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The weekend has arrived, and with it comes the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. The first two games of the weekend were on Saturday: the Broncos defeated the Bills to advance to the AFC Championship, and the Seahawks beat the 49ers to advance to the NFC Championship. Now, let's take a look ahead at the two games scheduled for Saturday.
The first game on Sunday will determine who advances to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game as the Texans clash with the Patriots.
New England has consistently looked like one of the best teams in the conference all season, led by an MVP-caliber season by quarterback Drake Maye. The Patriots will need Maye to continue his strong play, but his toughest test yet this season will likely come against a Texans defense that ranked among the top three in the league in scoring defense, total defense, and takeaways.
The Texans, meanwhile, will enter Sunday's showdown with the Patriots on a 10-game win streak, the most momentum of any remaining playoff team. Their last loss came in November at the hands of the Broncos, and they'll play with a vengeance to earn the chance to avenge that loss and play in their first-ever AFC Championship game.
The nightcap on Sunday will be the final NFC Divisional game, with the winner advancing to face the Seahawks in the NFC Championship.
The Bears will look to avoid any further slow starts, like the one that forced a massive late-game rally on their end against the Packers in the Wild Card Round. They'll also have the weather on their side, as the temperature is expected to fall well below freezing, with significant wind gusts, conditions that don't favor a team that plays in Los Angeles most of the year.
The Rams do have Matthew Stafford, who had his own MVP-esque performance this season, passing for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. Stafford doesn't have a great track record in cold-weather games, but he has passed for 200-plus yards and two or more touchdowns in his last eight playoff games. In the end, this one could be a battle of which quarterback is better, as Stafford and rising youngster Caleb Williams fight for supremacy.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: NFL Playoffs: Previewing Sunday's Divisional Round games
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No. 5 Houston Texans @ No. 2 New England Patriots
The first game on Sunday will determine who advances to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game as the Texans clash with the Patriots.
New England has consistently looked like one of the best teams in the conference all season, led by an MVP-caliber season by quarterback Drake Maye. The Patriots will need Maye to continue his strong play, but his toughest test yet this season will likely come against a Texans defense that ranked among the top three in the league in scoring defense, total defense, and takeaways.
The Texans, meanwhile, will enter Sunday's showdown with the Patriots on a 10-game win streak, the most momentum of any remaining playoff team. Their last loss came in November at the hands of the Broncos, and they'll play with a vengeance to earn the chance to avenge that loss and play in their first-ever AFC Championship game.
No 5 Los Angeles Rams @ No. 2 Chicago Bears
The nightcap on Sunday will be the final NFC Divisional game, with the winner advancing to face the Seahawks in the NFC Championship.
The Bears will look to avoid any further slow starts, like the one that forced a massive late-game rally on their end against the Packers in the Wild Card Round. They'll also have the weather on their side, as the temperature is expected to fall well below freezing, with significant wind gusts, conditions that don't favor a team that plays in Los Angeles most of the year.
The Rams do have Matthew Stafford, who had his own MVP-esque performance this season, passing for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. Stafford doesn't have a great track record in cold-weather games, but he has passed for 200-plus yards and two or more touchdowns in his last eight playoff games. In the end, this one could be a battle of which quarterback is better, as Stafford and rising youngster Caleb Williams fight for supremacy.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: NFL Playoffs: Previewing Sunday's Divisional Round games
Continue reading...
