Living-room couches and easy chairs, not to mention sports bars, figure to be especially attractive destinations this weekend, what with the National Football League offering up a tasty menu of playoff action.
Delicious storylines dot the marathon schedule, which features two games Jan. 13, three more Jan. 14, and wraps up with Monday Night Football on Jan. 15.
Among the tantalizing tidbits will be the return to Detroit of former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who led the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl championship two years ago after having been traded for counterpart Jared Goff, now Detroit’s signal-caller.
Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, signed to Cleveland’s practice squad in late November, will lead the Browns into a road test against the upstart Houston Texans and standout rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs enter a matchup with the visiting Miami Dolphins on the heels of a sub-par season, at least by their standards. The Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City’s Super Bowl opponent last year, stumbled badly down the stretch, losing out on a division title and being forced onto the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Winners this week will advance to next week’s divisional playoff round, where they will be joined by the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, who earned opening-round byes by finishing with the best regular-season records in the National and American Conferences, respectively.
Viewed by many as potentially the AFC’s leading threat to North division rival Baltimore after finishing 11–6, two games behind the top-seeded Ravens, the Browns’ calling card is the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense.
Cleveland, in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, is dealing with some significant injuries, however. The latest is a knee issue suffered by Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward in practice Jan. 11. The team listed Ward’s status as questionable.
Flacco, 38, was the most valuable player for Baltimore when it won the Super Bowl over San Francisco following the 2012 season. He has provided standout play since being called on after a season-ending injury to erstwhile Browns starter Deshuan Watson.
The youth-driven Texans surprised nearly everyone by going 10–7 and capturing the AFC South title, thanks to a season-ending win at Indianapolis and a loss by Jacksonville the following day.
Stroud, a former California high school star at Rancho Cucamonga who played collegiately at Ohio State, is a leading contender to be the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year. Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., Houston’s other first-round pick in last year’s bountiful draft, could very well be the league’s defensive rookie of the year.
Prediction: Cleveland 20, Houston 16
On the heels of three Super Bowl appearances and two championships in the past four years, the Chiefs struggled much more than usual this season but still captured an eighth consecutive AFC West crown at 11–6.
All-everything quarterback Patrick Mahomes and standout tight end Travis Kelce remain the hub of the Kansas City attack, but former star Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill is now with the Dolphins and serves as quarterback Tua Tagavailoa’s favorite target.
With its high-powered offense under second-year Coach Mike McDaniel, Miami looked much of the season like one of the top teams in the AFC but lost its final two games, finished 11–6, and frittered away a potential division championship with a season-ending defeat against visiting Buffalo.
The game-time forecast calls for strong winds and single-digit or below-zero temperatures, which is by no means a favorable development for a warm-weather team such as the Dolphins.
Prediction: Kansas City 20, Miami 13
What very well could be a windy, snowy day in Western New York offers the prospect of a scenic slugfest between two blue-collar teams.
The Bills endured an up-and-down season that included far more than the usual helping of challenges and frustration but rallied to win their final five games en route to an 11–6 record. They wrested the division title from Miami by virtue of a tiebreaker.
After high expectations the past three seasons ended with two playoff losses to Kansas City and one last year to Cincinnati, rugged quarterback Josh Allen and company are looking to flip the script.
The Steelers also rallied late, putting together a season-ending, three-game winning streak that culminated with a 17–10 road triumph over a Baltimore team that rested many of its regulars, including star quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Pittsburgh, 10–7, will be without star outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who suffered a sprained knee ligament last week.
Prediction: Buffalo 19, Pittsburgh 9
The teams that met in the sport’s all-time signature cold-weather game, the 1967 NFL Championship “Ice Bowl” at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field, won’t have to worry about a repeat in the sparkling indoor confines of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
After chasing Philadelphia in the NFC East all season, Dallas clinched the division title, the No. 2 seed in the conference, and a 12–5 record by winning at Washington last week.
Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy, who was the head man in Green Bay for 13 years and led the Packers to a Super Bowl championship following the 2010 season, and star quarterback Dak Prescott remain under the gun in football-mad Dallas, especially in the eyes of impetuous owner Jerry Jones.
The Packers appeared dead and buried after starting the season 3–6 but won six of their final eight games to finish 9–8 and secure the final NFC wild-card berth.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love, a former star at Liberty High School in Bakersfield, gets his initial post-season opportunity in his first season as a starter after having succeeded Packers legend Aaron Rodgers.
Prediction: Cowboys 34, Packers 23
All eyes will be focused on Stafford and Goff, the two quarterbacks whose careers became inextricably linked by the March 2021 trade in which the Rams landed Stafford for Goff, two first-round draft picks and a third-rounder.
The deal paid immediate dividends when Los Angeles went on to beat Cincinnati in the ensuing Super Bowl, but the Rams stumbled to a 5–12 record last season.
After starting 3–6 this season, Los Angeles won seven of its final eight games and closed with a four-game winning streak to finish 10–7 and emerge with an unexpected wild-card berth.
The Lions, meanwhile, cruised to a 12–5 record and the NFC North championship, their first division title since 1993. Goff, who played high school football at Marin Catholic in Kentfield and collegiately at California, enjoyed an outstanding season, passing for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Detroit is holding its collective breath regarding the uncertain status of rookie tight end Sam LaPorta. A hyperextended knee and a bone bruise suffered in last week’s regular-season finale against Minnesota have left LaPorta questionable, but Coach Dan Campbell is holding out hope that the standout receiver and blocker will be available.
Prediction: Rams 24, Lions 19
Everyone is trying to wrap their heads around what has happened to the Eagles, who started off the season 10–1 before losing five of their final six games. At 11–6, Philadelphia finished a game behind Dallas in the NFC East and dropped from a potential first or second seed to No. 5.
Barring a series of upsets, then, the Eagles will be on the road for the duration of their playoff journey, one season removed from having pushed Kansas City to the limit before falling 38–35 in the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.
Making matters more problematic for embattled Coach Nick Sirianni and Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts and star wide receiver A.J. Brown are question marks after being hurt in last week’s essentially meaningless season-finale against the New York Giants.
The Buccaneers, who get to play at home by virtue of having won the mediocre NFC South with a mere 9–8 record, will look to take advantage of the reeling Eagles.
Tampa Bay, too, has a significant health concern, with quarterback Baker Mayfield expected to play despite having suffered rib and ankle injuries the past two weeks.
Prediction: Eagles 17, Buccaneers 16
