The Divisional Round is here, and we move another step closer to the Super Bowl. Let’s take a look at this weekend’s Divisional playoff games!
The 2025 NFL Playoffs continue with this weekend’s Divisional Round. Last week’s Wild Card round featured one close game and a collection of blowouts. Hopefully the Divisional Round will find a way to give us entertaining games. Let’s take a look at all of the games this Divisional Playoff weekend!
Last week, I went 4-2
I told you so: Rams over Vikings!
What do I know: Bucs over Commanders?
DIVISIONAL ROUND
AFC – #4 Houston Texans at #1 Kansas City Chiefs
Saturday, January 18th – 3:30pm CST – ESPN
In last week’s Wild Card round, the Houston Texans completed a win so dominant that it basically erased the memory of their relatively disappointing overall performance in the regular season. The Houston defense came alive against Justin Herbert and the Bolts, but now they face a substantially larger challenge on the road this week.
For all intents and purposes, the Kansas City Chiefs sleepwalked their way to their best record in franchise history. The Chiefs looked fine, very good even, as their record reflected, but not great, not dominant. They may have been bored with another regular season at this point, having played for, at the very least, the AFC Championship over the last six-consecutive years. Now, KC is back where they expect to be, and Houston is about to witness a fully motivated Patrick Mahomes and Company. Best wishes to the remainder of the AFC field. Kansas City wins 36-24.
Pick: Chiefs
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NFC – #6 Washington Commanders at #1 Detroit Lions
Saturday, January 18th – 7:00pm CST – FOX
Washington, led by rookie quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels, won the only exciting game of the Wild Card round. The Washington Commanders will certainly need a lot of breaks to keep it going this week. Washington only has one shot to win this game, their run game has to dominate time of possession, and their defense has to get Detroit’s offense off the field, by forcing consistent three-and-outs. Unfortunately for Washington, those things aren’t going to happen.
Detroit dodged a Divisional matchup bullet by Tampa losing last week, forcing the Rams to head to Philly instead of Motown. Now the Detroit Lions gets a very favorable matchup, enabling them to get their footing quickly. Detroit will do what they do best, put their foot on the gas and leave their opponent in the rearview. Garbage time points keep the score respectable in the end, but this one is all Lions. Detroit wins 33-27.
Pick: Lions
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NFC – #4 Los Angeles Rams at #2 Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, January 19th – 2:00pm CST – NBC
Sean McVay and the Rams reminded a lot of people who they are last week in their dominant “home” playoff win over Minnesota, the top-seed turned fifth seed. McVay, the only Super Bowl winning head coach in this year’s NFC field looked every bit the part against Minny but now comes their biggest challenge on the board. Tampa’s failure in the Wild Card round did a tremendous disservice to the Rams, moving them from a favorable matchup against Detroit to this very unfavorable matchup against Philly. The Rams’ hopes rest squarely on the arm of Matthew Stafford and his tremendous pass-catchers. As good as they are, they just don’t have enough to overcome the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
Philly is so dangerous because they can beat teams in so many ways. By taking away the Los Angeles Rams’ running game, they will force McVay to show his hand on offense, allowing their dominant defense, led by All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun, to take advantage of Stafford’s mistakes. On offense, it will come as no surprise that Saquon Barkley will dictate the pace of this game, as the Philadelphia Eagles dominate on their way to the NFC title game. Philly wins 30-17.
Pick: Eagles
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AFC – #3 Baltimore Ravens at #2 Buffalo Bills
Sunday, January 19th – 5:30pm CST – CBS
Buffalo certainly had a regular season to remember, and a slightly unexpected one at that. The Bills lost a lot of pieces over the offseason, but they retooled and returned themselves back into the top three in the AFC, along with their opponent this week. Josh Allen is looking for his signature win, and although he may ultimately need to go through Mahomes to earn it, in many fans’ eyes, beating Lamar Jackson in this game could very well get him there, while a loss will only reinforce the narrative about him, his coach, and his team.
The Baltimore Ravens have had to live with their failure in last year’s AFC title game at home, and that has certainly served as motivation throughout this past season. The Ravens made some upgrades to the roster since last year, but none greater and more impactful than the addition of Derrick Henry, arguably the best running back of this decade. Lamar Jackson has led the NFL’s top rushing attack many times, but now with Henry, the 1-2 punch is virtually unstoppable, and it is this that will cause the Buffalo Bills so much trouble, even at home. This will be remembered as the “Derrick Henry Game” as the bruising running back gives Lamar Jackson something he’s been missing his entire playoff career, someone to help carry the load in the biggest games. This will be the best game of the Divisional round, and it will come down to the final drive, but the Ravens pull it out in the end, sending the “Bills Mafia” home unhappy. Baltimore wins 21-17.
Pick: Ravens
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We move one week closer to arguably the most exciting day in sports, NFL Conference Championship Sunday. Which of these teams will represent the NFL’s final four? We’ll just have to wait and see. Leave us your picks, comments, and insight below!