Outsider Sports NFL Postseason Power-Up

Jan 17

NFL Divisional Round Game previews and power rankings of the Elite Eight!

NFL Divisional Round

Saturday January 20th, 2024 @ 4:30pm : (4) Houston Texans vs. (1) Baltimore Ravens

The Houston Texans may be the hottest team in the NFL right now, but the Baltimore Ravens are the best team in the NFL right. More importantly, the Ravens are the healthiest they’ve been in January in years. Mark Andrews even has a chance to return for this game after thought to be lost for the season. I don’t believe that John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson will allow this team to fall victim to being a lame duck one seed, as they did against the Tennessee Titans following Lamar’s other MVP season in 2019. CJ Stroud and DeMeco Ryans have proven to be major players in the AFC for years to come, but the impressive rebuild still falls short of Baltimore. Give me the Ravens in this one to move onto the AFC Championship game.

Score Prediction: Baltimore 31 - Houston 27

Saturday January 20th, 2024 @ 8:15pm : (7) Green Bay Packers vs. (1) San Francisco 49ers

Green Bay feels like the NFC counterpart to Houston. They have been playing great football over the last two months, including a dominating win over the Cowboys. But one team has annually stood in the way of the Packers: the San Francisco 49ers. Here we are again, with San Fran having some extra time off. Their big question mark over the previous few season, like Baltimore, has been health. The 49ers are healthy as well, and boast the league’s best roster. As long as Brock Purdy doesn’t fall victim to freak injury again, it’s tough to go against the Niners.

Score Prediction: San Francisco 38, Green Bay 21

Sunday January 21st, 2024 @ 3:00pm : (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. (3) Detroit Lions

The two one seeds in the AFC and NFC return to action after a week off, each facing the two hottest teams in these playoffs. Later on Sunday we’ll see another Chiefs-Bills matchup. And yet, I am fixated on this game. Detroit heldon against the Rams in a very emotional game this past weekend. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay pulled off the biggest non-upset since the Giants beat the Vikings a year ago. Will Tampa fail to show up the following week as New York failed to against Philadelphia? Can Detroit control the game more now that the proverbial monkey is off their back? The fact that one of these teams will compete for the NFC crown a week later has me excited. I have been high on Detroit all year, and I see no reason to stop now.

Score Prediction: Detroit 27, Tampa Bay 24

Sunday January 21st, 2024 @ 6:30pm : (3) Kansas City Chiefs vs (2) Buffalo Bills

Was there any doubt these teams would be destined to meet again? The Bills narrowly escaped Arrowhead with a victory - a common theme for them this season - thanks to a Kadarius Toney miscue. This game now takes place in Buffalo, but is that really an advantage? Mahomes won’t be rattled by the travel. The Chiefs are well versed in cold weather football. Buffalo, despite a win streak, has not looked pretty. Additionally, remember last year when Cincinnati rolled into Buffalo and controlled that game start to finish? I see something similar here. Kansas City has the better coach, quarterback, and defense. The running game may be a toss up, but I’ll trust Pacheco’s more physical style over Cook’s versatility. I also will trust Mahomes to make less mistakes than Allen. A big point I made in why I took Houston over Cleveland last week was because those teams just played, and it istough to beat the same team twice in such a short timeframe. The Chiefs and Bills didn’t meet that long ago, so I have the Chiefs as the lone road team to win this week.

Score Prediction: Kansas City 34, Buffalo 24

Outsider Sports Playoff Power Rankings

1. Baltimore Ravens - 48 points

2. San Francisco 49ers - 40 points

3. Buffalo Bills - 30 points

4. Detroit Lions - 29 points

5. Kansas City Chiefs - 27 points

6. Green Bay Packers - 18 points

7. Houston Texans - 17 points

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 7 points

How We Ranked Them:

Ryan Balliet: Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills

Ben Mandell: Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Corey Jason: Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Green bay Packers, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dylan Mehl: Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

John Pauline: Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Josh Tulanowski: Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ryan Balliet