NFL Divisional Saturday 2024 Takeaways: What's Next for SF, GB, BAL and HOU?

The first day of the Divisional Round of the 2023-24 NFL playoffs brought the big dogs into the fray. After watching the Wild Card Round from the comfort of home, the top seeds in the AFC and NFC made their postseason debuts on Saturday.

In Baltimore, the Ravens entered the playoffs with the most wins of any team in the NFL along with sky-high expectations. But as they showed last week in demolishing the Cleveland Browns, C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans aren't afraid of anyone. After the first half was played to a 10-10 stalemate, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore ground game and defense pulled away en route to a 34-10 win.

Saturday's nightcap featured the NFC's top seed in the San Francisco 49ers. Many of San Francisco's starters hadn't played since Week 17, and the 49ers faced a Green Bay Packers team that had just demolished the second-seeded Cowboys in Dallas. The Packers had won four straight dating back to the regular season, but while they gave the Niners all they could handle and San Francisco lost a key cog on offense, San Francisco gutted its way to a 24-21 victory and a spot in the NFC Championship Game.

By the time the dust settled, two teams earned berths in the Conference Championship Round, while the offseason began for the others.

Here's a look at what's next for all four of Saturday's postseason participants--both winners and losers.

49ers Are Headed to the NFC Title Game, But Deebo Samuel's Injury Looms Large

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Deebo Samuel

So, everyone's buying 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw dinner now, right?

It may well have been Greenlaw's second interception of Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love that sealed the deal Saturday night, but the three-point win over the Packers was a team win in the truest sense.

The reality is that no Niners player went ballistic, with the possible exception of Christian McCaffrey's 128 total yards and two scores. By his standards, that's a good game from the Niners running back, not a great one.

The 49ers picked one another up. Offensively, there was a reason they had to—a reason that should inspire some unease in San Francisco leading up to the NFC Championship Game.

Per Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, McCaffrey said earlier this week that the importance of wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Niners offense can't be overestimated.

"I don't think people understand how good he is," McCaffrey said. "I think our team does, but people on the outside don't. If you look at receivers with the ball in their hands, he's the only one I've ever seen who seeks out contact. For him to do that, it sets a tone. He's not just an energy shifter, but it makes him an even greater receiver than people realize. There's always more to the story than numbers, but what he provides, you can't put a number on."

Samuel was forced from Saturday's win in the first half with a shoulder injury, and he watched the second half in street clothes. His absence from the offense was evident, as the Packers keyed on Brandon Aiyuk and allowed him just 32 yards on three grabs.

If Samuel can't play next Sunday, that's a major blow to the 49ers' chances of getting to Las Vegas.

Getting Better Defensively Must Be Packers' Priority in Offseason After Loss to 49ers

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Rashan Gary

Right now, the Green Bay Packers don't want to hear about moral victories and bright futures. With less than two minutes left in Saturday night's rainy game in San Francisco, the Packers were leading. Green Bay would have been the first No. 7 seed ever to make the NFC Championship Game, and the Packers broke San Francisco's 51-game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher.

The Packers gave the top seed in the NFC all they could handle before coming up just short.

But look past the loss, and there is ample room for optimism in Titletown. Everyone will remember Jordan Love's last pass of the season, and Love didn't have a great game against the 49ers. But in just getting the Packers this far, Love has demonstrated that he's a franchise quarterback—a legitimate successor to Aaron Rodgers.

Green Bay's young wide receiver corps is substantially better than many expected and improved markedly as the season wore on. Green Bay's offensive line allowed an NFC-low 30 sacks this season. There are building blocks on defense in players like edge-rusher Rashan Gary and linebacker Quay Walker.

This isn't to say that there isn't work to do in Green Bay—this was a 9-8 team, after all. The Packers don't have any huge names set to hit free agency, but with Darnell Savage and Jonathan Owens both about to hit the open market, the safeties could look significantly different in 2024. The front seven needs to be improved after Green Bay was 28th in run defense in 2023. And the Packers are slightly in the red against the salary cap, so some financial machinations will be forthcoming.

Whether it's via free agency, the draft or a little of both, getting better defensively needs to be the team's priority in the offseason.

But even then, the Packers are still farther along in the post-Rodgers rebuild than most expected after one year.

Lamar Jackson's Next Game Could Be a Career-Defining One

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 20: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens looks to throw a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 20, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

In the leadup to Saturday's game in Baltimore, the prevailing storyline surrounding the Ravens was Lamar Jackson's 1-3 record in the postseason. He had never won a playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium.

While appearing with Tom Brady and Jim Gray on the Let's Go podcast, Jackson admitted that the team's failures in the postseason have bothered him.

"I definitely do have that chip on my shoulder," Jackson said. "I haven't accomplished what I wanted to yet, so that's why that chip is still on my shoulder. I want that Super Bowl. That's the accolade that I really want so bad."

Saturday's emphatic win over the Texans may have changed that narrative a little bit, but make no mistake—the naysayers will be back out in force if Jackson and the Ravens lose at home next week. Jackson's first AFC Championship Game is the most important game of his life.

This isn't to say Jackson has to carry the team by himself. The Ravens have the NFL's No. 1 ground game and No. 1 scoring defense. Both were significant factors in Saturday's second-half immolation of the Texans.

But as he so often is, Jackson was the star. His passing numbers were relatively modest (152 yards), but Jackson threw two touchdown passes and posted a passer rating of 121.8. On the ground, Jackson roasted Houston for 100 yards and added two more scores.

It was an MVP-caliber performance from the likely MVP. But it's not really going to matter unless he does it again next week and takes the Ravens to the Super Bowl.

The Present May be Dark, But the Future is Bright for the Houston Texans

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C.J. Stroud

In the immediate aftermath of Saturday's trouncing, it's a safe bet that Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud don't walk to talk about the big picture. Losing stinks. Losing big stinks that much more.

But once the sting wears off, both will have to admit that the 2023 season went better than they could have reasonably imagined.

This year's Texans became the first team in NFL history to win a playoff game after winning four or fewer games in each of the previous three seasons. This is a team no one expected to make the postseason—much less destroy a team 45-14 in the Wild Card Round.

There's an excellent chance that both Ryans and Stroud will win accolades at this year's NFL Honors. Stroud led all quarterbacks in passing yards per game, and Ryans made it clear while addressing the media that Stroud played nothing like a rookie this season.

"When we've needed it most, I feel like just throughout the entire season, and now in this moment, he's the leader we need him to be," Ryans said. "He's the player that we need him to be. His demeanor on the field, off the field, is exactly what you want out of a starting quarterback."

Is there still work to be done? Of course. The defense needs improvement, and a more dynamic running back could make Stroud and the passing game that much more dangerous.

But the Texans have their coach. And their quarterback.

No one will be sleeping on this team in 2024.