After a blowout round of wildcard games, it is time for the games to get intense. Â That’s right, it is time for the divisional playoffs. Â With both the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins losing, it is the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans facing the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. Â The winners of each game will advance and battle for the AFC Crown. Â But who will that be? Â Let’s take a look!
Pittsburgh Steelers VS Kansas City Chiefs
The Steelers looked dominant last week against the dolphins. Â The passing game took off strong and that created just more openings for the run. Â Ben Rothlisberger will look to lead his team to do the same against the Chiefs. Â However, Big Ben will have to be more careful against turnovers. Â WR Antonio Brown and RB Le’Veon Bell will look to have big games. Â Last week Bell ran for over 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. Â If he can even get near that, the Steelers will be in a great position to win. Â There was a concern of Big Ben having hurt his ankle in last week’s game, but he has shed his boot and practiced without any problems. Â The Steelers defense will have to contain WR Tyreke Hill on returns. Â They will look to have a repeat performance just like last week.
The Chiefs are fresh after a bye week. Â They are one of the most balanced teams left in the playoffs. Â Boasting a top defense and an offense that can move the ball, they are aided by a strong special teams lead by Hill. Â QB Alex Smith is one of the few other QB’s in the playoffs that has experience in the postseason but has yet to go all the way. Â The Chiefs are primed to with a strong game to take it the distance, but in the end, they just don’t have the tools to stop Bell and Brown.
Predictions – Steelers 31 to Chiefs 24
Houston Texans Vs New England Patriots
The last time these two teams met early in the season, it was a complete blowout. Â That was with a backup QB. Â Now they are facing the GOAT, QB Tom Brady. Â We did see glimpses of greatness from Jadeveon Clowney last week, but that was against a rookie 3rd string QB. Â That defense will have to step up its game against the Patriots. Â QB Brock Osweiler started to look like an NFL Starter last week to the end of the game. Â He will have to bring that into this week to have a chance to lead his team to the conference game.
The Patriots are the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl. Â Tom Brady has been on a revenge tour after missing 4 games to start the year. Â After leading an MVP candidate worthy season, he is looking to take the show deep into the preseason. Â Look for him to use TE Martellus Bennett, WR Julian Edelman and WR Michael Floyd often. Â Aided by the running game, lead by RB LaGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis, they will look to further gash the Texans. Â It shouldn’t be to hard to contain Osweiler, which will stop WR DeAndrea Hopkins. Â They do need to keep an eye on RB Lamar Miller.
Prediction – Patriots 35 to Texans 21
Enjoy the games!
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