Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens
After dishing out a detrimental blow to the Cleveland Browns organization, the Houston Texans look to capitalize on their pent-up momentum with a potential victory over the #1-seeded Baltimore Ravens.
The Texans haven’t been a stranger to the underdog narrative as they have undisputedly exceeded everyone’s expectations in both the regular season and this postseason.
A large portion of this success is courtesy to 1st-year Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik, a Mike Shannahan descendant and part of the widely recognized 2013 Washington staff.
Slowik’s ability to orchestrate the offense has been nothing short of outstanding as he has made some of the NFL’s best statistical Defenses look less than pedestrian.
Former Ohio State product and soon-to-be Rookie of the Year award winner C.J. Stroud has also played a big role as he has looked like a seasoned veteran despite being in his first NFL season.
His play alone has elevated his contemporaries to an entirely different level, specifically 3rd year Wide Receiver, and former Michigan Wolverine Nico Collins.
Collins, despite being a non-factor for the Texans in his first couple of seasons, has been their best-performing wideout during his 2023 stint as he tripled his Receiving Yard totals from last season with 1,297 in total.
To put it lightly, Stroud has been a godsend for the Texans franchise turnaround, throwing for over 4,100 yards, good enough to land him within the top 3 in Rookie Quarterback Passing Yards only behind Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert.
On the other hand, the Baltimore Ravens have been greatly acknowledged as one the best if not the best team throughout the NFL, hence their top seed placement.
Led by the soon-to-be NFL MVP Quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Ravens have been as dynamic as humanly possible with their ability to score both through the air and on the ground.
Statistically, Baltimore ranks as the #6 all-around Offense in the NFL while being #1 in Rushing with a whopping 150 Rushing Yards a game.
The Defense has also been close to unstoppable as they have earned the #1 rank in Total Sacks during the 2023 season with 60.
Despite being given a week off from the 1st round bye, Baltimore has sustained a plethora of injuries to key players including Cornerback Marlon Humphrey (Questionable), star Tight End Mark Andrews (Questionable), and promising Running Back Keaton Mitchell (Out).
However, star Running Back Dalvin Cook, who was acquired and signed to the practice squad before the end of the regular season, is set to play Saturday and should be a nice piece for the Ravens ahead of their matchup.
Ultimately, the Baltimore Ravens will end the Cinderella story that is the Houston Texans with a score of 27-23.
Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers
Despite being the lowest-seeded team in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers have propelled themselves to a date with the ever-so-physical San Francisco 49ers.
Packers Quarterback Jordan Love, while being unpolished fundamentally and rather inaccurate downfield, has been arguably the hottest NFL player dating back to before their Thanksgiving matchup against the Detroit Lions.
During about 9 weeks, Love has thrown exactly 21 Touchdown Passes with a 70% Completion Percentage and just an Interception to show for it, talk about an improvement.
The Packers seem to have a unique Yin and Yang-style offense with Love’s Raw, reckless talent paired with Head Coach Matt Lafluer’s run-heavy and Play-Action offense.
Constructed by General Managers Adam Peters and John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers are regarded by some as the single-best roster throughout the NFL.
Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle are all heavy contributors to this label as they all each have over 1,000 + Receiving Yards.
The 49ers also rank 2nd in Total Offense with close to 400 Yards Per Game with about half being through the air and the other being on the ground.
Quarterback Brock Purdy has played exceptionally well during his 2023 stint, throwing for a franchise record of 4,280 Passing Yards, enough for his team to rank 4th in Passing Yards Per Game with 257.9.
Matthew Spivey, a Senior at Verrado High School and 49ers fan, claims that “It’s initially going to be a great game, but the Niners are gonna win dominantly by a score of 31-14.”
When it’s all said and done, the San Francisco 49ers will narrowly roll past the Green Bay Packers by a score of 27-23.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions
After being written off to start the season, Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have found their way to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs with an opportunity to shock the world with a win over the Detroit Lions.
Mayfield, after cleaning up offensive mistakes from previous years, has been the heart and soul of Tampa Bay as he is the first Quarterback in Buccaneers history to put up 300+ Yards and 3 Touchdowns in a single postseason game.
The Buccaneers as a whole are coming off their best performance yet as they demolished the Philadelphia Eagles with their tough Run Defense.
Quarterback Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions had a season-high 353 Yards and 2 Touchdowns during his earlier matchup against the Buccaneers this season.
The Lions rank 3rd overall in Total Yards a game with a little under 400 and 5th in Rushing Yards courtesy of Running Backs David Montgomery and Jahmyre Gibbs.
Not to mention Sam LaPorta who combined with Gibbs, has 23 Total Scrimmage Touchdowns in their Rookie season stints.
The Detroit Lions are going to remain alive this postseason with a convincing victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 30-21.
Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills
The Kansas City Chiefs will meet for the 7th time since 2020 against the Buffalo Bills in a matchup that should go down to the wire.
Led by Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the Chief’s defense has been the best in the Mahomes era as they rank 2nd in Yards Per Game Allowed with 289.8.
They also were good enough to allow the Miami Dolphins, the best statistical offense in the league, to remain static in their Wild Card matchup last week.
Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed has come around in full effect with the opportunity to break Daniel Sorenson’s Playoff Tackle record with 62.
On the other hand, the Buffalo Bills have dominated on their home turf as they are 4th in Total Yards Offensively with 374.5.
The Bills are also less reliant on Josh Allen with the emergence of former Georgia Running Back James Cook.
Alex Rodriguez, a Senior at Verrado High School and Seahawks fan, says “The Bills are going to win easily. A great offense always, especially in the playoffs, always demolishes a great defense no matter the case”.
Ultimately, the Kansas City Chiefs will pull away with a victory by a score of 30-27 in a potential overtime matchup that’ll be another one for the ages.
