The Super Wild Card weekend was wild to say the least. On Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers rode 25 points in the second half to defeat rival Seattle Seahawks, and Trevor Lawrence threw four straight touchdowns after throwing four straight interceptions to complete the third-greatest comeback in franchise history. the NFL after dropping 27 points. -0 to the Los Angeles Chargers. Sunday was also full of surprises.
Skylar Thompson and the Miami Dolphins scared the Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants stunned the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis behind a strong performance from Daniel Jones, and then the Cincinnati Bengals won a close game with the Baltimore Ravens.
This coming week, the No. 1-seeded Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles enter the fray. Remember, first-round byes didn’t really help the No. 1-seeded teams last year, as the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers were upset in the second round of playoffs. What will happen this year? Below, we’ll detail the NFL’s divisional round schedule, kickoff times, spreads and more. We’re one round closer to Super Bowl LVII.
All NFL odds are via Caesars Sportsbook.
FCA
When: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: BNC | Flux: Fubo TV
Line: Leaders -9, O/U 52
These two teams faced off in November, with the Chiefs beating the Jaguars 27-17. The Jacksonville defense struggled to stop Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 331 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. However, this Jaguars defense has been playing good ball lately. They scored the game-winning touchdown against the Titans in Week 18 to earn a playoff berth, then held the Chargers to just three second-half points on Saturday night as they waited for the offense to form after a start. nightmarish.
It says a lot about the Jags that they were able to bounce back and complete the third-greatest comeback in NFL playoff history, and Lawerence deserves a ton of credit. In his first seven drives, he completed 5 of 18 passes for 35 yards and four interceptions. In his last five practices, he completed 23 of 29 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns to claim a 31-30 victory.
Looking forward to this coming weekend, the Jaguars offense cannot afford a slow start to what is statistically the best offense in the league. Hopefully we’ll see a shootout, with the two offenses trading blows.
(3) Cincinnati Bengals vs. (2) Buffalo Bills
When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET
TV: SCS | Flux: Paramount+
Line: Invoices -4, O/U 50
It just seems like we get this game. Bills vs. Bengals was supposed to be our Week 17 finale on Monday night, but it all came to a screeching halt when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field. Fortunately, he recovered and both teams were able to refocus on football. It looked like we were in a shootout before this unfortunate event took place, and now we’re getting a rematch.
The Bills beat the Dolphins in Super Wild Card weekend, 34-31, but it didn’t really look like a win. Despite playing a third-string rookie quarterback, Skylar Thompson and the Dolphins rode 17-0 in the second quarter to tie the game with 33 seconds left before halftime, then the defense held off. recovered a fumble for a touchdown early in the second. half to take a 24-20 lead. While Buffalo ultimately gutted a win, the Bills were the biggest favorites in NFL joker round history. They didn’t exactly live up to expectations.
Josh Allen threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions and fumbled three times, losing one. Buffalo can’t lose the turnover battle against Cincinnati if it wants to qualify for the AFC Championship Game.
Cincinnati also didn’t put in an incredibly impressive showing during Super Wild Card Weekend, as Joe Burrow and Co. beat the Ravens, 24-17. Tyler Huntley and JK Dobbins gave Cincy a run for his money, but a 98-yard fumble recovery touchdown from Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard early in the fourth quarter ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
Both teams will have to play better in the future. I don’t know how many people expected Miami to drop 31 points on Buffalo with a third-string quarterback, or the Ravens to record 364 total rushing yards with an injured quarterback.
NFC
(6) New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles (1)
When: Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Flux: Fubo TV
Line: Eagles -7.5, O/U 47.5
Here is a division match in the division round. The Eagles swept the season streak with the Giants this year, blowing them up by 26 points in December, then Davis Webb kept the rematch close in the regular season finale, with the Giants ultimately losing, 22-16 .
The Giants’ offense looked pretty impressive in their 31-24 win over the Vikings on Sunday. Daniel Jones became the first player in NFL playoff history to record more than 300 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and more than 70 rushing yards in his first playoff start, while ‘Isaiah Hodgins caught eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Saquon Barkley wasn’t too shabby either, as he recorded 109 scrimmage yards and scored two touchdowns. Sunday marked the Giants’ first playoff victory since Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots on Feb. 5, 2012.
While the Giants were able to take advantage of poor defense in the first round of the playoffs, a much bigger challenge awaits them next weekend. The Eagles are the only team in the NFL with a top-three offense and top-three defense as they have looked like an elite team since the start of the 2022 season. Philly will rock as Jalen Hurts takes the field for his second career playoff start.
When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Flux: Fubo TV
Line: To be determined
To be determined Monday.
