NFL 2015-16 Divisional Playoffs Weekend

This weekend, there are some good games. The Chiefs and Steelers are on the road and up against the two teams that have held the playoff byes for four years running now, but both of them are hot. In the NFC, the road teams are also hot. The Seahawks won the NFC title the last two years, and were a bad call away from back-to-back Super bowl titles. So, you know they are going to be tough. As for Green Bay, the win at Washington seemed to rejuvenate them, and when they face Arizona for the second time in less than a month, the Cardinals will face a very different Packers team than the one that they so easily dispatched with a few weeks ago.

Saturday 4:35 pm ET Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots (CBS)

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Breakdown: It is hard to deny that the Kansas City Chiefs are the hottest team in the league, with 11 straight wins. They did not just beat Houston last week, they destroyed them, completely shut them down. It was an embarrassment for the Texans, but that is what the Chiefs are capable of. However, New England presents a different challenge entirely. This is a team that has advanced to the AFC title game in each of the previous four seasons, and they have the ingenuity of coach Bill Belichik. You know he is going to come up with something special for this game. Plus, the Pats are always tough at home, so don't expect another 30-0 blowout win for Kansas City.

Prediction: The Chiefs have been amazing in stringing together a winning streak that has reached 11 straight wins, following a dismal 1-5 start to the season. However, this will be their biggest test to date during that streak. The Patriots present a problem like no other team the Chiefs faced during that streak, particularly since they are on the road. New England has talent, and they got sufficient rest, so they should be tough to beat. Quarterback Tom Brady is a possible question mark, as he was shaken up against Miami a couple of weeks ago. Kansas City has Andy Reid, and they have a tough defense and solid running game. However, they probably need more than that at Foxboro. They can keep it close, but it is just hard picturing them winning at New England this week. My money would be on the Patriots. 

Saturday 8:15 pm ET Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals (NBC)

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Breakdown: A few weeks ago, much of the nation watched the Packers get completely dismantled by the Arizona Cardinals. Green Bay players lost their cool and showed their frustration while suffering a humiliating loss that derailed them quite a bit. They lost at home to the Vikings in a winner takes all showdown the following week, and looked quite flat against Washington in the early part of the game last weekend. But the came alive and showed their true potential in coming back for the win, as both the defense and the explosive offense caught fire. Now, however, the face what might be the most balanced team in the league in the Arizona Cardinals, who are fresh and well-rested, and overwhelmed these same Packers just a few weeks ago.

Prediction: If the Packers had just barely scraped by Washington and still looked questionable, I would predict an easy victory for Arizona. But the Packers looked like they woke up as a team, looked like they suddenly remembered how good they are capable of playing. Now, the Cardinals are coming off a bad loss against Seattle, while Green Bay is coming off their most impressive win of the season. True, the Cardinals gave the Packers all sorts of headaches a few weeks ago when they met, but the Packers will not be taken by surprise with it this time. I suspect that the Packers will play very tough, and will have some chances to win this contest. But Arizona is still very tough, coming off their most successful season perhaps in franchise history, and they obviously want to capitalize on that. This is going to be a good game, a tough game, and it could go either way. I would be surprised if this is anything like the first meeting between these two teams, which was a blowout win for Arizona. Yet, in the end, I would also be surprised if the Cardinals are knocked off at home in the playoffs against the Packers, improved or not. It is just too hard to imagine Arizona giving up all that they managed to accomplish and overcome so easily in this contest. So, I will go ahead and predict an Arizona victory.

Sunday 1:05 pm ET Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers (FOX)

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Breakdown: The Carolina Panthers were, by far, the most successful team during the regular season, and that included an impressive road win in Seattle. However, this is the NFL's "second season," and what happened before does not count anymore for the regular season. As a Giants fan, I remember them losing in 1990 to the 49ers and Bills, in 2007 to the Patriots, Packers, and twice to the Cowboys, and in 2011 to the Packers, yet they avenged these losses, and big time, in their run to the Super Bowl championship in each of those seasons. So, despite one of the most successful regular seasons in history (Carolina was only the seventh team to finish a 16- game regular season with a record of 15-1 or better), that will mean nothing when these two teams take the field on Sunday. And the Seahawks are one of the most dangerous teams in the league.

Prediction: The Seahawks lost to the Rams a couple of weeks ago, and then scraped by against Minnesota. Is that the real Seattle team this season, or was the performance in Arizona, against a very tough team that was fighting for home field advantage but managed to get completely dominated by the Seahawks on their own home field the real Seattle team? I suspect that it is the latter, since the Seahawks were just one poor decision in last year's Super Bowl from back-to-back titles. Carolina is a very good team, and they performed very well all season. But if the Seahawks play at full strength, and I suspect that they will, they will provide a tougher test that the Panthers have seen all season. I like the Seahawks to knock off the Panthers, and end the dream season in Carolina in a huge disappointment.

Sunday 4:40 pm ET Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos (CBS)

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Breakdown: Many people feel that the Steelers are the hottest team in the league, particularly their offense. However, they really got away with one last week in Cincinnati, and outright lost a game that they needed in Baltimore a few weeks back. Still, they survived to face the Broncos this week in Denver. Peyton Manning is back, and will lead the Broncos offense, although there has to be a question of how rusty he might be. But he was spot on a few weeks ago in a game that ultimately gave the Broncos home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The defense is stellar, and should give Pittsburgh offense a tough obstacle. This should be a good game between two evenly matched teams.

Prediction: The Denver Broncos have had a couple of weeks off, and should be well rested. They played the Steelers a few weeks ago and seemed to have Pittsburgh beaten, only to allow a big comeback and losing it in the second half. I suspect that they will learn from the lessons that loss provided them, and should come out swinging in this contest. The Steelers will fight, certainly. They are too good not to expect that. But this time, I suspect that the Broncos will finally manage to hang on and win this one, albeit only after a struggle.