The NFL Roundup 2019 – Divisional Round: Day One

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​And then there were eight. Yes, just like that, the playoff field was whittled down by four, sending the Wild Card winners on the road to face off against teams that fared better in the regular season, which should in turn level the playing field since the playoffs are designed to bring forth the cream of the crop. But while the Divisional Round is supposed to be a more ‘refined’ weekend of football, let’s be honest, it’s just as up and down as Wild Card Weekend and one team, or several, will be stunned by an upset over the course of the next two days. Which means it’s high time we dig in and examine this weekend’s amazing slate of games, starting with Day One of the Divisional Round! 

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AFC Divisional Matchup
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, MO
4:35 p.m. EST – NBC

HOW THESE TEAMS REACHED THE DIVISIONAL ROUND
For the Kansas City Chiefs, today’s game serves as the continuation of a magical 2018 campaign. For this is a team that outright dominated their opponents this season, with a dynamic offense centered around a dynamic quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, and his ability to escape sacks and make incredible plays time and time again helped this team to secure another divisional title and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. As for the Indianapolis Colts, well they reached this round by shocking the Houston Texans in their own home. Because Indy was downright dominant at NRG Stadium last weekend and their ability to dominate the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense, alongside a great performance from Andrew Luck, kept their Super Bowl dreams alive.
 
KEYS TO THE GAME
On paper, it looks like this matchup skews toward Kansas City and there’s good reason for that. They truly do have one of the finest offenses in the league and Patrick Mahomes is a big reason as to why this team is enjoying a home game today. And quite frankly, if the Chiefs are able to pick apart the Indy defense and keep the points rolling, then there’s no reason as to why KC should lose this game. That being said however, there is one big glaring problem when it comes to the Chiefs; their defense. Because their secondary is simply awful, and teams have torched KC with the passing game all year long because of how poorly their corners play. So, I fully expect Indianapolis to take full advantage of that weak secondary and with that incredible offensive line in front of him, Andrew Luck may have quite the day. So really, it’s Kansas City’s game to lose. If their defense doesn’t step up, they’re one and done. But if they can put it all together today, KC may enjoy quite the victory. 

NFC Divisional Matchup
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – Los Angeles, CA
8:15 p.m. EST – FOX 

​HOW THESE TEAMS REACHED THE DIVISIONAL ROUND
There have been a lot of questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys over the past couple of years and understandably so. Because they haven’t shown the football world a sense of toughness or that they outright hunger for a win. But their game last week silenced much of that talk because when the chips were down, and they needed a win, the team came together and pushed ahead, securing a victory over the Seattle Seahawks. As for the Rams, well, they made it to the playoffs this year by following the formula that got them here last year; scoring a boatload of points and stifling defensive play that keeps opponents out of the end zone. And the end result of sticking with what works in 2018, was a 13-3 record and the number two overall seed when it comes to NFC Playoff seeding.
 
KEYS TO THE GAME
This is another game where on paper, it would seem that the home team has quite the advantage. Because Los Angeles has a downright incredible offense, one that seemingly scores at will thanks to their star QB and RB and to complicate matters further for Dallas today, is that powerhouse defense, one that does a fine job of shutting down wide receivers and it also features a defensive line that loves to feast upon quarterbacks, and I’ve no doubt they have the standard plan in place to beat Dallas. So, I expect L.A. to go after the run and lock down the Dallas receiving corps. But, the biggest X Factor in this game, is that Los Angeles cannot take the Cowboys for granted for even a second. Because despite Seattle’s attempts to contain the run last week, Ezekiel Elliott found ways to get the ball down the field and Dak Prescott did a fine job of exploiting any gap he found in the Seahawks secondary and I fully expect Dallas to do more of that this week. So, this game may come down to who wants it more and I cannot wait to see how this one turns out.