offense and stifling defense to Atlanta to face the Falcons and their very own record-setting offense.
Led by MVP-hopeful quarterback Matt Ryan, the Falcons boast an 11-5 record and average 33.5 points per game, the highest in the league.
After winning their Wild Card game, which displayed a matchup between two backup quarterbacks, the Texans will take on the Patriots in what may be the most lopsided playoff game of 2017.
Brock Osweiler, the Texans $72 million quarterback who was benched for undrafted Tom Savage, has regained his starting role due to the concussion Savage suffered in Week 17.
Osweiler and the Texans will go up against Tom Brady’s Patriots, who own the best record in football at 14-2, including an 11-1 mark since Brady’s return from suspension.
Pittsburgh takes on Kansas City in the first game Sunday, offering a rematch of a week four contest that saw the Steelers dismantle the Chiefs in Pittsburgh.
After dropping that game by a score of 43-14, the Chiefs rattled off 10 wins in 12 weeks, finding ways to win close contests. Six of those 10 wins were decided by one possession.
The Steelers and their offense, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown, will definitely be a test for Kansas City’s defense, which ranks 24th in the league.
Green Bay overcame an early deficit to eventually trounce the New York Giants in the Wild Card round, sending the team to Dallas to take on the top-ranked team in the NFC.
The Cowboys, led by the rookie duo of quarterback Dak Prescott and NFL rushing leader running back Ezekiel Elliot, posted a 13-3 record during the regular season and lay claim to the NFL’s fifth ranked offense.
Comparatively, the Packers are perhaps the hottest team in football after winning seven straight games. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has posted All-World numbers in that span, throwing 19 touchdowns to zero interceptions throughout the seven games.
The eight remaining teams look to continue their road to the Super Bowl with wins this weekend.