CNN:
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The NFL playoffs are finally here. The San Francisco 49ers and Jaguars punched their tickets to the divisional round on Saturday night. They’ll be joined by four more teams Monday night and one step closer to the NFL’s biggest stage. Here’s what to expect on Sunday and Monday.
Sunday begins with the Bills hosting the AFC East rival Dolphins. Led by star quarterback Josh Allen, the No. 2-seeded Bills are the heavy favorites, especially now that Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is officially ruled out.
In the current season, the two teams have already met twice, the series was divided 1-1. In the first game, the Dolphins squeaked away with a victory mostly due to careless turnovers and mistakes by the Bills. For the second time, the Bills rallied in the final minutes to pull away 32-29.
Allen was outstanding in both games, throwing for 704 total yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions. Remarkably, the Bills controlled their own destiny in both of these games.
In both contests, they were clearly the better team, whether they played like it or not. If they show up this week, play to their full potential and eliminate the sloppy mistakes, they should have no problem winning.
The Sunday four o’clock paper is full of firsts. First-year head coach Brian Daboll and the Giants will travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. Quarterback Daniel Jones will make his first career playoff start and it will be the team’s first playoff appearance in six seasons.
Although the Giants are road underdogs, they are well positioned to compete with, or even beat, the NFC North Champions. The two teams met on Christmas Eve in a game that resulted in a Justin Tucker field goal. Many of the Vikings’ other victories throughout the season were decided by one score. This week’s contest is likely to be the same.
If the Giants manage to walk away with a win and out of the Wild Card round, the buck will likely stop there. Their chances of beating the 49ers or the Eagles in the next round are much slimmer. The Vikings are more likely to make a deeper postseason run if they get past the first round, but the Giants shouldn’t be underestimated.
The Ravens and Bengals will meet for the second straight week and third time this season on Sunday night. The division rivals split the regular season series with each winning at home.
This time around, Baltimore will be without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, who hasn’t played since Dec. 4. Backup Tyler Huntley is listed as a game-time decision. Playing without a QB1 is always a challenge. will increase reliance on defense and the running game to take care of business. The Ravens’ best shot is to gain momentum in a win and avoid a significant deficit at the cost.
The Bengals are the clear favorite, boasting a better record and a mostly healthy roster playing at home. They made it all the way to the Super Bowl last season. They beat the Raiders, Titans and Chiefs, but fell to the Rams in the finals.
The Ravens haven’t been to the playoffs since 2020, when they lost to the Bills in the AFC divisional round. Despite Cincinnati’s advantage, anything can happen in a playoff game between the division rivals. These opponents know each other’s strengths and weaknesses very well and will use this to their advantage.
Wild Card Weekend will conclude with a primetime battle between the Bucs and Cowboys.
Dallas finished the regular season 12-5, especially impressive considering they played a significant game without veteran quarterback Dak Prescott. Tampa Bay struggled through a disappointing regular season and finished with a losing record at 8-9, but still managed to become the NFC South Champions.
While the Cowboys are the better team on paper, they have a disadvantage playing on the road. The last time Dallas won a road playoff game was 30 years ago; since then, they’ve lost all eight postseason games.
Furthermore, the Buccaneers have the “X” factor in Tom Brady. The veteran signal-caller enters this stretch of the playoffs with the most games started by a quarterback, wins by a starting quarterback, Super Bowl titles and Super Bowl MVPs. He is a perfect 7-0 in his career against the Cowboys.
A lights-out performance from Brady could be enough to carry this Bucs team to victory.
Here’s how to catch these teams and others across the league, wherever you are.
Australia. NFL Game Pass, ESPN, 7Plus
Brazil. NFL Game Pass, ESPN
Canada. CTV, TSN, RDS, NFL Game Pass on DAZN
Germany. NFL Game Pass, ProSieben MAXX, DAZN
Mexico: NFL Game Pass, TUDN, ESPN, Fox Sports, Sky Sports
Great Britain. NFL Game Pass, Sky Sports, ITV, Channel 5
USA. NFL Game Pass, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, ESPN, Amazon Prime
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