Eight teams, four games, and nary a No. 7 seed stinking things up.
Welcome to the NFL's divisional playoff round, the league's best week of the year in terms of quality and quantity.
And, per usual, the quarterbacks will be the featured attractions from Saturday's opener to a Sunday night closer that'll showcase the first-ever playoff game between two guys who each threw five touchdown passes in a game in the same postseason.
Speaking of quarterbacks, here's all we're looking at this weekend: A 44-year-old G.O.A.T. in Tampa Bay, a 38-year-old soon-to-be-four-time MVP in Green Bay, two resurrected 33-year-olds in Tennessee and Los Angeles, a 30-year-old winner in San Francisco, a 26-year-old magician in Kansas City and a pair of 25-year-old superstars in the making in Buffalo and Cincinnati.
And no Jalen Hurts. Enjoy.
Saturday's games
Bengals (+3 ½) at Titans, 3:30 p.m. (Ch. 4)
Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and their upstart Bengals will make this one entertaining, but the top-seeded Titans are rested and ready to unleash the will-busting beast that is Derrick Henry. Tennessee's best player missed the past nine games because of a broken foot, yet the Titans still went 6-3 while finishing fifth in rushing without him. Meanwhile, a Bengals run defense that already was middle-of-the-pack will be without one of its best players, Larry Ogunjobi, who broke his foot in the victory over the Raiders. Burrow's future looks unlimited, but this will be the young man's first road playoff game. And it will come against a Titans defense that's top-five in fewest points allowed, not a Raiders defense that was bottom-seven in fewest points allowed. Titans 27, Bengals 24
49ers (+6) at Packers, 7:15 p.m. (Ch. 9)
No. 6 seeds, like San Francisco, are incredibly dangerous wild-card opponents. But they expend a ton of energy in getting to get to the divisional round. (See: Vikings Bay Area Beatdown, 2019). From 2017-20, No. 6 seeds were 7-1 in wild-card games. The seven who advanced were 1-6 in divisional games. This year's 49ers team will be playing its third straight road game and sixth in the past eight weeks. They beat the Rams to secure a playoff berth in Week 18 and upset the Cowboys last week. Now, they travel to Lambeau Field for a night game with temps in the single digits. The top-seeded Packers are rested and healthier than they've been in some time with left tackle David Bakhtiari expected to see his first action of the season. The Packers won at San Francisco 30-28 in Week 3. They held the 49ers to 67 yards rushing, although 49ers leading rusher Elijah Mitchell didn't play. Green Bay just needs to slow the 49ers running game enough to put the pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo to keep up with the soon-to-be-named four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. Packers 31, 49ers 24
Sunday's games
Rams (+3) at Buccaneers (2 p.m., Ch. 11)
Tom Brady has willed the Bucs to victories through injuries at receiver, running back and on defense. It's so, so tempting to assume he will do the same now that his offensive line is beat up and literally limping into this game at center and right tackle. Unfortunately for the Bucs, this is a Rams team that has the long-proven G.O.A.T. antidote: A wicked inside pass rush led, in this case, by Aaron Donald, perhaps the greatest three-technique tackle in NFL history. The Rams are 2-0 against Brady as a Buc, including a 10-point win at L.A. in Week 3. Since then, the Rams have added one of the all-time best edge rushers in Von Miller. The pressure is still on Matthew Stafford to not mess things up, but the Rams defense should seize this opportunity and hold this wounded Bucs offense to fewer than 30 points for the first time in six playoff games. Rams 28, Buccaneers 24
Bills (+1 ½) at Chiefs (5:40 p.m., Ch. 4)
The Bills rebuilt their pass rush for this particular postseason breakthrough opportunity in mind. The Chiefs are 6-1 with two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi Trophy in their last seven postseason games. That includes last year's 38-24 win over the Bills in the AFC title game at Kansas City. Buffalo is back on K.C.'s doorstep with the league's best scoring defense, an offense that just laid 47 points on New England's No. 2-ranked scoring defense, and the confidence of having beaten the Chiefs 38-20 in K.C. back in Week 5. The Chiefs fell to 2-3 that day, but have gone 11-2 since then. Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and the two-time defending AFC champion Chiefs will not go quietly, which should make this an instant classic as Josh Allen and the Bills find a way to outlast the Chiefs in overtime. Bills 41, Chiefs 38 (OT)
Last week
Record straight up: 4-2. Against the spread: 3-3.
