NFL Divisional Round Predictions

RECORD LAST WEEK: 4-2

RECORD FOR THE POSTSEASON 4-2

January 18th, 3:30 PM CT

Houston Texans 11-7 @ Kansas City Chiefs 15-2

The Chiefs have been off for three weeks, and I’d usually be concerned for a team to be rusty, but for this particular team with so much experience, I expect them to be prepared and fired up. The Texans defense was very impressive in their Wild Card round win over the Chargers, and C.J. Stroud looked more like his 2023 self, but going against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, who has had more than enough time to prepare, gives me the back-to-back Super Bowl Champs to advance to their seventh straight AFC Championship game.

Texans 17 Chiefs 27

Confidence Level: 8

X-Factor: Hollywood Brown

Best Bet: Patrick Mahomes over 1.5 passing touchdowns

January 18th, 7:00 PM CT

Washington Commanders 13-5 @ Detroit Lions 15-2

A shootout could happen between these two explosive offenses, and Jayden Daniels has more than enough talent to have one of those days and pull off an upset over the Lions. The Lions’ defense has struggled, as they’ve had a surplus of injuries on that side of the ball, but being at home, and the Commanders’ defense can’t stop a nosebleed themselves, I’ll take the Lions to get the win at home and move onto their second straight NFC Championship.

Commanders 30 Lions 34

Confidence Level: 6

X-Factor: Jared Goff

Best Bet: Amon-Ra St. Brown over 74.5 receiving yards

Sunday, January 19th, 2:00 PM CT

Los Angeles Rams 11-7 @ Philadelphia Eagles 15-3

The Rams had a dominant win over the Vikings this past Monday, and now they have to travel to Philly to play arguably the best defense in football. The Eagles held Green Bay to 10 points in their 22-10 win last Sunday. These two teams matched up earlier in the season in a game in which the Eagles won 37-20 behind 255 Saquon Barkley rushing yards. Matthew Stafford is more than capable of getting hot and making some of the craziest throws you’ve ever seen, but the question is if the Rams can stop the Eagles, more specifically, Saquon Barkley. I’m going to take the Eagles in a close one.

Rams 23 Eagles 26

Confidence Level:8

X-Factor: Rams rush defense

Best Bet: Saquon Barkley longest rush over 19.5

Sunday, January 19th, 5:30 PM CT

Baltimore Ravens 13-5 @ Buffalo Bills 14-4

The Ravens destroyed the Bills 35-10 back in September; in that game, Derrick Henry ran for

199 yards. In week 4, they played in Baltimore, and Buffalo wasn’t the healthiest on defense. This time, it takes place in Buffalo, and I believe the Bills’ defense will play better than they did the first time. A matchup that features the two favorites for MVP, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, both have a lot on the line regarding playoff legacy. Lamar has struggled more in the playoffs, while Josh has had some very high highs in the postseason but just hasn’t been able to get over the hump known as Patrick Mahomes. I think this is a game where whoever has the ball last will win, but my pick will be Josh Allen and the Bills to move on to the AFC Championship game for another edition of Allen vs Mahomes.

Ravens 28 Bills 31

Confidence Level:7

X-Factor: Josh Allen

Best Bet: Josh Allen over 1.5 passing touchdowns