NFL Divisional Round: Latest Injury Buzz and Picks for This Weekend

The NFL has reached it Elite Eight to determine this year’s Super Bowl champion, as the divisional round will begin on Saturday afternoon.

Before the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots kick the weekend off, here’s a look at the latest social buzz surrounding this weekend’s games, who’s in and who’s out and which teams experts think will advance to Conference Championship Sunday next weekend.

AFC Divisional: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos

Believe it or not, the two biggest stories of this game don’t included Peyton Manning starting again for Denver under center.

The major headlines for Saturday’s game are the status of Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. Brown will miss his first game since 2012 with the concussion he suffered after Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict hit him at the end of last weekend’s chaotic game against the Cincinnati Bengals:

Burfict had a hand in the questionable status of Roethlisberger as well.

After Burfict slammed him into the turf last Saturday night, the results of Big Ben’s MRI weren’t good. Not only did the MRI confirm the initial thought of him having a sprained AC joint, he also has "torn ligaments" in his throwing shoulder, Roethlisberger himself told The Cook and Poni Show (via CBS Pittsburgh).

On top of their two best weapons being banged up, running back De'Angelo Williams will join Brown on Pittsburgh's inactive list for Saturday's game with an ankle issue. Williams missed last week's game against Cincinnati due to the ankle/foot injury.

As for the Broncos, Manning will get the start against Pittsburgh. In what could be his final game in a Denver uniform (and in the NFL for that matter), all eyes will be on Manning's production after missing a handful of games this season with torn plantar fascia in his left foot.

Denver will enter Saturday's game with a rather clean bill of health.

Can Pittsburgh overcome a rash of injuries on the offensive side of the ball and go through Denver again on their way to a Super Bowl run as the AFC's No. 6 seed? It's doable but highly unlikely without Brown and Williams on the field.

Brown is the best wideout in the game today, and Williams had a resurgent year in place of the injured Le'Veon Bell. Even if Manning isn't his old self, the Denver defense hasn't forgotten what Pittsburgh did to it just a few weeks ago.

In the end, the injury bug bit the Steelers too hard entering this one.

Prediction: Broncos, 24-13

AFC Divisional: Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots

If the New England Patriots advance to their 10th AFC Championship Game since 2001, they might be doing it shorthanded:

Along with his appearance on the injury report, Rob Gronkowski reportedly had been receiving treatment on the knee he injured late in the Week 13 loss to Denver by way of injections:

After the reports came out on Gronkowski's treatment, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport had more on the situation:

On top of the plague of injuries that has hit New England since their overtime loss to Denver, Chandler Jones didn't exactly spend the week off properly, at least for the Patriots' standards.

Jones was found shirtless behind a Foxboro police station early Sunday morning. According to a source near the situation, Jones was under the influence of synthetic marijuana, per Christopher Gasper of the Boston Globe. 

He briefly spoke on Thursday afternoon and apologized for his actions.

"I made a really dumb mistake," Jones said, per Michael Whitmer of the Boston Globe.

The Kansas City Chiefs have their own share of injuries to deal with as well, despite winning their first playoff game last week in over 20 years.

In last week's 30-0 rout of the Houston Texans, Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin injured his ankle, and the initial belief was that Maclin tore his ACL once again.

The MRI diagnosis was that Maclin has a high ankle sprain, which is good for Kansas City, but Maclin did not practice this week and his status is questionable heading into the weekend.

If Maclin doesn't give it a go, Kansas City is in big trouble without its premier option offensively.

Despite the heavy injury count for the Patriots, the Patriots still have Tom Brady.

And if Denver does its part against Pittsburgh, the world will be in line for at least one more showdown between two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in the AFC Championship.

Prediction: Patriots, 27-17

NFC Divisional: Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals

In Week 16, the Arizona Cardinals wasted the Green Bay Packers, 38-8. The Cardinals defense was ferocious by sacking Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers eight times and forcing four turnovers in a 30-point blowout.

The Packers bounced back after they ended their season with back-to-back losses to Arizona and the Minnesota Vikings, with a 35-18 victory over the Washington Redskins last Sunday in the Wild Card Round.

However, the Packers have been and will continue to be hampered by injuries in their rematch with the Cardinals.

Tight end Andrew Quarless' season is over, as the Packers placed him on injured reserve, per the team's official website. But for the most part, the Packers could see some key names on the field this weekend, including T.J. Lang and defensive tackle Mike Daniels.

The X-factor for the Packers could be the status of cornerback Sam Shields. In Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys, Shields suffered a concussion and hasn't played since.

Without Shields, the Packers will be shorthanded against one of the league's best offenses, led by MVP candidate Carson Palmer.

In a rematch of their insane 2010 NFC Wild Card Game—a 51-45 Arizona win in overtime—the Cardinals appear to be the one team nobody wants to see in the playoffs.

Even with Aaron Rodgers under center, it'll be hard for the Packers to score and keep up with against a stout Arizona defense and a high-powered offense on the road once again.

Prediction: Cardinals, 37-23

NFC Divisional: Seattle Seahawks vs. Carolina Panthers

The likely MVP against the league's best defense in the last four seasons.

Not only will the Legion of Boom face off against Cam Newton at full strength, they'll be getting back their friendly neighborhood Skittles spokesperson and lead running back Marshawn Lynch.

Lynch hasn't played since Week 10 after having abdomen surgery on Nov. 25.

The way he declared he was set for Sunday's game was awesome:

Lynch texted ESPN's Kenny Mayne and said simply, "I'm Ready," per ESPN's Sheil Kapadia.

The week off will benefit the Panthers, as their injury report is rather clean. Fozzy Whittaker will miss Sunday's game with a bad ankle, but Kony Ealy (illness) is listed as probable on the injury report, and Ted Ginn Jr. has already said he will play despite not practice all week, per the Charlotte Observer's Joseph Person.

This game could easily be the game of the weekend. Their Week 6 meeting—a 27-23 Panthers win—was one of the best games of the season.

Two of the best quarterbacks in the game against two of the league's best defenses.

Sunday could be quite a show.

This season has been memorable for Newton and the Panthers. Not only is Newton in line to win the NFL MVP, Carolina became the sixth team in NFL history to finish a 16-game season at 15-1.

However, since the 2012 postseason, Seattle is 7-2 with two Super Bowl appearances. The Seahawks will have payback on their mind from Super XL a la Denver against Pittsburgh.

Plus, if there's one team that can take down Carolina on the road, it's Seattle.

Prediction: Seahawks, 26-20

Michael Whitlow is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can find the rest of Michael's work here and you can follow Michael on Twitter: @MAWhitlow.