NFL Playoff Bracket 2019: TV Schedule and Predictions for Divisional Round

Earning a first-round bye only means something if a team is able to convey the week of rest into a postseason victory in the NFL divisional round.

In the last two postseasons, at least one of the top two seeds in each conference have been eliminated in the second round, with the Pittsburgh Steelers being the latest team to suffer that fate in 2018.

Of the eight teams playing Saturday and Sunday, only three advanced to the divisional round a year ago.

The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots both won as No. 1 seeds, while the New Orleans Saints lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Minnesota Vikings. 

The Patriots take on the No. 5 seed in the AFC for the second year in a row in the divisional round, as they play host to the Los Angeles Chargers, while the Saints and Eagles square off against each other. 

Dallas, which lost as a No. 1 seed at this juncture two years ago, visits the Los Angeles Rams, which last appeared in the divisional round in 2005.

In the other matchup, the Colts, who are 8-10 in their history in the divisional round, visit the Chiefs, who are 2-8 in their history on the second weekend of the playoffs. 

Divisional Round Schedule

All times ET

Saturday, January 12

No. 6 Indianapolis at No. 1 Kansas City (4:35 p.m., NBC) 

No. 4 Dallas at No. 2 Los Angeles Rams (8:15 p.m., Fox) 

Sunday, January 13

No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 2 New England (1:05 p.m., CBS) 

No. 6 Philadelphia at No. 1 New Orleans (4:40 p.m., Fox) 

In addition to the broadcast networks, all playoff games can be viewed on FuboTV.

Predictions

New England 31, Los Angeles Chargers 16

You'd be silly not to pick the Patriots in the divisional round. 

With all respect to the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium is New England's to lose. 

Although it's hard to call the Patriots a forgotten team in the NFL, they haven't received the same amount of postseason hype as they usually do because of the Chiefs.

Sunday is when the Patriots reinforce their strengths in the postseason and deliver a statement to the rest of the league that they should be considered the favorite to win the Super Bowl. 

Tom Brady, who finished off his regular season with a four-touchdown performance against the New York Jets, will once again be the driving force of a Patriots playoff victory. 

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Twelve of Brady's 27 postseason victories have come in the divisional round, and he hasn't lost at this stage of the postseason since 2011 when the Patriots fell to the Jets. 

Although Brady is getting older, he has turned in his three best playoff passing performances in the last two years. 

In addition to throwing for 971 yards in the last two Super Bowls, Brady totaled 384 passing yards in the 2017 AFC Championship win over the Steelers. 

While all of those stats are impressive, the most meaningful for Sunday is Brady's zero interceptions in his last five playoff contests. 

The Chargers boast the ninth-best passing defense that picked off opposing quarterbacks on 13 occasions, and the same unit forced three turnovers in the wild-card win over Baltimore. 

If Brady and the Patriots' offense protect the ball, the Chargers won't have an opportunity to benefit from a short field produced by turnovers. 

Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

As important as Brady will be Sunday, the New England defense might make the biggest impact, as they tied for third in the NFL with 18 interceptions.

In his final three regular-season games, Philip Rivers threw six interceptions and, if the Patriots jump a few routes or confuse the Chargers quarterback with different coverages, they'll be able to add to that total.

By handing Brady a short field with a turnover or two, the Patriots will open up a gap that the Chargers can't come back from. 

Los Angeles Rams 17, Dallas 14

Saturday night's NFC clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be won on the interior. 

The Cowboys and Rams have two of the best running backs in the NFL, but they also possess some of the best front seven players in the league.

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott led the NFL in rushing yards, and he's coming off a monster outing in the wild-card round in which he recorded 137 yards and a touchdown.

Ron Jenkins/Associated Press

Despite dealing with injury issues, Rams running back Todd Gurley was first in the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 17.

In his lone playoff appearance a year ago, Gurley racked up 101 yards on 14 carries, but the Rams fell short against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Cowboys rank fifth in rushing defense, as they give up 94.6 yards per game. Linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith are the keys to that unit, as they don't allow much penetration into the second layer of the defense. 

The Rams are surprisingly 23rd in rushing defense despite boasting two of the most talented defensive tackles in football in Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh.

While they don't rank as high as the Cowboys, the Rams still defended the run well in quite a few games, as they held opponents under 100 rushing yards in five games. 

With a spot in the NFC Championship on the line, the No. 2 seed in the NFC finds a way to stop Elliott in key situations and stops the Dallas offense from developing any confidence or momentum.

Breaking through the Cowboys defense won't be easy for Gurley, but he'll find a way in the fourth quarter to string together a few big runs and find the end zone for the game-winning score. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.