Jacksonville Jaguars Vs Kansas City Chiefs
The Jacksonville Jaguars will be taking on the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday for the divisional round and a shot at punching their way into the AFC Championship Game.
The Jaguars pulled off a miraculous comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers a game in which the Jaguars trailed 27-0 and ultimately won 31-30. The playoff jitters started early for Trevor Lawrence but they turned into a whole different team in the second half. The Jaguars are taking on the number one seed in the AFC and they come off a bye week in arguably the toughest stadium to play in, in the NFL. The Jaguars defense will have to defend A high-powered Chiefs offense that has been playing well. The Jaguars offense will have to be nearly perfect to be able to stay in this game and pull off an upset.
The Chiefs come in well-rested and come off a BYE Week since they were able to obtain the first seed. If the Chiefs are able to obtain a big lead early on they cannot let up and play loose. The Chiefs and Jaguars matched up earlier in the season but the chiefs won the game the Jaguars almost pulled off a comeback. If the Chiefs watched wildcard weekend they’d want to avoid playing loose if they have a lead. The Chiefs have been one of the league’s best teams and are favorites to win this game with Patrick Mahomes leading the way on offense. The Chiefs defense has been playing well but cannot allow Lawrence to catch fire or else it could ultimately cost them.
A Saturday matchup with a lot on the line and the winner punches their ticket to the AFC Championship Game.
Score Prediction: Chiefs Win (35-24)
New York Giants Vs Philadelphia Eagles
The New York Giants are coming off their impressive win over the Minnesota Vikings as Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley put the team on their backs. They will be heading to Philly to face the Eagles who are a very familiar fo as both teams played already twice this season. The Eagles won both contests against the Giants making it look easy but this time around the Giants already have a playoff win under their belts. Jalen Hurts still isn’t 100% but he will make the best of this opportunity for a chance to get to the NFC Championship game.
The Giants will need to repeat what they did to the Vikings last week this week in Philly. Daniel Jones did not look like he was starting in his 1st ever playoff game. Jones looked like a 13-year veteran playing in his 20th playoff game or something. Jones was able to carve the Vikings up with his arm and he was able to run through them when needed if the pocket collapsed. The Eagles know all about Jones and will have to contain him in that pocket if they’re going to win this game. Last week we saw the emergence of Isaiah Hodgins who came out of nowhere with 8 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. This Giants team will need him and they will need to lean on Barkley a lot in this one if they want to pull the upset. Barkley did it all out of the backfield between running and catching passes so look for that again. The Giants defense will have their hands full trying to slow down Hurts who has been a beast all year long. The main focus will be to slow down AJ Brown and Devonta Smith if they can do that then this could be a close game.
The Eagles are coming off their bye week as they sat patiently waiting for their opponent. They now know it’s the Giants and they will have to do what they did in the regular season. Just make sure you take care of the ball and run the time of possession. The more the Philly offense is on the field the better as Jalen Hurts will make them pay if they’re not ready. Hurts has some special wide receivers to throw the ball to in Brown/Smith but he has an all-pro tight end in Goedert who’s been reliable. The Eagles running attack starts with Hurts but gets finished off by Miles Sanders so look for them to wear down this Giants defense ASAP. The Eagles defense has one of the best-run defenses and they had the most sacks this season as they know how to get to the quarterback. The Eagles will need to make it tough on Daniel Jones all day to make them one-dimensional with Barkley so they can stack the box.
The Eagles have all the offensive weapons to make this a quick blowout but the Giants have been playing with grit and heart so this could be interesting.
Score Prediction: Eagles Win (24-21)
