Everything You Need to Know About the NFL's Divisional Round
As soon as teams win on Wild Card Weekend, they already look forward to their opponent in the next round. We can do that too.
As we look ahead to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, here are a few stats for each team you should know heading into the games.
Three of the four games are rematches from the 2012 regular season. The other has the No. 1 seed against the actual best team in the league (read on for details).
All stats courtesy of ESPN Stats and Info, except for DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average), provided by Football Outsiders.
Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos
1 of 4When: Saturday, January 12. 4:30 p.m. EST, CBS
Line: Denver (-9)
Head to Head (Since 2001): Baltimore leads 5-3
2012 Head to Head: Week 15 Denver at Baltimore, 34-17 Broncos
2012 Splits: Baltimore 4-4 on road, Denver 7-1 at home
W-L Last 10 games: Denver 10-0, Baltimore: 6-4
Football Outsiders Unit DVOA Ranks:
Baltimore: Total: 8, Offense: 13, Defense: 19, Special Teams: 1
Denver: Total: 2, Offense: 2, Defense: 5, Special Teams: 13
Quick Look: These teams met a couple weeks ago in Baltimore and the Broncos were able to handle the Ravens quite easily. The line suggests not much has changed since that Week 15 matchup, except this time Denver is home where they have been almost unbeatable this year.
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
2 of 4When: Saturday, January 12. 8:00p.m. EST, FOX.
Line: San Francisco (-3)
Head to Head (Since 2001): Green Bay leads 6-1
2012 Head to Head: Week 1 San Francisco at Green Bay, 30-22 49ers
2012 Splits: Green Bay 4-4 on road, San Francisco 6-1-1 at home
W-L Last 10 games: Green Bay: 8-2, San Francisco: 7-2-1
Football Outsiders Unit DVOA Ranks:
Green Bay: Total: 5, Offense: 3, Defense: 8, Special Teams: 18
San Francisco, Total: 4, Offense: 5, Defense: 2, Special Teams: 20
Quick Look: These two teams did meet in the regular season, but that Week 1 matchup couldn't feel further away. San Francisco was still quarterbacked by Alex Smith and Green Bay had yet to hit its stride of dominance it showed later in the season. By DVOA standards, this game features the two closest matched teams in the Divisional Round.
Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons
3 of 4When: Sunday, January 13. 1:00p.m. EST, FOX.
Line: Atlanta (-2)
Head to Head (Since 2001): Tied 3-3
2012 Head to Head: N/A
2012 Splits: Seattle 4-5 on road, Atlanta 7-1 at home.
W-L Last 10 games: Seattle: 8-2, Atlanta 7-3
Football Outsiders Unit DVOA Ranks:
Seattle: Total: 1, Offense: 4, Defense: 4, Special Teams: 3
Atlanta: Total: 10, Offense: 12, Defense: 12, Special Teams: 16.
Quick Look: This is the only game of the weekend that is not a regular-season rematch. Atlanta is the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but Seattle finished the season ranked first in DVOA. The line suggests Seattle is the slightly better team with Atlanta only being favored by two at home. The Falcons have been great at home, but the Seahawks will welcome playing indoors after playing in terrible conditions in Washington.
Houston Texans at New England Patriots
4 of 4When: Sunday, January 13. 4:30p.m. EST. CBS.
Line: New England (-9.5)
Head to Head (Since 2001): New England leads 3-1
2012 Head to Head: Week 14 Houston at New England, 42-14 Patriots
2012 Splits: Houston: 6-2 on road, New England: 6-2 at home
W-L Last 10 games: Houston: 7-3, New England: 9-1
Football Outsiders Unit DVOA Ranks:
Houston: Total: 11, Offense: 16, Defense: 3, Special Teams: 32
New England: Total: 3, Offense: 1, Defense: 15, Special Teams: 4
Quick Look: These two teams played in Week 14 and it was not pretty for the Texans. The blowout by the Patriots sent Houston into its late season downward spiral, which saw them fall from the No. 1 seed in the AFC to having to play Wild Card Weekend. The Texans showed in their game against the Bengals the slow end to the season doesn't have to carry over to the playoffs, but the Patriots aren't the Bengals. It would not be a surprise if this game looked like the Week 14 matchup.
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