There's a little bit of something for everyone in this weekend's NFL divisional playoff games.
Mark Craig's NFL divisional round preview and picks
The young quarterback stars of the AFC and the old guard in the NFC are on display in this weekend's playoff games.
January 14, 2021 at 7:13PM
If you like the young guns, the AFC has the youngest field of quarterbacks by one conference in divisional round history. Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield are 25 while Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are 24.
If you like the old guard, the NFC has Tom Brady, 43; Drew Brees, who turns 42 on Friday; and Aaron Rodgers, 37. Brady and Brees will face off in the first playoff meeting between two quarterbacks 40 or older. Their combined career touchdown total, including playoffs: 1,259.
If you like the favorites, the No. 1 seeds – Green Bay and defending champion Kansas City – are back in action after their bye week.
And if you like the underdog story, the Browns and Rams advanced as No. 6 seeds. It's the third straight year that both No. 6 seeds reached the divisional playoff round.
Last week's Super Wild Card round picks: 5-1; vs. the spread: 3-3.
Regular season: 167-89-1; 126-130-1.
No. 6 RAMS (11-6) at No. 1 PACKERS (13-3)
Time/TV: Saturday, 3:35 p.m. (Fox)
The matchup: Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay's No. 1 scoring attack (31.8) faces Aaron Donald and the Rams' No. 1 scoring defense (18.5) in Rams coach Sean McVay's first game against Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who worked under McVay in Los Angeles and Washington.
Key stat: 80%, the success rate of the Packers' league-leading red-zone offense reaching the end zone (48 of 60). The Rams' red-zone defense ranked 12th (58.7) and gave up a touchdown in Seattle's only red-zone try last week.
The Rams will win if: The No. 2-ranked pass rush stays hot; the offense puts together another turnover-free outing; and the Packers lose the turnover battle. LA's pass rush had five sacks last week while the offense had its only turnover-free game of the year. The Packers are 1-3 when losing the turnover battle.
The Packers will win if: Rodgers keeps playing like the MVP; and the defense stops rookie running back Cam Akers while adding to its nine takeaways in the past six games, all wins.
Line: Packers -6 1/2.
Craig's pick: Packers 31, Rams 19.
No. 5 RAVENS (12-5) at No. 2 BILLS (14-3)
Time/TV: Saturday, 7:15 p.m. (NBC)
The matchup: The league's hottest teams — the Bills have won seven in a row, and the Ravens' streak is six — collide in a prime-time meeting. The matchup features Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, two completely different offenses, Baltimore's second-ranked scoring defense (18.9) and a Buffalo defense that ranks second in takeaways (27) under coordinator and former Vikings coach Leslie Frazier.
Key stat: 889, rushing yards for the Ravens in their past three games. Average per game: 296.3.
The Ravens will win if: Jackson takes care of the ball and punishes a Buffalo defense that ranks 17th against the run and last week allowed the Colts to rumble for 163 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries (5.4).
The Bills will win if: The defense contains Jackson's legs and forces him to win with his arm; and the offense is balanced enough to unleash Allen, former Viking Stefon Diggs and the No. 3-ranked passing attack.
Line: Bills -2
Craig's pick: Ravens 35, Bills 31.
No. 6 BROWNS (12-5) at No. 1 CHIEFS (14-2)
Time/TV: Sunday, 2:05 p.m. (CBS)
The matchup: For an encore to last week's upset as a 6-point underdog at Pittsburgh, the surprising Browns are double-digit dogs against Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champs, whose starters haven't played in three weeks.
Key stat: 42-9, Mahomes' record, including playoffs. The Chiefs have scored at least 30 points in 33 of those 51 starts (64.7%).
The Browns will win if: Kansas City's offense is more rusty than rested and loses the turnover battle while Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and the Browns' third-ranked running attack overpowers the Chiefs' 21st-ranked run defense.
The Chiefs will win if: Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and that all-world offense rediscover a rhythm early and don't rest on their laurels like they did in a 17-14 win over Atlanta three weeks ago.
Line: Chiefs -10.
Craig's pick: Chiefs 41, Browns 38.
No. 5 BUCCANEERS (12-5) at No. 2 SAINTS (13-4)
Time/TV: Sunday, 5:40 p.m. (Fox)
The matchup: In the battle of future first-ballot Hall of Famers, 43-year-old six-time champion Tom Brady and the No. 3 scoring attack (30.8) will try to avoid going 0-3 against the soon-to-be 42-year-old one-time champion Drew Brees and the No. 5 scoring attack (30.1).
Key stat: 72-25, the margin of victory in the Saints' two victories over the Bucs this season (34-23 at New Orleans in Week 1 and 38-3 at Tampa on Nov. 8).
The Buccaneers will win if: Their No. 1-ranked run defense steps up and Brady has the time to play like he did last week, when he threw for a franchise-record 381 yards while controlling the game against Washington's stellar pass rush.
The Saints will win if: They're able to stay balanced offensively and the defense continues to torment Brady. Six of Brady's 21 sacks and five of his 12 interceptions this season have come against the Saints.
Line: -3.
Craig's pick: Buccaneers 34, Saints 31.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
