Divisional Weekend 2016

Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) @ New England Patriots (12-4)

Historically, the Kansas City Chiefs have had trouble advancing through the playoffs. Last weekend was their first playoff victory since 1994. In that same time frame, the New England Patriots have won 24 playoff games. It is intersting how physcologically different the fanbases percieve this game; Patriot fans hoping for 2 more wins and another chance to feel the rush of winning a Super Bowl and Chiefs fans reveling in a Playoff Victory, thanking their stars, excited for the adventure to come.

Although this is the first ever KC/NE Playoff Match-up, Bill Belicheck and Andy Reid have faced off many times, including Super Bowl 39. Belicheck has stated before that any Andy Reid team is going to be well-coached, and Reid has certainly done a fantastic job this year with a Defense riding high and an offense looking to continue to perform without Jamaal, and possibly without WR Jeremy Maclin. The Chiefs have won 11 in a row, but the Patriots... well they win AFC Divisional Games... it's just what they do. TE Rob Gronkowski is at full Gronk, WR Julian Edelman is back, so to some key defense pieces.

KEYS FOR KC: The Chiefs Defensive Front can win this game. They are the main hope to win this game. DE Justin Houston finished the Wildcard game, so did DE Tamba Hali, and LB Derrick Johnson made a name for himself. They look to improve.. on a Playoff Shutout last week. There has always been one key to defeating Tom Brady and the Patriots... and it's a relentless pass rush. Even thatdoesn't always work, as we saw when the Patriots played the Cowboys this year, but its still the Chiefs best shot.

KEYS FOR NE: QB Tom Brady took a hard, low hit to the ankle against the Dolphins in Week 17. How will he be able to move? The answer had better be decent because the Patriots O-line has sustained some serious injuries this season. Another variable will be WR Julian Edelman. A healthy Edelman at full speed makes the Patriots AFC favorites. To sum up, what team will be the least injured?

Green Bay Packers (11-6) @ Arizona Cardinals (13-3)

Three weeks ago, the Arizona Cardinals thoroughly demolished the Green Bay Packers 38-8. It didn't look close. The Packers' offense showed some spark midway through the Wildcard Washington game. Did that ignite the Packers back to the 6-0 juggernauts they appeared to be in October? Or was it a final flare up before a final flame out?

The Cardinals have had a great year, QB Carson Palmer has stayed healthy and the weapons around him have flourished. The Cardinals' Defense can't be called elite now that they have lost S Tyron Matheiu who was playing better than any other safety in the league, but they are still an above-average unit that can certainly be enough with an Offense that puts up points.

KEYS FOR GB: QB Aaron Rodgers lit up the Cardinals in the 2009-10 Playoffs for 423 yards and 5 total TDs. This was a breakout game for Rodgers, in which he truly came out from under Favre's shadow. It certainly would be nice if Rodgers could put up those numbers again but remember those numbers were put up in vain, the Packers lost that game. What Rodgers coud really use is more help from RBs Eddie Lacy and James Starks.

KEYS FOR ARI: RB David Johnson is the answer. The Cardinals have returng RB Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington in the mix but David Johnson, when given a full gameflow was a game changer. WR Larry Fitzgerald will be in the slot, the dangerous WRs Michael Floyd and John Brown outside but a big game from David Johnson will make things much easier.

Seattle Seahawks (11-6) @ Carolina Panthers (15-1)

The Panthers thought they had already taken care of the Seahawks with a Newton-to-Olsen Week 6 dagger at CenturyLink Field that knocked the Seahawks down to 2-4 and the Panthers' to a surprising 6-0. Yet here were are, the 2-time Defending NFC Champions taking on the 15-1 #1 Seed. Side note: how is this not the Primetime Game?

The Seahawks have found their swagger again, the Panthers have sustained theirs. The similarities between the teams is staggering - young, mobile QBs (Russell Wilson and Cam Newton) with surprising breakout WRs (Doug Baldwin and Ted Ginn) and returning from injury RBs (Marshawn Lynch and Jonathan Stewart). On Defense we have two of the best LBs to play the game (Bobby Wagner and Luke Kuechly) and two of the best corners (Richard Sherman and Josh Norman). Again, how is this not the Primetime Game?

The previous 5 match-ups have been Defensive Battles and there's no reason to believe this game will change that. The elusiveness of Russell Wilson, the power of Cam Newton- which will pull through to get their offense moving?

KEYS FOR SEA: Seattle oscillates between great offense and historically dreadful offense. There can be no quarters without first downs against the 15-1 Panthers, and who better to return that consistentcy then RB Marshawn Lynch. Will he back to top form? The Seahawks will need him to be.

KEYS FOR CAR: Focus. The Panthers came out incredibly flat in their 2013-14 Divisional Home Game against the 49ers. Just two weeks ago, they were posing for sideline group photos and celebrating their Week 17 vicotry as if it were the Super Bowl itself. The Panthers have the better team here but barely- they draw the toughest possibe match-up in their first playoff game as #1 seed.

Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5) @ Denver Broncos (12-4)

Denver QB Peyton Manning is not the first Hall Of Fame Quarterback to find success with another team late in his career. Joe Montana did with Kanas City, Brett Favre did with Minnesota and Kurt Warner did with Arizona. None of those players had a playoff game against their old city. The thought of Indianapolis facing Peyton Manning in the playoffs would have been incomprehensible from 1998 to 2009. This guy was the body, hear and soul of the Colts.

So why is this not the headline of the decade?

Because the Colts are over Peyton Manning. Yes, Indianapolis has moved on from indisputably one of the top QBs of all time! Why? Because they have the player with the most promising NFL future of all, the golden boy Andrew Luck. The first and likely last matchup of legacy consequence between Manning and Luck comes this weekend. In Denver though, the cards are hugely stacked in Manning's favor as his defense is now loaded with S T.J Ward, CB Chris Harris, LB Von Miller, CB Aqib Talib and DE DeMarcus Ware. Not one of which played in the Super Bowl, whether injured or on other teams. This is not the same team of 8pt fame in Super Bowl 48.

KEYS FOR PIT: CB Vontae Davis has quietly been a dominant force on an inconsistent defense. If a good corner takes away one of Peyton's options without help, we've seen how that can pay dividends across the field for the rest of the defense against Peyton's spread attack. Now, the Broncos have been a power running team lately so take advantage of Davis' game-changing ability, the Colts will need an early lead.

KEYS FOR DEN: RB C.J Anderson, the defense, the gritty, dare-I-say Seahawk style that GM John Elway has compiled and Coach John Fox has devised must continue. Manning hasn't looked like a 50 attempt, 400 yard man in a few months. But if Manning is not the strength of the team anymore, what an incredible asset to a team's strength he is.