NFL Divisional Playoff Preview

6 Baltimore Ravens @ 1 New England Patriots on Saturday at 4:35 PM

The Ravens came off a convincing win against rival team and highly favored to win Pittsburgh Steelers. They got to the quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for 5 sacks. To beat the Patriots, they have to do the same thing. They also have to get their running game going so that Joe Flacco does not have to pass as much. For the Patriots, they have to make Flacco uncomfortable and force him to make bad passes. Overall the Ravens are the best road playoff team in history so I expect this to be a tough grinded out game like it always is.

4 Carolina Panthers @ 1 Seattle Seahawks on Saturday at 8:15 PM

The Panthers come into this game after beating the Cardinals and their third string quarterback Ryan Lindley. Their defense led them to the win and standout Luke Kuechly led them. Their offense however played sloppy and they are going to need to fix that to beat the defending champs. The Seahawks secondary are looking to slow down the hot wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin  and tight end Jared Cotchery and that will be the key for them. For the Panthers they must slow down the running game and try to counter that read option from Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. In the regular Season in the past two years the games between these two have been low scoring and close. So expect this to be the same.

3 Dallas Cowboys @ 2 Green Bay Packers on Sunday at 1:05 PM

The Cowboys are going to play in the coldest place in the divisional round as they come off of a win against the Detroit Lions. After a controversial flag and a sack and fumble recovery, the Cowboys look to continue to win against one of the best defenses in the league. They also look to take advantage of the hobbled Aaron Rodgers as he is coming off of an injury in week 17. For them to win, they have to get to him or at least force him to make bad throws. For the Packers to win they have to give Rodgers a lot of time so he can make the right passes. They also need to shut down Demarco Murray the league leader in rushing yards. Both defenses are good but I expect this to be a back and forth scoring game so this may be the most exciting game of this round.

4 Indianapolis Colts @ Denver Broncos on Sunday 4:40 PM

This is probably one of the most storied games of this round as Peyton Manning goes up against his old team once again but this time in the Playoffs. Andrew Luck played at a high level having 376 yards and 1 touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. Many people have compared Luck to Manning but he doesn’t want to be compared to him. He is a different player and he looks to prove that against him. The key for both of these teams is to keep scoring. I take back what I said before because this might be the most exciting game of the weekend.