NFL playoffs: Divisional preview, free agency and power rankings

The NFL Divisional playoff matchups are all set, with a bevy of former champions and a host of new challengers hungry to make this their time.

The Wild Card round was largely disappointing, with the Packers and Giants being the only teams even remotely interested in drama. Ultimately, Green Bay prevailed in a blowout, giving us a clean sweep from the home teams.

Now only eight remain, and we are set up for the best weekend of NFL action imaginable. Yes, the Patriots are likely going to wax the Texans in epic fashion, but the other three games are phenomenal. On Saturday afternoon, the Falcons are playing host to the Seahawks, a rematch from Week 6, when Seattle toppled Atlanta, 26-24, in controversial fashion.

While Saturday night will be a snoozer with New England taking Houston behind the proverbial shed, Sunday has intrigue to burn. The Chiefs are looking for their first postseason win at Arrowhead Stadium since 1993 when they take on the Steelers (that 1993 win, also against Pittsburgh).

Kansas City comes into the playoffs with a bye for the first time since 2003 and at 12-4, has an ample resumè. The Chiefs swept the AFC West and house a bevy of weapons that includes Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Jeremy Maclin, Marcus Peters, Justin Houston and Eric Berry.

On the other side, the Steelers are buoyed by the most formidable offensive trio in the game. Ben Roethlisberger was seen with a walking boot on his right ankle after his 30-12 win over Miami, but he expects to be ready on Sunday. He’ll have the comfort of Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and an excellent offensive line. The question for Pittsburgh is whether the defense can shut down a suddenly formidable Kansas City offense.

Whoever wins will have a real chance to knock New England off in the AFC Championship Game, although either would come into Foxborough as an underdog. The Patriots are the best team in football by any reasonable measure, and with a healthy Tom Brady and the mid of Bill Belichick, are beyond formidable. Still, the Chiefs and Steelers are deservedly in the NFL’s elite, and could knock off New England with a well-played afternoon.

Later on Sunday, the Packers and Cowboys hook up in a playoff game for the eighth time in the franchise’s histories. Green Bay is banged up with Jordy Nelson leaving the win over New York early. Still, the Packers are incredibly dangerous with Aaron Rodgers playing the best football of his career.

Rodgers has been utterly absurd over the past eight contests, including Sunday’s win. The former MVP and current MVP candidate has thrown 22 touchdowns without an interception, averaging 8.37 yards per attempt over his final seven regular-season games. Rodgers now faces a Dallas defense with no player having more than six sacks.

The Cowboys deserve all the accolades coming their way, but this is their stiffest test of the year. Dallas has to play the league’s hottest player after having a virtual month between now and its last meaningful game. Dak Prescott will need to take advantage of Green Bay’s horrid pass defense, which averages a league-worst 8.1 yards against per pass attempt. The rookie has the weapons to do that with Dez Bryant, Cole Beasley and Jason Witten providing a quality trio.

Of course, the best way to beat Rodgers is to keep him off the field. When the teams played at Lambeau Field in Week 6, Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 157 yards and Dallas churned out 193 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per attempt.

After a quartet of contests that largely disappointed, look for this next batch to more than make up for it.

Power rankings

Top 12 2017 free agents

1. Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs
3. Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins
4. Nick Perry, Green Bay Packers
5. Dont’a Hightower, New England Patriots
6. Kawaan Short, Carolina Panthers
7.DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins
8. Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears
9. A.J. Bouye, Houston Texans
10. Stephon Gilmore, Buffalo Bills
11. Melvin Ingram, San Diego Chargers
12. Trumaine Johnson, Los Angeles Rams

Quotable

"“Everybody sees it. They know what the Raiders got. They see the talent, they see the coaches, the schemes, all the stuff that’s going on, and they know they’re going to have to deal with us for the next couple years in the playoffs. Point blank.”"

– Raiders cornerback David Amerson on Oakland’s future

Oakland fell 27-14 against the Texans on Saturday afternoon in the AFC Wild Card round, but the future remains bright for the Raiders. With Derek Carr slated to be healthy for next season, Oakland will certainly be one of the top contenders to come out of the AFC alongside the Steelers, Chiefs and Patriots.

While the Raiders lost in the same round as Miami and Detroit, they are clearly set up better than the others. The Dolphins have real questions on both sides of the ball and the Lions are as one-dimensional as a playoff team can be. If general manager Reggie McKenzie adds to his defense with another strong offseason, look out.

Random stat

The Saints were created in 1967. On the first play in franchise history, New Orleans gave its fans hope with a 94-yard kickoff touchdown return against the Los Angeles Rams. Things went downhill after that, with New Orleans not having a winning season until 1987.

Info learned this week

1. Coaching carousel turning slowly

There are a half-dozen openings in the NFL for head coaches, and we’re without a hiring a week after the regular season. Perhaps part of the reason is the lack of quality in the candidate pool. Of the names we’ve heard repeatedly, none have previous head coaching experience.

Anthony Lynn has been talked about in multiple circles, with obvious signs pointing to him staying with the Bills. There has been moderate talk about Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville, although Kyle Shanahan and Mike Smith have also been interviewed. The Broncos have interviewed Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub and Shanahan, but the vacancy remains. The 49ers have also been cycling through interviews, but nothing concrete has come for their general manager or coaching openings.

We should start to see some hirings over the next week as teams wade through the choices.

2. Colts remain dysfunctional

On Monday, there were rumors running rampant in Indianapolis about the job status of head coach Chuck Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson. A week later, we still are not sure what’s going on. While neither has been fired, owner Jim Irsay has not stated that either, or both, will return.

Further fuel was added to this fire when Irsay’s plane was spotted in Houston over the weekend. As some correctly pointed out, Jon Gruden was there for his broadcasting assignment. It is also where Wade Phillips makes his offseason home.

3. Offseason plans?

With the offseason in full swing for 24 teams, look for cap space and draft picks to be talked about more often. With free agency still a few months away, we can make a couple of quick observations.

The Jets are already above the $168 million projected cap, per Over The Cap. Meanwhile, the aging Ravens and rebuilding Eagles are in the bottom five of cap space, sitting at $18.3 and $9.4 million, respectively. The teams with the most to spend are the Browns ($110.4M), 49ers ($80.3M), Buccaneers ($74.7M) and Titans ($70.6M). Tennessee also has two first-round picks, making it the best set-up team in the NFL come the spring.

4. Cardinals face interesting situation

There has been talk about the Cardinals taking a quarterback in the first round, and it would be a justified move. However, Carson Palmer isn’t going anywhere in 2017. Palmer is due $24.1 million next season, and if Arizona released him, the cap charge would be north of $28 million.

Palmer is going to be in the desert for one more year before the Cardinals likely move on, one way or the other. Drafting in the middle of the first round, Arizona could have its eye on Deshaun Watson, who plays in the National Championship Game tonight.

5. Potential movement in Minny?

The Vikings could be a very intriguing team to watch as the offseason unfolds. Minnesota has approximately $23.4 million in cap space but much more could be on the way.  Adrian Peterson is due $18 million, but could be released without a dime of dead cap. Sam Bradford is in an identical situation.

If the Vikings are confident in Teddy Bridgewater’s rehab, they could move on from Bradford and coupled with the expected jettisoning of Peterson, wind up with an upgrade at quarterback and $60 million in available payroll.

History lesson

The Detroit Lions have not won a playoff game since 1991, and set a record of nine consecutive losses in the playoffs with Saturday’s defeat at Seattle. The last time the Lions won a road playoff game? All the way back in 1957.

However, Detroit isn’t the only team with an absurd road record in the playoffs. The Bengals are 0-7 all-time away from the Queen City. The Browns are also starved for a postseason win away from home (or at home). Cleveland is without a victory in that scenario since 1969.

Parting shot

Odell Beckham Jr. and the rest of the Giants receivers going on a party boat last week in Miami is a non-story. No matter how much the media wants to blow this headline up, it’s a fallacy. The Giants lost by 25 points mostly because Aaron Rodgers is a demigod.

Yes, Beckham and his mates dropped passes. Eli Manning also missed throws and the defense blew coverages. Last I checked, nobody on the field during that Hail Mary had anything to do with the boat in question. Sometimes, the better team wins. That’s what happened on Sunday to the Giants. They lose because they weren’t good enough. Nothing more, nothing less.