After an intense day of six games in the wild card round, as a result of the expansion to 14 places for the postseason, The eight teams invited to the divisional round in the NFL are already known.
The first team to qualify for the next phase of the championship were the Bills, who beat the Colts. The first game of the Sunday day left the Ravens Ranked by defeating Titans. The last guest of the AFC were the Browns, which surprised the Steelers en Heinz Field.
In the National Conference the first qualified club were the Rams, who beat the Seahawks at home. Soon after, the Buccaneers they validated their role as favorites against Washington. Finally the Saints, who fought but beat the Bears, they got their ticket.
NFC
Rams (6) vs. Packers (1)
The duel that opens the second phase of the postseason is the visit of Los Angeles to Green Bay. The kickoff of the meeting at Lambeau Field will be on Saturday January 16 at 4:35 p.m. ET.
The two squads have met at 95 in their history (47-46-2 for the Rams), although since 2008, when Aaron Rodgers took over from the Packers, the Wisconsin team is 4-1. In the Super Bowl era they have only met a couple of times in the playoffs, with one win per side: in 1967 for Green Bay and in 2002 for the then St. Louis team.
Buccaneers (5) vs. Saints (2)
The duel that closes the divisional round is the Tom Brady’s second visit to the Louisiana Superdome in the year. Game 3 between Tampa Bay and New Orleans will be on Sunday January 17 at 6:40 p.m. ET.
In historical confrontations NOLA commands the series (37-21) and in the Drew Brees era the Saints are 20-10. Notably, this will be the first time that both organizations meet in the postseason.
AFC
Ravens (5) vs. Bills (2)
The first game of the American Conference to be played in the divisional round will be Lamar Jackson’s trip to Orchard Park. The game will start on Saturday January 16 at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Since 1996, when the Ravens joined the NFL, both organizations have met nine times and Baltimore leads the all-time series (6-3). Like the Bucs’ duel, this is a novel playoff game.
Browns (6) vs. Chiefs (1)
The game that opens the Sunday card of the divisional round is the game between Browns and the Chiefs champions at Arrowhead Stadium. The kickoff of the game will be the January 17 at 3:05 p.m. ET.
In history, both organizations have met 26 times (13-11-2 in favor of the Chiefs) and there is already a precedent between Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes: 2018, with victory for KC by score of 37-21. This is the third game of the phase without a postseason record.
