The NFL Divisional Playoffs are about to start with what promises to be four great games as teams vie for a spot in Conference Championship Sunday.
Saturday’s slate starts with the upstart Houston Texans visiting the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. What are the top matchups in that one? Later on Saturday, the NFC’s top seed in that of the San Francisco 49ers host the Green Bay Packers. There are a ton of matchups to look at in that one.
On Sunday, the Detroit Lions host their second playoff game since 1991. Stud rookie tight end Sam LaPorta has a difficult matchup in that one. Meanwhile, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs visit the Buffalo Bills later on Sunday.
Here, we look at the top individual matchups for each game in the NFL Divisional Playoffs.
Related: Sportsnaut’s experts pick NFL Divisional Playoffs
Nico Collins vs Brandon Stephens
Nico Collins was absolutely sensational in last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns. The third-year receiver caught 6-of-7 targets for 96 yards with an eye-opening touchdown. This came after he closed the regular season with 16 receptions for 275 yards over the final two games.
It goes without saying that Collins is finding a great connection with rookie Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud right now.
With Ravens star Marlon Humphrey having been ruled out for the NFL Divisional Playoffs, third-year player Brandon Stephens will likely be on Collins for a majority of the game. Sure, we’ll see veterans Rock Ya-Sin and Ronald Darby. But this is the best matchup for Baltimore. Stephens yielded a 63% completion and 80.6 QB rating when targeted during the regular season. It’s less than ideal for the Ravens. That’s for sure.
Related: NFL Divisional Playoffs, C.J. Stroud vs Lamar Jackson
Ronnie Stanley vs Jonathan Greenard
Speaking of injuries, Ronnie Stanley misses four more games during the regular season and was banged up down the stretch. It’s been par for the course for the otherwise elite franchise left tackle. That includes missing a combined 35 games over the past four seasons.
When on the field, Stanley had proven to be a great blindside protector for star quarterback Lamar Jackson prior to the 2023 season. Unfortunately, he struggled big time in that regard during the regular year. Stanley yielded an absurdly high 9.6% pressure rate. That’s just not going to cut it.
We expect Baltimore to send help Stanley’s way against Jonathan Greenard on Saturday. But it might not matter. The fourth-year EDGE from Florida recorded career-highs in sacks (12.5), QB hits (22), tackles for loss (15) and total pressures (32) during the regular season. If he’s able to put a ton of pressure on Jackson, it will provide opportunities for the Texans’ ball-hawking secondary.
Related: Ranking defenses heading into NFL Divisional Playoffs
Travis Kelce vs Micah Hyde
Kelce put up six catches for 83 yards on 10 targets back in mid-December against the Bills. It wasn’t a great performance by any stretch of the imagination. But it represented an outlier against a Buffalo defense that yielded an average of just 44.5 receiving yards to tight ends during the regular season.
Kelce knows he has to play a big role in this one after catching seven balls for 71 yards against the Miami Dolphins last week.
Bills starting inside linebacker Terrel Bernard is dealing with an ankle injury heading into the NFL Divisional Playoffs. That will likely put more of an onus on Jordan Poyer to do his thing in coverage against Patrick Mahomes’ top target. The former All-Pro safety was not great during the regular season in coverage, giving up a 66.7% completion and 102.5 QB rating. Sure, Micah Hyde will take his turn with Kelce. But the pressure is on Poyer to return to 2022 form (60.1 QB rating allowed).
Related: Top storylines for Chiefs-Bills NFL Divisional Playoffs
Stefon Diggs vs L’Jarius Sneed
Oh boy, this is going to be a fun one. Diggs put up just four catches for 24 yards on 11 targets with Sneed as his primary cover guy back in December. For the Pro Bowl wide receiver, it represented one of the worst performances of his career. In fact, those 24 yards represented the fewest he has put up in a single game since he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings back in 2019.
Josh Allen needs Diggs to step up big time against an elite-level Kansas City Chiefs defense if the Bills are to advance to the AFC Championship Game.
It certainly won’t be easy against a cornerback in Sneed who gave up the third-fewest yards per target (4.8) among qualified NFL cornerbacks during the regular season. Quarterbacks also posted a 56.2 passer rating when targeting him. He’s proven to be a shutdown guy. If that continues during the NFL Divisional Playoffs, the Chiefs will advance to Championship Sunday again. Book it.
Related: Top storylines for Packers-49ers NFL Divisional Playoffs
Brandon Aiyuk vs Jaire Alexander
Alexander’s interception of Dak Prescott in the first half of last week’s blowout win over the Cowboys changed the momentum of that game. It’s interesting in that Alexander was questionable heading into the game with an ankle injury and had been hobbled pretty much all season.
Again questionable heading into Saturday night, Alexander should still end up playing. It will be a difficult task for the Pro Bowler.
Aiyuk was simply sensational for Brock Purdy during the regular season, catching 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged a whopping 17.9 yards per reception and 12.8 yards per target. Purdy also posted a 124.0 QB rating when targeting him. If Aiyuk is able to have another big game here, the 49ers will win going away. Again, take that one to the bank.
Related: NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Zach Tom vs Nick Bosa
On the surface, this matchup might seem to be one sided. After all, Nick Bosa won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award last season and continues to be as dominant as they come.
But Tom should be more than up to the task. The second-year player from Wake Forest gave up just one sack in the Packers’ final 10 regular-season games. He’s been important in the development of Jordan Love. That’s magnified with the quarterback being sacked just 30 times in 17 games during the regular season.
If Green Bay has to throw consistent double teams in the direction of Bosa, it will open things up for interior linemen Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw to do their thing. While Bosa’s sack total fell from 18.5 in 2022 to 10.5 this past season, he still put up 35 QB hits and 44 total pressures. The dude will come to play Saturday night.
Related: QB rankings heading into NFL Divisional Playoffs
Sam LaPorta vs Antoine Winfield Jr.
Winfield Jr. was absolutely brilliant in earning First-Team All-Pro honors for the Buccaneers this past regular season. The former Minnesota standout recorded 12 passes defended, six forced fumbles and three interceptions. His ball-hawking skills are by now well known.
Interestingly enough, Winfield Jr. also yielded a relatively high 69% completion and 102.0 QB rating when targeted. That could very well end up playing a role in this NFC Divisional Playoffs matchup.
LaPorta put up one of the best rookie seasons for a tight end in NFL history, catching 86 passes for 889 yards with 10 touchdowns. Jared Goff boasted an otherworldly 110.0 QB rating when targeting the former Iowa standout. If these two connect a lot on Sunday, it could spell doom for Tampa Bay.
Related: Schedule for NFL Divisional Playoffs
Tristan Wirfs vs Aidan Hutchinson
To say that Hutchinson will play a key role if the Lions are to advance to the NFC Championship Game would be an understatement. The sophomore from Michigan has recorded a whopping 15 QB hits, nine tackles for loss and seven sacks over the past three games alone. That’s absolutely insane stuff right there.
As for Baker Mayfield, one of the reasons for his breakout 2023 campaign has been pass protection. The quarterbsack was sacked 40 times in 17 games during the regular season. In Tampa Bay’s wild card win over Philadelphia, Wirfs did not yield a single pressure of Mayfield in 42 pass-blocking snaps. If he provides a clean pocket in the NFL Divisional Playoffs, Tampa could very well pull off the road upset.