NFL Divisional Round: Everything You Need to Know for Sunday

We're halfway home.

With the divisional round of the 2016-17 NFL playoffs at the midway point, a postseason tournament that began with 12 teams now has six.

Two of those teams have already advanced to the conference championship games. On Saturday, the Atlanta Falcons and continued a running theme from this year's postseason—higher-seeded teams taking underdogs behind the proverbial woodshed.

It was expected the New England Patriots would follow suit Saturday night. Instead, the Houston defense and tailback Lamar Miller kept the Texans in the game for a half before Brady and the boys pulled away en route to a 34-16 win.

We'll call that a slightly delayed woodshed.

Two more will join them Sunday. The day kicks off with a matchup between the red-hot Green Bay Packers and top-seeded Dallas Cowboys in Big D. It's a rematch of a game that took place in Green Bay in October, with the Cowboys winning the first meeting by two touchdowns. This soaring Packers team is much different now, but will the result be as well?

Next is a showdown between the sizzling Pittsburgh Steelers and second-seeded Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead that was moved to Sunday night because of inclement weather. Back in Week 4, the Steelers trounced the Chiefs 43-14 in Pittsburgh. Can the Chiefs stave off Pittsburgh's offensive stars and avenge that defeat, or will the surging Steelers move on to face the Patriots?

It's a day of football with something for everyone, from Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks to defensive stars and the best of the best where this year's rookie class is concerned.

Let's dig deeper into Sunday's slate by taking a look at everything fans need to know as Day 2 of the divisional round gets underway.

The Games

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What: Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys

When: 4:40 p.m. ET Sunday

Where: AT&T Stadium

Network: ESPN

Expected Weather: N/A (Dome)

Line (via OddsShark): Cowboys -4

To say that the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys have a history in the postseason is something of an understatement.

The teams have met seven times in the postseason, dating all the way back to 1967. In fact, they met on the first and last days of that year, both times with the NFL title on the line.

Green Bay emerged with the win both times, including in arguably the most famous postseason game of all time, The Ice Bowl.

Those games sent the Packers on to play in the first two Super Bowls, but their victory in the 1966 NFL Championship Game was a less promising landmark for the Packers...

It was the last time Green Bay won a playoff game in Dallas.

However, despite that long drought and the fact that Dallas beat the Packers by two touchdowns at Lambeau Field back in Week 6, Green Bay wideout Davante Adams likes his team's chances for one big reason. Aaron Rodgers.

"He’s in a zone unlike anything that I’ve ever seen before," Adams told ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "I’m not sure that other quarterbacks around the league can even challenge that. It’s just a matter of when he turns it on, we’ve got to match that."

It may be half a century since Green Bay won a postseason contest on the road against the Cowboys, and the Packers trail all-time in the playoffs four wins to three.

But the last time these teams squared off in the divisional round (in 2015), Green Bay emerged with a controversial five-point win punctuated by Dez Bryant's catch that wasn't a catch even though it sure looked like a catch.

Here's hoping the zebras don't decide this one.

What: Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs

When: 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday

Where: Arrowhead Stadium

Network: NBC

Expected Weather: Wintry mix, 33 degrees

Line (via OddsShark): Chiefs -1.5

The early star of Sunday's nightcap has been Mother Nature so far. As Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com wrote, the NFL took the rare step of rescheduling Sunday's start time due to an ice storm expected to move through the area Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The weather will be different from the clear evening these teams met on back in Week 4.

Kansas City is no doubt hoping that won't be the only big difference.

The Steelers took the Chiefs behind the woodshed, blasting them 43-14 in a game where Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes and Pittsburgh tailback Le'Veon Bell tallied almost 150 yards on the ground.

Just as the Steelers avenged a regular-season defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins last week, Pittsburgh's David DeCastro told Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he expects the Chiefs to bring their A-game at home.

“It's hard to beat a team twice,” DeCastro said. “They are going to be ready for us just like we were for Miami.”

This game marks the 33rd meeting between the two teams, with the Steelers holding a 21-11 edge. However, Mike Tomlin's Steelers are 1-2 at Arrowhead Stadium, and the only time the two clubs met in the playoffs, the Chiefs prevailed in overtime.

It was the last time Kansas City won a postseason game at home.

Injury Report

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Green Bay Packers

• WR Jeff Janis, quadricep (questionable)
• WR Jordy Nelson, ribs (out)
• CB Damarious Randall, foot (questionable)
• CB Quinten Rollins, concussion (questionable)
• RB James Starks, concussion (out)
• C Joseph Tretter, knee (out)

Without question, the biggest injury facing the Packers is that suffered by Nelson in last week's Wild Card Round victory. Per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, Nelson's fractured ribs will sideline the NFL leader in touchdown catches, although head coach Mike McCarthy said the Packers were prepared for his absence.

"You just tilt opportunities the other way," McCarthy said. "That's the way you always have to approach these types of situations, any time you have a player of his magnitude that's not available. That's all part of developing a game plan. You have to do that in the early stages of the week. We anticipated potentially not having him this week. So we'll be prepared for that."

The addition of Randall to the injury report late in the week is also a concern. Randall has battled leg injuries much of the season, and his loss would be a significant blow to a Green Bay secondary that has struggled at times in 2016.

Dallas Cowboys

• CB Morris Claiborne, groin (questionable)
• DE Tyrone Crawford, shoulder (questionable)
• LB Justin Durant, elbow (questionable)
• DE Demarcus Lawrence, back (questionable)
• DT Terrell McClain, ankle (questionable)
• OT Tyron Smith, knee (questionable)
• DT Cedric Thornton, ankle (questionable)

With an extra week to rest and prepare for the Packers, the Cowboys are in good shape in regard to injuries, or at least as much as any NFL team can expect to be in January. All seven players listed on the injury report practiced in at least limited fashion Friday.

The biggest name on the injury report is Pro Bowl tackle Tyron Smith, who sprained his MCL in Week 16. Smith sat out the regular-season finale, but he's tentatively expected to play after getting in limited practices this week.

As defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford told the Canadian Press (via TSN), this is the epitome of the "all hands on deck" situation.

"Football means nothing, really, if you don't win," Crawford said. "That's our main goal and what we plan to do going forward."

Pittsburgh Steelers

• LB Anthony Chickillo, ankle (out)
• TE Ladarius Green, concussion (doubtful)
• DE Ricardo Matthews, ankle (questionable)
• RB Fitzgerald Toussaint, concussion (questionable)

In recent years, the Steelers have been plagued in the postseason by injuries to key offensive contributors like tailback Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Not so in 2016. As they showed last week against the Miami Dolphins, both Brown and Bell are quite healthy for Sunday's go-round in Kansas City.

In fact, the Steelers are short only one front-line player on offense, and it's a player the team has been without more often than not this season.

As ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler reported, tight end Ladarius Green will likely sit the game out after missing practice all week with a concussion. Jesse James will get the start at tight end, with Xavier Grimble and David Johnson backing him up.

Kansas City Chiefs

Now here's something you don't see often. The Chiefs didn't list a single player as questionable or doubtful ahead of Sunday night's playoff game.

Not one.

As Wesley Roesch reported for USA Today, veteran linebacker Tamba Hali was the only Chiefs player who didn't practice Friday. That's been standard operating procedure for the Chiefs this year.

Kansas City's bye week was a huge help, allowing key starters like safety Eric Berry, edge-rusher Justin Houston and tailback Spencer Ware an extra week to heal nagging injuries that had hampered them at the tail end of the regular season.

All in all, all four teams are in good shape. And that's a welcome change of pace.

Let's decide the games on the field and not the trainer's table.

Biggest Questions

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Can the Kansas City Chiefs Slow Down Pittsburgh's Three-Headed Monster on Offense?

Last week's matchup between the Steelers and Miami Dolphins was over before it started. Ditto for Kansas City's trip to the Steel City earlier this year. The reason why isn't hard to pinpoint.

Neither Miami nor Kansas City had any sort of answer for Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.

Pittsburgh didn't just beat the Chiefs back in Week 4—it pounded them. The Steelers raced to a 21-0 lead before the first quarter was even over, thanks to three Roethlisberger touchdown passes—including two to Brown.

The Chiefs didn't have an answer for Bell, either. Granted, he didn't find the end zone in that game, but the fourth-year pro gashed the Chiefs for 178 total yards.

If the Chiefs offer a repeat of that defensive futility against the Steelers Sunday, it's going to be yet another quick exit from the playoffs.

Will Alex Smith Play Up to the Occasion?

The last time the Chiefs won a playoff game at home, an ex-49ers quarterback led them on the back end of his career. A fella named Joe Montana—perhaps you've heard of him.

If the Chiefs are going to advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since that 1993 season, another quarterback whose career began in the Bay Area is going to have to step up in a big way.

Head coach Andy Reid believes Alex Smith is more than up to the task, according to Jeff Deters of the Topeka Capital-Journal.

“I think he’s had a tremendous year,” Reid said. “I think he’s continually gotten better, and he’s gotten more comfortable with the different personnel we’ve had in there. You’ve seen him adjust whether it’s Jeremy (Maclin) being hurt and coming back. (Travis) Kelce has taken his game to another level. You can’t do that without a good quarterback."

Whether it's in San Francisco against the New Orleans Saints in 2012 or against the Indianapolis Colts in 2014, Smith has had some of the best games of his career in the postseason.

It's going to take a similar effort to match Roethlisberger and the soaring Steelers offense.

Can Aaron Rodgers Keep Rolling Without Jordy Nelson?

There isn't a hotter quarterback in the NFL right now than Aaron Rodgers, but it's looking like Senor State Farm will have to try to be on fire Sunday without his favorite target in the passing game.

As Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News wrote, teammate Davante Adams said that Jordy Nelson was a "big part of our offense," and Rodgers said that the possibility of Nelson missing the game with fractured ribs “would be a huge loss for us, obviously.”

For most teams, losing the NFL's leader in touchdown catches this season would be a devastating blow. But head coach Mike McCarthy said he's confident other receivers can pick up the slack, per Fraley.

“It’s a real credit to the group,” McCarthy said. “It gives us flexibility to continue getting out in the same concepts even when we have to shift personnel groups. But yes, it’s definitely been a challenge for that position as far as injuries. “

That was the case last week against the Giants. Both Adams and Randall Cobb (who only recently returned from an injury of his own) topped 100 receiving yards in the win.

They may well need to repeat that romp, or Green Bay may be sent Packing.

Speaking of Romping and Rolling, Will Ezekiel Elliott Gash the Packers Again?

Step 1 in defending the Dallas Cowboys is obvious—stop the league's No. 2 ground game spearheaded by NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott.

Of course, knowing it and doing it are two different things. A fact the Packers found out the hard way back in October.

The Packers entered that Week 6 meeting with the NFL's top-ranked run defense. They left it having been gashed for 157 yards on 28 carries by the rookie phenom.

As Rob Reischel of the Dallas Morning News reported, nose tackle Letroy Guion hasn't forgotten that game. "Ezekiel Elliott had a pretty good game the last time," said Guion. "But this time it's not going to be like that. Hopefully this time we come out fighting, get them off the field, get the ball to Aaron Rodgers and let him do his thing."

Guion said, however, he's not sure how Green Bay will accomplish that goal. Against the Giants, the Packers were able to stop the run without stacking the box—something that probably won't work against Dallas.

"I'm not a fortune teller," Guion said. " I can't tell you what's going to happen, but I can tell you it's going to be a rumble in the jungle baby."

I'm not a fortune teller either, but I can say this: If Elliott tops 150 yards on the ground again, the Packers are going to lose—again.

Packers at Cowboys Breakdown

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Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are so hot that their cheeseheads are melting.

Sorry. That was wrong on so many levels.

The Packers have won seven games in a row, and Rodgers has been flawless during the streak. And he insisted to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky that even though top target Jordy Nelson is unable to play Sunday in Dallas, the Packers can still knock off the NFC's No. 1 seed:

"

We're doing a lot of different things than we were last year, a lot of things better. I think our offensive line is playing better. Our scheme has advanced, and we're getting more contributions from the tight end at this point, and Richard [Rodgers] and Jared [Cook] are making plays for us, and I think we're a little deeper at receiver now with the emergence of Geronimo [Allison]. Davante [Adams] is a legit receiver in this league, and obviously Randall Cobb, who is established as well.

"

Of course, the Cowboys have their own unstoppable force on offense—a fact the Packers found out the hard way when tailback Ezekiel Elliott gashed them for 157 rushing yards earlier this season.

As USA Today's Ryan Wood reported, Elliott said that the Cowboys' 14-point win earlier this year was a matter of the team winning the battle at the point of attack.

“We just won the line of scrimmage,” Elliott said. “That’s what it came down to. We wore them down earlier in the game, and in the second half you started to see runs break open.”

However, Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews, while crediting the rookie back, said that missed assignments and a lack of discipline had more to do with Elliott's success than his simply blowing through a defense that at the time ranked first in the NFL against the run.

Matthews said:

"

He does a real good job of kind of finding the holes and being patient, and that’s where he makes a lot of teams pay. I’m not saying we have to do anything special, but we need to do our job. If you look at the runs he hit on us the first time, it was guys just doing too much or kind of playing outside the scheme. That’s what we’re focusing on this week, is being accountable and doing our job and being where we need to be.

"

This game may well come down to which defense blinks first—a Dallas secondary facing arguably the NFL's most valuable player in Rodgers or a Green Bay front seven facing, well, arguably the NFL's most valuable player in Elliott.

Well, if it wasn't an award almost exclusively given to quarterbacks, anyway.

In this week's Expert Consensus Picks at Bleacher Report, a slight majority selected the former to happen. If the Packers get staked to an early lead, a tremendous amount of pressure is going to shift to Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.

And with all due respect to how Prescott has played as a rookie, that kind of pressure has cracked many a quarterback over the years.

The thing is, we've been waiting for the pressure to get to Elliott and Prescott all season. For a Dallas defense that's hardly stacked to start showing cracks. For the Cowboys to finally falter in imposing their will on opponents.

And yet with the exception of two games against the New York Giants (and a Week 17 tilt against the Eagles where the Dallas stars sat), it just hasn't happened.

It's not going to happen Sunday either. It should be one heck of a football game, though.

Cowboys 30, Packers 28

For B/R's expert consensus divisional round picks, click here.

Steelers at Chiefs Breakdown

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It isn't difficult for the Steelers to devise a blueprint for moving on to the AFC Championship Game, because they blasted the Chiefs in Pittsburgh earlier this season.

However, the Steelers have been a much different team away from Heinz Field this year. That's especially true of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. At home, Big Ben has 20 touchdowns to five interceptions, a completion percentage over 70 and a passer rating of 116.7.

Away from the house that ketchup built, it's a much different story—his passer rating drops by almost 40 points, he has thrown nearly as many interceptions as touchdowns (nine TD, eight INT), and the 34-year-old hasn't completed 60 percent of his passes.

Add in a balky foot, bad weather and the raucous crowd at Arrowhead Stadium, and Roethlisberger faces a number of obstacles Sunday.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin told ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler he doesn't anticipate Roethlisberger's foot being a major problem.

"We'll watch him closely as we push forward to the game, but not anticipating that limiting him," Tomlin said. "I don't imagine his foot circumstance changing our approach [to preparation]."

The quarterback told Fowler he believes upping the Steelers' tempo on offense can mitigate the crowd noise.

"The faster we can get to the line of scrimmage," Roethlisberger said, "the more time we can communicate and check and make those things happen."

Roethlisberger's most effective weapon, however, may be just handing the ball off. Tailback Le'Veon Bell has averaged more than 150 total yards per game this season, and he should have room to run against a Kansas City defense that ranked 26th in the league in that regard in 2016.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told Pete Sweeney of the team's website that Bell is one of the most talented ball-carriers he's seen during his many years as an NFL head coach.

“He’s a good player,” Reid said. “He has a unique style about him—that delay to get to the line of scrimmage. It’s been effective for him. He’s really the only one that does it, so it’s unique. The obvious thing is you have to contain him and take care of your gaps, for sure. [Bell is] the most patient that I’ve ever seen. That’s a unique style—one that he’s kind of created.”

Of course, the Chiefs aren't exactly a bunch of scrubs. Despite a lack of star power (and respect from many pundits), Kansas City just keeps winning football games. In the same division as the defending Super Bowl champions, it was the Chiefs who emerged as the AFC West champions. It was the Chiefs who earned the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. It was the Chiefs who were one of the hottest teams all season.

As Reid told Sweeney, the Chiefs simply need to keep doing what they've been doing.

“You have to play good football and do what got you here,” Reid said. “There is not a lot of room for error. That’s just not what this time of the year is about. You have to have good line play on both sides of the ball. That’s what you get this time of the year.”

If a Kansas City defense that led the NFL in takeaways with 33 can give Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense a short field, or if rookie phenomenon Tyreek Hill can return his 37th (approximately) punt for a score (he has two punt-return touchdowns), the pressure is all going to shift to the visiting Steelers. In bad weather. In front of the AFC's most hostile crowd.

The Chiefs could easily win this game.

Had the game stayed at the old start time, the Chiefs might have had more of an edge. Terrible weather tends to level the playing field. A slippery football increases the chances of turnovers and could slow down the Steelers' high-octane offense.

But I keep coming back to how easily Bell, Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense shredded the Chiefs in October. How easily they did the same to the Dolphins a week ago.

And that's without even mentioning the NFL's best wide receiver in Antonio Brown.

Kansas City just isn't good enough against the run to stop Bell. That's going to keep Pittsburgh in manageable second and third downs.

And the Chiefs aren't built to outscore people.

Steelers 27, Chiefs 23

For B/R's expert consensus divisional round picks, click here.

What Happens Next?

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If the Packers win...

It won't be hard to come up with storylines if the Packers prevail and move on to face the Falcons in Atlanta. Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan are widely considered the top two contenders for the Most Valuable Player award, so watching them duke it out with a trip to Houston on the line would make for compelling TV.

That's even doubly so when you remember their Week 8 meeting, a wild 33-32 affair won by the Falcons in which Rodgers and Ryan combined to throw seven touchdown passes.

If the Cowboys win...

Anyone who says a week from now that they called a Dallas/Atlanta NFC Championship Game before the season needs to become more involved in the stock market or less involved with stretching the truth.

Still, just as with the Packers vs. Falcons, a meeting between the top two seeds in the NFC has the ingredients for an entertaining affair. Just don't expect a lot of defense. The matchup would feature two offenses that finished the regular season ranked inside the top five, two MVP candidates under center, the NFL's leading rusher in Ezekiel Elliott and arguably the league's best wide receiver in Julio Jones.

If the Steelers win...

We get the matchup that everyone wants (well, everyone outside of Kansas City, anyway). Two of the NFL's most iconic franchises. Two quarterbacks who have each won multiple Super Bowls. And more stars than you can shake a stick at. The fine folks at CBS Sports would never admit to rooting for a particular matchup...

But they're rooting for this particular matchup.

If the Chiefs win...

We'll have a matchup of the top two seeds in Foxborough next Sunday with a trip to Houston on the line. The two teams didn't meet in 2016, but they played last season in the divisional round of the playoffs.

In that contest at Gillette Stadium, Tom Brady threw for 302 yards as the Pats raced to a 21-6 third-quarter lead before holding on to win 27-20.