The Super Wild Card Weekend was wild to say the least. On Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers put on a 25-point run in the second half to defeat rival Seattle Seahawks, and Trevor Lawrence threw four straight touchdowns after throwing four straight interceptions to make the third-biggest comeback in of NFL history after losing 27-0 for the Los Angeles Chargers. Sunday was also full of surprises.
Skylar Thompson and the Miami Dolphins scared the Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants upset the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis after a great performance from Daniel Jones, and then the Cincinnati Bengals won a close game with the Baltimore Ravens.
On Monday night, the Dallas Cowboys destroyed Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ending an eight-game playoff road losing streak.
Next week, the No. 1-seeded Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles enter the fray. Keep in mind that first-round byes didn’t exactly help the No. 1 seeded teams last year, with both the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers upset in the second round of the playoffs. What will happen this year? Below we’ll break down the NFL divisional round schedule, kick-off times, spreads and more. We’re one more round closer to Super Bowl LVII.
All NFL odds are via Caesars Sportsbook.
AFC
When: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC | Electricity: Football TV
Line: Chiefs -8.5, O/U 52
These two teams faced off in November, with the Chiefs defeating the Jaguars 27-17. The Jacksonville defense struggled to stop Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 331 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. However, this Jaguars defense has been playing good ball lately. They scored the game-winning touchdown against the Titans in Week 18 to secure a playoff berth and held the Chargers to just three points in the second half on Saturday night while waiting for the offense to form after a nightmare start .
It says something for the Jags that they were able to bounce back and pull off the third-biggest comeback in NFL postseason history, and Lawerence deserves a lot of credit. On his first seven drives, he completed 5 of 18 passes for 35 yards and four interceptions. On his last five drives, he completed 23 of 29 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-30 win.
Looking ahead to the coming weekend, the Jaguars’ offensive can’t afford a slow start against the statistically best offensive in the league. Hopefully we’re in for a shootout where both offenses exchange punches.
(3) Cincinnati Bengals at (2) Buffalo Bills
When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET
TV: CBS | Electricity: Outstanding+
Line: Bills -5, O/U 50
It feels right that we’re getting this matchup. Bills vs. Bengals was set to be our Week 17 final on Monday night, but everything came to an abrupt halt when Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field. Luckily he recovered and both teams were able to focus on football again. It looked like we were in for quite a shootout before that unfortunate event and now we’re getting a rematch.
The Bills defeated the Dolphins 34-31 at Super Wild Card Weekend, but it didn’t feel like a big win. Despite playing a third-row rookie quarterback, Skylar Thompson and the Dolphins went on a 17-0 run in the second quarter to level the game with 33 seconds remaining before halftime and then the defense rallied early in the second Quarters after a fumble for a touchdown half to gain a 24-20 lead. While Buffalo eventually clinched a win, the Bills were the biggest favorites in NFL wild card history. They didn’t quite live up to expectations.
Josh Allen threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns but also threw two interceptions and fumbled three times, losing one of them. Buffalo must not lose the turnover fight against Cincinnati if they want to advance to the AFC Championship Game.
Cincinnati also failed to put on an incredibly impressive performance at Super Wild Card Weekend, when Joe Burrow and company defeated the Ravens 24-17. Tyler Huntley and JK Dobbins gave Cincy a run for his money, but a 98-yard fumble recovery touchdown by Bengal defensive end Sam Hubbard early in the fourth quarter was the game-winning touchdown.
Both teams have to play better going forward. I’m not sure how many people expected Miami to lose 31 points to Buffalo with a third-string quarterback, or the Ravens to record 364 total offensive yards with an injured backup quarterback.
NFC
(6) New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (1)
When: Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Electricity: Football TV
Line: Eagle -7.5, O/U 47.5
Here’s a divisional matchup in the divisional round. The Eagles swept the season series with the Giants this year, beating them by 26 points in December, and then Davis Webb narrowly held the rematch in the regular-season finals with the Giants eventually losing 22-16.
The Giants offense looked pretty great in their 31-24 win over the Vikings on Sunday. Daniel Jones became the first player in NFL playoff history to have 300+ passing yards, two passing touchdowns and 70+ rushing yards in his first postseason start, while Isaiah Hodgins caught eight passes for 105 yards and one touchdown . Saquon Barkley wasn’t too shabby either, recording 109 yards from scrimmage and scoring two touchdowns. Sunday marked the Giants’ first playoff win since Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots on February 5, 2012.
While the Giants were able to take advantage of a poor defense in the first round of the playoffs, a much tougher challenge awaits them next weekend. The Eagles are the only team in the NFL to have a top-3 offense and a top-3 defense since they’ve looked like an elite team since the start of the 2022 season. Philly will rock when Jalen Hurts takes the field for his second career playoff start.
(5) Dallas Cowboys vs. (2) San Francisco 49ers
When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox | Electricity: Football TV
Line: 49er -3.5, O/U 46
The Cowboys, just coming off an eight-game losing streak in the playoffs, will be looking to carry the momentum of a stunning win over the Bucs to Santa Clara when they take on the 49ers. The last time these two teams met was last postseason when San Francisco went to AT&T Stadium and sparked the excitement by sending Dallas home early on Super Wild Card weekend.
As they seek to avenge their loss a year ago, Dak Prescott faces the Niners against arguably the best defense in the NFL. That unit held the Seahawks to just six points in the second half of their playoff win on Saturday and also boasts an offense unleashed by rookie sensation Brock Purdy. Interestingly, both Purdy and Prescott threw for multiple touchdowns and rushed to a score in their playoff wins. There’s no shortage of star power either in this head-to-head race featuring Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Deebo Samuel and Tony Pollard.