Saturday January 21st
AFC Jacksonville Jaguars (10-8) at the Kansas City Chiefs (14-3) 4:30 PM ET
NFC New York Giants (10-7-1) at the Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) 8:15 PM ET
Sunday January 22nd
AFC Cincinnati Bengals (13-4) at Buffalo Bills (14-3) 3:00 PM ET
NFC Dallas Cowboys (13-5) at san francisco 49ers (14-4) 6:30 PM
11 key points ahead of the 2022 Divisional Playoffs…
1. STAY IN YOUR SEAT TILL THE END:
Twelve of the last 13 postseason games have ended in just one point in the fourth quarter, including five of the six wild card games in the past week.
Four of the previous six playoff games of 2022 and 11 of the last 13 postseason games since the start of the 2021 Divisional Playoffs have been decided by seven points or fewer. Eight of those 13 games were decided by no more than three points.
Eight of the last 13 playoff games have also been decided in the last two minutes of regulation time or in overtime.
And in six of the last 13 NFL postseason games, teams have scored the deciding points on the last play of the game.
2. NUMBER OF THE WEEK – 4:
The number of teams in the last five postseasons (2017-21) that finished last or tied last in their divisions and reciprocated with a spot in their conference championship games. Both JACKSONVILLE and the NEW YORK GIANTS can join this group this week. The four teams that have achieved this so far: The Cincinnati Bengals and san francisco 49ers in 2021 as well as the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.
Since the 1970 merger, 20 teams have reached their conference championship games following finishing bottom (or a tie with last place) in their division the previous season, including eight that made the Super Bowl: The Cincinnati Bengals 1981, 1988 and 2021, the St. Louis Rams 1999, the New England Patriots 2001, die Carolina Panthers 2003, die New Orleans Saints 2009 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.
3. ROAD SWEET ROAD:
Road teams in NFL Divisional Playoff games have won four of the last five games, beginning with Tampa Bay’s victory in New Orleans in the final game of the 2020 Divisional Round.
4. SPOTLIGHT – INDIVIDUAL MATCHUPS:
Recently named All-Pros by the Associated Press, the teams will clash on Saturday night when the NEW YORK GIANTS (10-7-1) meet the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (14-3) at Lincoln Financial Field.
When Philadelphia has the ball, Eagles All-Pro center JASON KELCE pulls on Giants All-Pro defensive lineman DEXTER LAWRENCE. And when the Giants have possession, Philadelphia’s All-Pro linebacker HAASON REDDICK faces New York’s All-Pro offensive tackle ANDREW THOMAS.
In San Francisco on Sunday, 49ers All-Pro tackle TRENT WILLIAMS will take on Cowboys All-Pro linebacker MICAH PARSONS while All-Pro guard ZACK MARTIN leads Dallas’ offensive line, which has the San Francisco All-Pro defensive lineman NICK BOSA to stop.
5. SPOTLIGHT – TEAM MATCHUP:
Also in this divisional playoff final on Sunday, when DALLAS (13-5) meets SAN FRANCISCO (14-4) at Levi’s Stadium (6:30 PM ET, FOX, FOX Deportes), the teams will set an NFL record line up by meeting in a ninth postseason game. The only other teams to meet nine times in the NFL playoffs are the Cowboys and the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams as well as the 49ers and the Green Bay Packers.
San Francisco’s BROCK PURDY is expected to be the 10th rookie quarterback to start in a divisional playoff game since the 1970 merger, the first since the Cowboys’ DAK PRESCOTT played in the 2016 playoffs once morest the Packers. The list began with Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO in 1983. Since 1970, only four rookie quarterbacks have started in a conference championship game: SHAUN KING in 1999, BEN ROETHLISBERGER in 2004, JOE FLACCO in 2008, and MARK SANCHEZ in 2009.
Cowboys quarterback DAK PRESCOTT is only the fifth player in NFL history to have four passing touchdowns in a postseason game, following AARON RODGERS, TOBIN ROTE, MATT RYAN and Pro Football Hall of Famer PEYTON MANNING and scored a rushing touchdown. He also became the first player in the Cowboys’ long postseason history to have both 300 passing yards and four touchdown passes in a playoff game.
6. STREAK SPEAK:
Chiefs running back JERICK MCKINNON has had a touchdown in six straight games. His nine receiving touchdowns this season is the most by a running back in the Super Bowl era. That puts him level with Pro Football Hall of Famers MARSHALL FAULK (nine touchdown receptions in 2001), CHUCK FOREMAN (nine in 1975) and LEROY HOARD (nine in 1991).
When KANSAS CITY (14-3) hosts JACKSONVILLE (10-8) on Saturday (4:30 PM ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo), the Chiefs’ ANDY REID (35 postseason games this week) will have TOM LANDRY ( 36) and DON SHULA (36) to tie and win the most postseason games by an NFL head coach. Only BILL BELICHICK (44) has more. The Chiefs have won their last nine postseason games under Reid 7-2, including Super Bowl LIV.
When the Jaguars won their wild card game last week, they recovered from a 27-0 deficit — the third-biggest comeback win in NFL postseason history. The only two major comebacks were Buffalo’s 1992 wild card win over the Houston Oilers (32 points) and the Colts’ 2013 wild card win over Kansas City (28).
Jacksonville is the first NFL team since the Dallas Cowboys 1991, picking first in an NFL draft and winning a playoff game in the same season.
7. DID YOU KNOW THIS?
Jacksonville quarterback TREVOR LAWRENCE has won 41-0 on Saturdays since his sophomore season in high school. His last three years at Cartersville (Ga.) High School were 3-0 on Saturdays and 36-0 in three seasons at Clemson (his two college losses came on Monday and Friday). In his NFL career, too, it is 2-0 for him so far (on each of the last two Saturdays). Lawrence and the Jaguars need to win a Saturday game or go home this week for the third straight game.
8. STORYLINE UNDER THE RADAR:
Buffalo has had a tremendous performance in the postseason from wide receiver GABE DAVIS, who had six catches for 113 yards and a touchdown in last week’s win. In his last postseason game, with Kansas City in the 2021 Divisional Playoffs, Davis caught eight passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns. Davis is the first player in NFL history to have 300 receiving yards and five touchdowns in back-to-back postseason games.
When CINCINNATI (13-4) meets BUFFALO (14-3) at Highmark Stadium on Sunday (3:00 PM ET, CBS, Paramount+), quarterbacks JOE BURROW and JOSH ALLEN will officially meet for the first time. Burrow, the 2020 NFL draft pick, is the first quarterback to play in the first two seasons in a Super Bowl. Allen is only the second player, following MATT RYAN, to have 300 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in three straight postseason games going into Sunday’s game.
On his 98-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter of last week’s Bengals wild-card win, defensive end SAM HUBBARD hit a top speed of 17.43 mph, according to Next Gen Stats. Hubbard rushed for 123.6 yards, more than any other player carrying a football in the 2022 season, for a touchdown.
Cincinnati is attempting to become the eighth team since the 1970 merger to start a season 2-0 and still make it to the Conference Championship Game. A win on Sunday would see the Bengals go to the Dallas Cowboys (1993). New England Patriots (1996 and 2001), the New York Jets (1998), the Philadelphia Eagles (2003), the New York Giants (2007) and the Indianapolis Colts (2014) as teams who lost their first two games and still advanced to the Conference Championship Games.
9. TRENDZEIT:
Since the Eagles won divisions in 2003 and 2004, the NFC East has had a different champion in each of the past 18 seasons (2005-22). That’s the longest time there hasn’t been a divisional winner.
This season’s NFC East champion, PHILADELPHIA (14-3), hosts the NEW YORK GIANTS (10-7-1) Saturday night (8:15 PM ET, FOX, FOX Deportes). Along with the DALLAS COWBOYS, three teams from the NFC East have made the Divisional Playoffs. This is the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams and reorganized into eight divisions in 2002 that a single division has brought three teams into the divisional round. The last Divisional Round involving three teams from the same division was in 1997, when Green Bay, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay represented the old NFC Central.
In the last two seasons that the Eagles have been the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they have each reached the Super Bowl (2004 and 2017).
In last week’s win, Giants quarterback DANIEL JONES became the first player in NFL history to have both 300 passing yards and 75 rushing yards in a postseason game.
The Giants’ BRIAN DABOLL wants to become the 15th rookie head coach to take his team to a conference championship game since the 1970 merger. In the last 10 years (2012-21), however, only one coach has managed to do this: Green Bay’s MATT LAFLEUR in 2019.
10. THIS WEEK IN NFL HISTORY:
January 17, 1993 (30 years ago) – In the NFC Championship Game at Candlestick Park, STEVE YOUNG leads San Francisco on a nine-play 93-yard run that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown pass to JERRY RICE. That run cut Dallas’ lead to 24:20 with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. Faced with the choice of playing time conservatively or carrying the ball down the field, Dallas head coach JIMMY JOHNSON tells offensive coordinator NORV TURNER he wants to score. So, on the next play out of the scrum, Turner calls out “896 F Flat.” As TROY AIKMAN reads the lightning bolt on the line, he realizes that ALVIN HARPER with a post route is his best option. Harper runs 70 yards to the San Francisco 9-yard line and scores a Cowboys touchdown that seals the 30-20 win and entry into Super Bowl XXVII, the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl title under Owner, President and general manager JERRY JONES.
11. AND FINALLY, San Francisco’s BROCK PURDY (picked 262nd and final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft) isn’t the only last-round gem to have action in this week’s Divisional Playoffs. Other notable Day 3 picks drafted and developed by their teams are expected to make important contributions this week:
2022: DANIEL BELLINGER, NY Giants (fourth round, #112 overall); CORDELL VOLSON, Cincinnati (four, 136); DARON BLAND, Dallas (five, 167); JAYLEN WATSON, Kansas City (seventh, 243); ISIAH PACHECO, Kansas City (seventh, 251).
2021: EVAN MCPHERSON, Cincinnati (fifth, 149); TALANOA HUFANGA, San Francisco (fifth, 180); TREY SMITH, Kansas City (sixth, 226).
2020: L’JARIUS SNEED, Kansas City (fourth, 138); TYLER BIADASZ, Dallas (fourth, 146).
2019: JULIAN LOVE, NY Giants (fourth, 108); TONY POLLARD, Dallas (fourth, 128); DRE GREENLAW, San Francisco (fifth, 148); DARIUS SLAYTON, NY Giants (fifth, 171); DONOVAN WILSON, Dallas (sixth, 213).
2018: DORANCE ARMSTRONG, Dallas (fourth, 116); JOSH SWEAT, Philadelphia (fourth, 130); DALTON SCHULTZ, Dallas (fourth, 137); JORDAN MAILATA, Philadelphia (seventh, 233).
2017: GEORGE KITTLE, San Francisco (fifth, 146); MATT MILANO, Buffalo (fifth, 163).
2016: DAK PRESCOTT, Dallas (Fourth, 135).
