NFL Playoff Picture 2017: Bracket Scenarios and Latest Odds for Divisional Round

The NFL's divisional round is all about rematches.

This might be a bad thing in most sports, but it's like a blessing from the football gods in the NFL postseason. Want a rematch of the regular season's best game? This weekend coughs up another duel between the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.

Sure, a rematch between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots isn't the most appetizing, especially after Houston couldn't beat the Tom Brady-less Patriots early in the season—but if the familiarity leads to an upset, who complains outside of Boston? 

The craziest part about the playoff journey is how likely it is the path produces a Super Bowl rematch. The playoff bracket offers plenty of interesting twists and turns with promises of entertainment throughout.

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round

Game	Date	Time (ET)		Point Spread	Prediction
Seattle at Atlanta	Jan. 14	4:35 p.m.	Fox	Atlanta (5)	ATL 30-24
Houston at New England	Jan. 14	8:15 p.m.	CBS	New England (-16)	NE 35-17
Pittsburgh at Kansas City	Jan. 15	1:05 p.m.	NBC	Kansas City (-1.5)	KC 24-20
Green Bay at Dallas	Jan. 15	4:40 p.m.	Fox	Dallas (-4)	GB 23-20

Pittsburgh at Kansas City (-1.5)

A standoff between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs is not just an interesting tale—it's arguably the hardest game to bet this weekend.

The Steelers closed the year on a seven-game tear, though a strong showing at home against the Miami Dolphins in the first round wasn't a guarantee, especially not after sitting key starters to close the year and having lost to Miami earlier in the season.

Pittsburgh came up with a 30-12 victory, with Le'Veon Bell trying to shoulder his way into the MVP conversation with 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

As for Kansas City, the Chiefs won five of six to close the year and went 10-2 after a Week 5 bye. Both losses came by two points. So bettors can find it understandable if these predictions shrug off a 43-14 road loss to the Steelers in Week 4.

In that game, Ben Roethlisberger threw for five touchdown passes, and the Chiefs had to get away from the usual offense on the road, falling behind 22-0 after the first quarter.

So yes, things have changed for the rematch.

Pittsburgh looks great, but the first encounter between these two was the definition of an anomaly, as Kansas City allowed only 19.4 points per game during the regular season. This one also goes down in Kansas City, where the Chiefs have one of the best home-field advantages in the league.

Rotoworld's Evan Silva pointed out a critical detail about the matchup:

At home, Big Ben has 20 touchdowns against five interceptions this year. On the road, he has nine touchdowns against eight interceptions.

Unless Bell has another jaw-dropping performance right out of the gates in a hostile environment, the rematch will be more Kansas City's style.

The Chiefs, well-rested and at home, will use these factors to their advantage to march a game-winning drive down the field late.

Prediction: Chiefs 24-20

Green Bay at Dallas (-4)

Of course, the Green Bay Packers-Dallas Cowboys game would like a conversation with anyone who considers Pittsburgh-Kansas City the toughest game to pick.

A few weeks ago, maybe this wouldn't be so difficult. But Aaron Rodgers did what he does, oozing confidence despite an iffy middle of the season and helping the Packers rip off six straight wins before blowing the New York Giants out of the water in the first round, 38-13.

Meanwhile, Dallas went 2-2 to close the season and sat out last week on a bye.

This encounter is a different breed of rematch, though. Dallas went to Green Bay in Week 6 and secured a 30-16 statement win. Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott threw three touchdowns, and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott ran for 157 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry.

"We just won the line of scrimmage," Elliott said this week about that game, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). "That's what it came down to. We wore them down early in the game, and in the second half we started to see runs break open."

This pick comes down to which way bettors want to lean. Do they trust the pair of rookies who haven't had the Cowboys looking so hot to close the season? Or do they roll with Rodgers, who barely classifies as human at this point?

Kidding aside, Rodgers has 19 touchdowns with zero interceptions during this current winning streak. One could say it is scary one of his favorite targets, Jordy Nelson, didn't practice Wednesday, per Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Yet against the Giants, Rodgers threw four touchdowns while Nelson caught only one pass.

A fast start is key for the Packers, which lessens the chances Elliott can carry the game. Given the way Rodgers looks, it is hard to imagine he does anything but start hot. Right now, in a showdown between Rodgers and the rookie Prescott, bettors have to go with the former regardless of the venue.

Prediction: Packers 23-20

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

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