The opening round of the NFL playoffs was more mild than Wild, as five of the six games were decided by 12-or-more points (as he did so many times this year, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels saved the day with a thrilling, game-ending drive to beat Tampa Bay). But with the contenders announcing themselves a week ago, the Divisional round should be a lot better, especially with top seeds Detroit and Kansas City back in action. Here’s how to watch the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs with DISH. Not a DISH subscriber? Follow this link to find the best offer and subscribe to DISH today!
NFL Divisional Round Games
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs
Sat., Jan. 18, 4:30pm ET on ESPN/ ABC
The Kansas City Chiefs might be the most disrespected 15-win team in NFL history. If you’ve watched their games, it’s not hard to understand why: Simply put, KC has been extremely lucky in several of their wins, particularly from Weeks 8 through 14, when they went 6-1 in games decided by a score or less. Patrick Mahomes is having a down year by his standards and TE Travis Kelce had a career-low 824 receiving yards in the regular season. Ironically, nothing speaks to KC’s sustained greatness than the concern for a team that still claimed No. 1 seed in the AFC. The top-seeded Chiefs are looking to become the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era; doubt them at your peril.
That same sentiment applies to the Houston Texans. They went into last week’s game against the LA Chargers as home underdogs and won by 20 points. That was largely due to Houston’s superb defensive performance, which forced Justin Herbert into four turnovers in what was the worst statistical game of his career. In fact, the Texans have had similar success this season against other top-tier QBs like Detroit’s Jared Goff (5 ints), and Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who they beat in Week 5. It was a different story the first time these teams met in December, but that game was derailed by a gruesome leg injury to Texans WR Tank Dell. If Houston can pressure Mahomes like they did Herbert, they have a chance to steal a game from a Chiefs team that has burgled a few wins themselves this year.
Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions
Sat., Jan. 18, 8:00pm ET on FOX
Nothing illustrates recent changes to the NFL landscape than the fact that Washington will be playing Detroit in the second round of the playoffs. Two years ago, neither of these teams had a playoff win in decades. Now, they look like two of the most promising teams in the entire league. For the Commanders, the turnaround was swift thanks to first year quarterback Jayden Daniels, who capped arguably the best rookie season in NFL history with a dramatic Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury both deserve credit as well, but Daniels has been nothing short of sensational, especially in crunch time. Daniels has been so special that many people believe Washington could give the top-seeded Lions a game.
Still, it will take a herculean effort from the Commanders defense to stop the high-powered Lions. In the regular season, Detroit led the NFL in total touchdowns, points per game, and were second in yards. They were also a ridiculous +222 in point differential, a full 62-points ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Eagles. Injuries have hampered Detroit on defense, but with running back David Montgomery returning from injury, the Lions have yet another weapon in their formidable offensive arsenal. If you’re looking for a high-scoring game with explosive plays, this game should not disappoint.
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles
Sun., Jan. 19, 3:00pm ET on NBC
With the tragic LA wildfires forcing the NFL to move their Monday night playoff game to Arizona, the Rams’ victory over the 14-3 and No. 5 seed Vikings was the heartwarming story of the Wild Card round. But more surprising than their win was how they pulled it off: the Rams set a new franchise record (and tied a playoff record) with nine sacks in their 27-9 victory, including a 57-yard scoop-and-score. LA’s offense looked sharp too, with QB Matthew Stafford executing Sean McVay’s scheme to perfection.
The Rams now travel to Philadelphia to take on an Eagles team that looked pretty average in their Wild Card win over the banged up Green Bay Packers. Philly exited the game with a devastating injury of their own, as star linebacker Nakobe Dean suffered a season-ending knee injury. But when these teams met in Week 12, the Eagles offense tallied nearly 500 yards, including 255 yards and two touchdowns from star running back Saquon Barkley in his best game of the season. It’s doubtful the Eagles can replicate that success, but their balance on offense (and their balance between offense and defense) is a big part of why they’re currently 6.5-point favorites.
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Sun., Jan. 19, 6:30pm ET on CBS
A showdown between the two MVP favorites, this game feels like it could go down as a playoff classic. For most of the season, it felt like Josh Allen was the clear MVP front-runner, as he put together the most complete, mistake-free season of his career (he threw a touchdown pass to a record-tying 13 different players in the regular season). But over the final month of the season, Lamar Jackson – last year’s MVP – made a strong case for winning the award back-to-back. As CBS Sports points out, Lamar “was the first quarterback ever with 40+ touchdown passes and 600+ rush yards in a season, and the first with 4,000+ pass yards and 800+ rush yards in a season.” No matter which player loses the award, football fans are the real winner in this race.
As for the game, the current DraftKings odds have the Ravens as a +1.5 favorite, by far the closest of all divisional round games. If Baltimore has an advantage, it’s due to the dual rushing attack of Jackson and Derick Henry, who has been as good as their fans could have hoped for in his first year with the Ravens. But it’s not exactly like the Bills are slouches when running: despite his egregious Pro Bowl snub, James Cook had as many touchdowns as Henry and Josh Allen is the next-best running QB after Lamar. The Ravens didn’t miss WR Zay Flowers in their Wild Card win over the Steelers, but his status is still undecided for the Bills game; if he can’t go, that would be a massive loss for Baltimore. The Bills also have a slightly better defense than the Ravens, although they were held to just 10-points in Baltimore’s lopsided 35-10 home win in Week 4. That game now looks like the biggest outlier in Buffalo’s otherwise high-scoring regular season, and Buffalo has three key players that didn’t play in that game: OLB Matt Milano and CB Taron Johnson were both out, and the Bills hadn’t yet traded for talented WR Amari Cooper. This game feels almost impossible to pick, but like the MVP race, the uncertainty only makes it more entertaining for us fans.
