The battle to secure a place in Super Bowl 50 recommences this week as the top seeds enter the fray following a roller coaster of emotions on Wildcard Weekend.
The New England Patriots kick-off the Divisional Round this Saturday at 9:35pm (Irish Time) as they host the in-form Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are on an 11-game winning streak having shut out the Houston Texans impressively last weekend 30-0.
The Patriots and Chiefs last met back in September 2014 when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was handed his heaviest defeat in the last 10 years. That game took place at Arrowhead Stadium though and it’s a much different scenario rolling into wintery Foxboro to face the Pats, particularly during the play-offs.
The Patriots finished the regular season with a strong 12-4 record but it was their form in December that will have New England fans most worried now as they prepare to face the most in-form team in the league.
The Patriots have blown hot and cold which resulted in them missing out on the AFC top seed due to shock losses to Divisional rivals in the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.
Despite struggles in the wide-receiver position throughout the season, quarterback Tom Brady still finished the season with the third most passing yards in the league and will benefit from the return of Julian Edelman from injury. He’s also got genuine red zone threat in Rob Gronkowski so the Pats will test the Chiefs defence to the full.
Brady will equal the NFL record for post-season starts on Saturday and even on an 11-game winning streak it’s difficult for many to comprehend the Chiefs inflicting a Patriots loss at home under Belichick and Brady’s guidance in this one.
The second game of the weekend takes place in the early hours of Sunday morning, 1.15am (Irish Time) and sees the Green Bay Packers visit the NFC’s second seed Arizona Cardinals.
These two met as recently as 27 December when Arizona crushed Green Bay 38-8. On that occasion, the Cardinals sacked Packers quarter-back Aaron Rodgers eight times and returned two of his fumbles for touchdowns.
Rodgers and the Packers did show some steel last weekend though against the Redskins in their 35-18 Wildcard win, when many experts predicted their end of season form would leave them short on the road in Washington. There’s little doubt though that the trip to Glendale provides a much sterner test.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is 0-2 in his career in the post-season but it’s largely acknowledged that the mature Palmer is a better all round player these days.
Both of those play-off defeats came with the Cincinnati Bengals, the first of which saw Palmer pick up a devastating torn ACL injury which hampered his development. Palmer threw for two touchdowns in the last meeting between these two and this game may well come down to which quarterback finds the best rhythm with Rodgers’ up and down form in recent weeks a cause for some concern.
The NFC top seed, Carolina Panthers, kick off Sunday’s action as they host the Seattle Seahawks at 6.05pm (Irish Time).
The ‘Hawks scraped through last weekend as Blair Walsh’s 27-yard field goal sailed high and wide in the dying seconds in Minnesota to see the Vikings blow what seemed a nailed on victory with the score at 10-9.
Pete Carroll’s team are like a cat with nine lives when they get into play-off territory and they just seem to be able to always find a way to win.
Seattle’s remaining lives will be put firmly to the test against a dominant Carolina team who finished the season with a hugely impressive 15-1 record.
The Panthers beat the Seahawks in their own backyard in October in what was the first significant statement of intent of the season from Carolina. They edged out Pete Carroll’s side 27-23 on that occasion thanks to a touchdown from Greg Olsen with 32 seconds remaining on the clock. It’ll likely be a similarly tight affair this Sunday.
The regular season is one thing but the big question is just how do you stop Seattle in the Playoffs? Carolina fans will hope Cam & Co have the answer.
The final action of the Divisional Round sees the AFC top seed Denver Broncos host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Colorado at 9:40pm (Irish Time).
The narrative around this one has largely centred around two quarterbacks and two injuries. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger suffered torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder last weekend against the Bengals in the Wildcard round and is considered day-to-day to be fit for the game.
Roethlisberger insists he’ll be good to go come game time but whether he’s 100% remains to be seen.
Speaking to Denver sports journalists during the week, Big Ben was quoted as saying “I always expect to play, whether my body reacts the same way, I don't know, but I always expect to play,"
Steelers’ fans will hope he is fit as he shredded Denver’s well oiled defence during their most recent meeting back in Week 15 throwing for 380 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 win.
Two of those touchdown passes went to the formidable Antonio Brown and his match-ups against Denver’s Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. will be one to watch. That is, of course, if Brown manages to recover to take the field following a heavy hit last weekend that saw him leave the game with concussion.
Denver fans will be hoping that the Peyton Manning of old, who has regained the starting spot following a number of weeks out, is the one that turns up this weekend.
Manning looked effective in his third quarter cameo on the final day of the regular season and his return to the starting line-up will cause some strategic problems for the Steelers’ defence who faced back-up Brock Osweiler in the most recent encounter.
If Manning gets protected by the offensive line in Denver, there’s little doubt he has both the ability and weaponry at his disposal to lead the Broncos to a win. Whether he really is 100%, much like Roethlisberger, remains to be seen. This game may bizarrely come down to which quarterback stays healthy the longest on the day.
Pittsburgh and Denver last met in the NFL play-offs back in January 2012 when the Broncos overcame the Steelers thanks to a walk-off 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback/internet sensation Tim Tebow to Demariyus Thomas in overtime.
Proof, if ever there was one, that an effective quarterback sometimes can be more useful than a talented one when it comes to winning play-off games.
What’s the likely outcome on Sunday? Simple, the most effective banged-up quarterback in Denver will lead his team to the AFC Conference Final.
SUNDAY 16 JANUARY
AFC divisional play-off
New England Patriots v Kansas City Chiefs, 21:35
SUNDAY 17 JANUARY
AFC divisional play-off
Denver Broncos v Pittsburgh Steelers, 21:40
NFC divisional play-offs
Arizona Cardinals v Green Bay Packers, 01:15
Carolina Panthers v Seattle Seahawks, 18:05
