Ian JohnYou may recall that last week we took a look back at how the regular season finished in the NFL and also looked forward to this past weekend’s Super Wildcard Weekend playoff games.
Those games are now in the history books and we know the six teams, three from each Conference, that will join the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFC and the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFC in this weekend’s Divisional round of playoff games.
In essence, these are Conference Championship semi-final ties, with the winners going on to play for the Conference Championship (and a place in Super Bowl LVII) a week later.
In this article, we are going to review how the games went this past weekend in the Wildcard round of games, before we preview each of the four games taking place this weekend on Saturday and Sunday nights.
As always, you can enjoy great betting on all rounds of the playoffs and the Super Bowl with bet365 Sport, with pre-match and In Play betting available on all games.
Let’s begin with a recap of how the six Super Wildcard Weekend games turned out.
Super Wildcard Weekend Review
Bye to Divisional Round – AFC – Kansas City Chiefs, NFC – Philadelphia Eagles
- Seattle Seahawks 23-41 San Francisco 49ers
After a tight first half, the San Francisco 49ers blew away the Seattle Seahawks with a dominant second half performance led by QB Brock Purdy, RB Christian McCaffrey and WR Deebo Samuel. The Seahawks had little response to a superb second half showing by the 49ers who cemented their place as one of the Super Bowl favourites with this win.
- Los Angeles Chargers 30-31 Jacksonville Jaguars
An incredible comeback from the Jaguars saw them recover from a 27-0 second quarter deficit, plus four interceptions and another turnover, to record an unlikely and incredible 31-30 victory by kicking a field goal as time expired. Trevor Lawrence bounced back from a horror first half display to throw four touchdowns as he led the Jaguars to a dramatic victory.
- Miami Dolphins 31-34 Buffalo Bills
The Miami Dolphins put up a fantastic fight despite missing their first choice RB and top two QB’s against the much-fancied Bills. Indeed, it took Josh Allen until late in the game to finally put the Bills in a position to win the game, but the Bills star quarterback did just that with some stellar play which finally broke down the Dolphins determined resistance.
- New York Giants 31-24 Minnesota Vikings
The first playoff game that didn’t go with seeding was the game in Minneapolis where the Vikings were undone by some superb Giants defense, which kept Justin Jefferson very quiet, as well as some outstanding play from Daniel Jones at QB. Jones played a key role in leading the Giants to the win setting them up for a battle against an NFC East foe in the Divisional round.
- Baltimore Ravens 17-24 Cincinnati Bengals
Having played on the final week of the season, the Bengals and Ravens met again this week and it was a much closer game. The crucial play came in the 4th quarter when the Ravens fumbled on the Bengals 2-yard lane, allowing Sam Hubbard to return the ball 98 yards for a fumble recovery touchdown, that proved to be the difference between the two teams.
- Dallas Cowboys 31-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Dallas Cowboys have finally beaten Tom Brady. After being 0-7 against the Bucs QB in his career, the Cowboys defense shut the GOAT down in the first half and opened up a huge lead which the lacklustre Bucs could not do anything to overcome. Dak Prescott produced a superb display to make the Cowboys the third NFC East teams in the last four in the NFC.
So what does this mean in terms of the Divisional Weekend games?
NFL Divisional Weekend – Fixtures & Tips
Saturday 21st January
- 9.30pm – Jacksonville Jaguars (10-8) @ Kansas City Chiefs (14-3)
A few weeks back, if you would have said that the Jags would be in the playoffs, let alone in the Divisional Round, then you would have been laughed at. However, seven wins from their last eight games including that miraculous comeback against the Chargers sees them now face off against the AFC top seeds, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs have already beaten the Jags this season, a 27-17 win at Arrowhead, but they did lose to the Colts and only defeated the Titans in overtime this season. However, it is hard to see Patrick Mahomes and company not converting their home-field advantage into a win here.
Doug Petersen has worked miracles to get the Jags into this position, but this is as far as they will go but they’ll give the Chiefs a much better game than their +8.5 handicap suggests.
Tip – Jacksonville Jaguars 24-38 Kansas City Chiefs
- 1.15am – New York Giants (10-7-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
The strength of the NFC East has been evident all season with the bottom team in that division (Washington Commanders) having a better record than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the NFC South.
Now two divisional rivals meet once again just a couple of weeks on from their Week 18 clash in Philadelphia, where the Eagles recorded a 22-16 win. That came on the back of a 48-22 win for the Eagles in New York just three weeks prior.
Having had a week’s rest and time for key men to recuperate, it is hard to see the Giants being able to change that trend but I expect them to give it a real go and I can see this gaming going deep into the fourth quarter before it is finally decided.
Tip – New York Giants 24-27 Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday 22nd January
- 8.00pm – Cincinnati Bengals (13-4) @ Buffalo Bills (14-3)
After the last game between these two teams was abandoned due to Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, it is perhaps fitting that they meet here to decide who goes on to the AFC Conference Championship game.
Both teams stuttered a little last week in their Wildcard game and both will know a much better performance is required here to beat their opponent tonight. The Bills have home field advantage, which may irk the Bengals as had they beaten the Bills week 17, they’d have home field advantage instead.
Of the two over recent weeks, I feel it is the Bengals that have played the better football but the injuries on that offensive line just makes me feel that the Bills can get at Joe Burrow and that may well be the reason why they prevail here in a game that should be a cracker.
Tip – Cincinnati Bengals 38-41 Buffalo Bills
- 11.30pm – Dallas Cowboys (13-5) @ San Francisco 49ers (14-4)
The 49ers come into this game as the form team in the NFL having won all their last 11 games, but the Cowboys produced a magnificent display against the Buccaneers to smoothly move through the Wildcard games and earn a shot at their old rivals.
The Cowboys have won five of eight post-season games between the two, but the 49ers have won the two most recent, including one last season. Both teams also have superb defenses, arguably the two best in the NFL (though the Eagles & Ravens may argue with that).
Does that mean offense could be key? In that case, Dallas has the edge with greater experience at QB and I do feel this is going to be the major factor in this game and it is why I am going to back the Cowboys to cause something of an upset and land the win here.
Tip – Dallas Cowboys 31-27 San Francisco 49ers
Join me next week when we take a look back at the games above, as well as previewing the two Conference Championship games in full.
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