Divisional Weekend 2017

Seattle Seahawks @ Atlanta Falcons

Five years ago, rookie QB Russell Wilson stepped off the Georgia Dome field feeling deflated after an amazing 2nd half comeback was nullified by QB Matt Ryan in the 2012 Divisional Round. But as he walked into the locker room, Wilson said he felt a strong sense of excitement for the team's future. The Seahawks have been the top dog of the NFC ever since while Ryan and the Falcons hit rock bottom with a 4-12 2013 season and have clawed back up to relevance this year under 2nd-year coach Kyle Shanahan.

The Falcons have had one of the greatest offensive seasons of all time, All-Pro WR Julio Jones is obviously a crucial piece but the truly unstoppable aspect has been the twin versatilities of RBs DaVonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. It is a classic narrative of unstoppable force (Atlanta O) versus an immovable object (Seattle D) but hampered by the Earl Thomas injury and Atlanta's home field advantage. The Seahawks come in as underdogs in the playoffs for the first time since that 2012 match-up.

KEYS FOR SEA : With the best defense left in the NFC playoffs (GB, DAL and ATL all have suspect units on D), the Seahawks are in a position for dark horse NFC Champion. However, QB Russell Wilson will need to catch fire on the road. The duds of Week 12 in Tampa Bay (150 yards of mostly garbage passing) and Week 14 in Green Bay (5 INT) loom large. For all we hear about RB Thomas Rawls because of last week, it is all on Wilson.

KEYS FOR ATL : An early lead. The upset script for this game is that Seattle's rushing attack is truly back and the Atlanta offense is on the sideline watching Seattle rush for first downs. Nothing about Atlanta's defense is scary... except pass rusher Vic Beasley. If Seattle is down, and force to throw, Beasley and the Atlanta pass rushers could wreak havoc on Seattle's terrible O-line.

Houston Texans @ New England Patriots

Well, here we are again with another Texans visit the Patriots snooze-fest. I would love this to be a good game, I do want Saturday Night Football to be fun, but the Texans are pretenders amongst the Top 8 here. Brock Osweiler is a joke, and the defense has not shown greatness yet. Brian Cushing, Jadaveon Clowney & Co are jumping from a 1st-start rookie to a 200+ win, 4-time Super Bowl champion.

Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck win Divisional playoff games, it's what they do (10-2 in this round!) If they win, they will have advanced to 6 straight AFC Championships. That's insane! And who does the AFC offer as competition on this excellent weekend of Top 8 football? The 29th-ranked offense?

KEYS FOR HOU : I look forward to when Tom Brady retires so I can stop writing about this, but the key to defeating the Patriots is the pass rush. The Texans are certainly well-stacked in that area, so an upset is not impossible. Even without 3-time DPOY J.J Watt, Houston boasts an imposing pass rushing duo in DE Jadeveon Clowney and DE Whitney Mercilus.

KEYS FOR NE : The Patriots are an enigma at the skill positions, who will explode for a monster game? They lost Gronk this season but there's a lot of un-tapped potential within RB Dion Lewis, TE Marcellus Bennett and in-season acquisition WR Michael Floyd. There's still RBs LaGarrette Blount and James White, WRs Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. The big performance is a Patented Patriot Playoff Requirement, who will it be?

Green Bay Packers @ Dallas Cowboys

The new Dallas triplets, QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliot and WR Dez Bryant, have enjoyed a charmed season. Similar to the original Aikman/Smith/Irvin triplets they have benefited from a massive and overwhelming offensive line. T Tyron Smith, G Zack Martin and C Travis Frederick are all in serious conversation as top in the NFL at their respective positions. Talented, young skill position players and an incredible O-line in Dallas. It's a familiar recipe and it works.

But Prescott and Elliot are rookies after all, they cannot afford mistakes against the red-hot QB Aaron Rodgers. We have seen what getting hot in January can mean for mid-tier QBs like Joe Flacco and Eli Manning, what does it mean for Aaron Rodgers? Playing without Jordy is tough, but the Dallas D is much worse than the Giants'.

KEYS FOR GB : Elevated WR play. WR DaVante Adams has not been great when placed into the WR1 or WR2 role, Randall Cobb is mostly out of the slot so the Packers are hoping WR Geronimo Allison can pull some Jordy Nelson magic with Aaron Rodgers.

KEYS FOR DAL : Keep Aaron Rodgers on the sideline, duh. The Cowboys big O-line and Rookie Of the Year RB Ezekiel Elliot can make all the Rodgers talk moot with long, sustained scoring drives.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs

The game has been moved to 5pm because of an impending Ice Storm. Yes, it's playoff time and KC/PIT is a treat. We have the hard-nosed traditions of these rich franchises but also a varied sparkling array of playmakers; RB Le'Veon Bell and WR Antonio Brown for the Steelers, TE Travis Kelce and shiny new toy WR Tyreek Hill for the Chiefs.

The potential of both teams is being realized before our very eyes, the Steelers have Brown & Bell healthy at the same time and the young defense no longer a liability. The Chiefs have kept the defense arrowhead sharp and have finally received some form of consistent playmaking around conservative QB Alex Smith. This is a great match-up.

KEYS FOR PIT : LB Bud Dupree and the young talented pieces of the Molten Steel Curtain need to begin to solidify, consistency is key because the big plays are how Kansas City kills you. QB Ben Rothlisberger may be heading a Super Bowl contender but has not looked like his old self, injuries and age possibly catching up. The freezing cold weather could make this a low-scoring game, consistency is needed on D.

KEYS FOR KC : The Chiefs are missing their top LB Derrick Johnson so it's up to DEs Justin Houston and Dee Ford with DT Dontari Poe to create chaos amongst Pittsburgh's healthy O-line. If they can win that battle, the Chiefs have the talent in the secondary (CB Marcus Peters, S Eric Berry) to battle with Pittsburgh's elite offensive weapons.