(1) Kansas City Chiefs vs. (4) Jacksonville Jaguars
After the third largest comeback in NFL playoff history the Jacksonville Jaguars will travel to Kansas City to take on the number one team in the conference.
The Jags had a tale of two halves last Saturday. In the first quarter Trevor Lawrence had three interceptions. He is the first quarterback since Carson Palmer to throw three interceptions in a quarter. At the end of the quarter he was 4 for 13 for 30 yards. Before the two minute warning in the second quarter Lawrence had zero touchdowns he was 5 for 18 for 35 yards and four interceptions and had a passer rating of 0.
After the two minute warning Lawrence and the Jags were able to create a drive and put points on the board going into the half 27-7. This is where the game shifts. The Jags come out scoring touchdowns on four consecutive drives. Lawrence was responsible for all the scores throwing touchdowns to four different receivers. Jacksonville scored on the last drive where Ryan Patterson kicked a field goal to win the game as time expired. In the fourth Lawrence went 8 for 12 for 93 yards and a touchdown with a 117.7 passer rating. The Jags outscored the Chargers 31-3 the rest of the way.
The way Lawrence played against the Chargers will not fly with the Chiefs. They will be going into one of the loudest stadiums in the league. These teams played each other earlier this season and the Chiefs won 27-17. Things have changed since then the Chiefs are riding a five game win streak and have only lost one game at home.
This team has one of the most polarizing players in Patrick Mahomes who can make every throw in the book. Travis Kelce who is arguably the best tight end in the game right now. He had another great season leading the team in receiving yards with 1,338 and 12 touchdowns. After losing Tyreek Hill this off season a lot of people thought the Chiefs were not going to be as good but in ways they have been better. The ball is spread around a lot more to guys like Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. With their starting back Clyde Edwards-Helaire going down Isiah Pacheco has stepped up. He has 830 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the season.
The offense is stacked and if the Jags want to have a chance they cannot turn the ball over. Since Mahomes has taken over the Chiefs hit early and often and the more possessions they get the more likely they are to score.
Chiefs 31, Jags 17
(2) Buffalo Bills vs. (3) Cincinnati Bengals
Just three weeks ago these two teams were supposed to face off in a showdown that had serious playoff implications. When Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field the two teams decided to cancel the game. Now here is the rematch the whole league has been waiting on.
In their last game the Bills won but it was a lot closer than most expected. They played the Dolphins at home winning 34-31. Josh Allen had 352 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The big story here was the turnovers Allen was committing. He kept the Dolphins in the game with the interceptions he was throwing and the scoop and score in the beginning of the second half that gave the Dolphins a 24-20 lead. Two touchdowns by Allen put them back out in front 34-24 by the end of the third and a clutch interception by the Bills defense allowed them to escape but they cannot let that happen again.
The Bills were lucky to play a team that had no choice but to start their third string quarterback but with the Bengals coming to town the margin for error is slim. On the other side is Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Joe Mixon. They won against their division rivals the Baltimore Ravens but they did not play their best game. They won after the Ravens decided to do a quarterback sneak on the one yard line in the fourth and fumbled. Sam Hubbard scooped the ball up and ran it back 98 yards for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth.
Both teams will be looking to score early and often. This will be a slugfest and it honestly will come down to whoever has the ball last. Also the team with the least amount of turnovers will come out on top as well. Allen will have to be careful with the ball, Burrow and those boys can do the same thing that they can. Scoring at will once they hit their stride.
Bills 37, Bengals 34
