Ed Zurga/Associated Press The second round of the 2018-19 NFL playoffs gets underway Saturday. While 24 of the league's teams are prepping for free agency and the NFL draft, eight are still alive in the race for Super Bowl LII. In the divisional round, we will get to see the four teams that were out of action and on bye over Wild Card Weekend. These teams—the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams—have notable advantages. Not only are they all playing at home, but they are all as well-rested as can be at this point in the year. However, the host teams in the divisional round also have a bit of rust to knock off. The teams who advanced past Wild Card Weekend—the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles—have been in playoff mode for the past month or so. In the case of Indianapolis, which is on a 10-1 run, it's been win-or-go-home for several months. All of this adds up to some strong competition and some intriguing storylines for the divisional round. We're going to dig into some of those storylines here. First, though, let's take a look at the full schedule and the latest odds and over/unders, according to OddsShark. Video Play Button Videos you might like Divisional-Round Schedule, Odds and Over/Unders Saturday, January 12 Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs When: 4:35 p.m. ET TV and Live Stream: NBC and NBC Sports App Line, Over/Under: KC -5.5, 57 Prediction: Colts 30, Chiefs 28 Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams When: 8:15 p.m ET TV and Live Stream: Fox and Fox Sports Live Line, Over/Under: LAR -7, 49.5 Prediction: Rams 28, Cowboys 24 Sunday, January 13 Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots When: 1:05 p.m. ET TV and Live Stream: CBS and CBS All Access Line, Over/Under: NE -4, 47.5 Prediction: Patriots 31, Chargers 28 Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints When: 4:40 p.m. ET TV and Live Stream: Fox and Fox Sports Live Line, Over/Under: NO -8, 51 Prediction: Saints 33, Eagles 24 Todd Gurley Still Dealing with Knee Injury Rick Scuteri/Associated Press If the Cowboys hope to pull off the upset over the Los Angeles Rams, one course of action would be to put the pressure on quarterback Jared Goff. This is what the Eagles and the Chicago Bears did in December, and both picked up wins. While C.J. Anderson has proved to be more than a serviceable runner while Todd Gurley has been dealing with his knee injury, he isn't the MVP-caliber player Gurley is. Luckily for Dallas, they may only have to deal with Anderson. If Gurley does play, he may not be at 100 percent. He does, however, plan to give it a go on Saturday. "I'm really just eager to get back on the field and then just see how it responds," Gurley said, per Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk. "Then, hopefully we have some new questions next week and not about the knee." We'll see just how much of a factor Gurley can be Saturday night. Colts Picking up Steam? The Colts are the hottest team in the NFL, and not just because they blew out the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round. They have been rolling since starting the regular season 1-5, only losing once since then. The running game, which amassed 200 yards against Houston, has continually improved. As has the defense. While the talent on the field is doing its part, a lot of the credit has to go to head coach Frank Reich and his staff. Reich has brought the best out of quarterback Andrew Luck. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has done the same with his squad. Former Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy believes they are going to put a ton of pressure on Kansas City. Dungy said the following, per Matthew VanTryon of the Indianapolis Star: "It's going to be interesting to see who feels more pressure. All of those guys [on the Chiefs], what they‘re hearing is you haven't won a playoff game in so long, you haven't beaten the Colts in the playoffs. What's going to happen? In the last few games, their defense has given up leads. The Colts have the pressure of playing on the road and the Chiefs have the pressure of history." Don't be surprised if the Colts upset the Chiefs in Arrowhead. Mahomes Excited for Opportunity Luck has performed in the playoffs before. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has not. There will be a lot of pressure on the second-year quarterback, but Mahomes is not intimidated. "Every playoff game is big," Mahomes said, per Matt McMullen of the team's official website. "For me, this is my first playoff game. I'm excited just to be here and to get the opportunity to go out there and win games like this. When you're growing up, you want to go and play games like this." This isn't quite the biggest stage—Mahomes and the Chiefs will have to win two more games to get there—but it is big enough. It will also go a long way to showing just how good Mahomes can be. The Texas Tech product was brilliant in the regular season, passing for 50 touchdowns and more than 5,000 yards. However, playoff football is different, and Mahomes will be dueling with a quarterback in Luck who is also playing at an MVP-caliber level. One thing is for certain. Everyone involved on Saturday afternoon should be excited for the game.<doc-sep>Jamie Squire/Getty Images We've reached the divisional round of the 2018-19 NFL playoffs, with eight teams left standing in the quest to win Super Bowl Llll. After advancing out of the Wild Card Round as No. 6 seeds, the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles will look to pull off another upset against the top teams in their respective conferences. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams will all begin their postseason journey after first-round byes. Ahead is a quick breakdown of all four of this weekend's matchups, with a closer look at what a win for each of the eight remaining teams would mean for the playoff picture. Divisional-Round TV Schedule Saturday, January 12 Video Play Button Videos you might like AFC: Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:35 p.m. ET (NBC) NFC: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Ramis, 8:15 p.m. ET (Fox) Sunday, January 13 AFC: Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots, 1:05 p.m. ET (CBS) NFC: Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints, 4:40 p.m. ET (Fox) Odds and Bracket Scenarios No. 6 Colts at No. 1 Chiefs (-5.5) Ed Zurga/Associated Press If Indianapolis wins: The Colts went 9-1 to close out the regular season after an inauspicious 1-5 start then upended the No. 3 seed Texans 21-7 in the Wild Card Round. Andrew Luck is being protected by one of the best offensive lines in football, running back Marlon Mack rushed for a season-high 148 yards against a Texans defense that had not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season, and the defense has held the opposition under 20 points in three of its last four games. A trip to New England or Los Angeles awaits if they can pull off another upset. If Kansas City wins: As well as the Colts are playing, the Chiefs are still the favorites in this one. As usual, it will come down to whether the high-powered Kansas City offense can outscore its opponent. The Chiefs led the NFL in points (565) and total yards (6,810) on offense while ranking near the bottom of those categories on defense at 24th in points allowed (421) and 31st in yards (6,488). The Chiefs would play host to the winner of the Patriots and Chargers matchup. No. 4 Cowboys at No. 2 Rams (-7) Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images If Dallas wins: The Cowboys won seven of their last eight games to claim the NFC East title then squeaked out a 24-22 victory over the Seahawks in their wild-card game to advance. Getting Ezekiel Elliot and the running game going against Aaron Donald and the Rams front seven will be the key for the Cowboys, as they look to avoid putting too much on the shoulders of quarterback Dak Prescott. An Eagles win over the Saints would give the Cowboys home advantage in the NFC championship game if they progress. Otherwise, they would head to New Orleans. If Los Angeles wins: Frankly, it would be a major upset if the Rams don't advance to the NFC title game. The health of running back Todd Gurley will be one of the biggest storylines heading into the game. He was limited to 76 yards on 23 carries in Week 14 and 15 before sitting out the final two games of the regular season with a knee injury. If the Rams and Saints both win, it would set up a rematch of Week 9 in New Orleans when the Saints came away with a 45-35 victory. The Rams also lost to the Eagles at home in Week 15 by a score of 30-23, so there would be something to avenge there as well. No. 5 Chargers at No. 2 Patriots (-4) Maddie Meyer/Getty Images If Los Angeles wins: In 15 NFL seasons, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has reached the AFC title game just once—all the way back in 2007 when a then-undefeated Patriots team won 21-12. The AFC championship is not on the line this time around, but it's the same two teams doing battle. The Chargers beat the Ravens in Baltimore last weekend 23-17, moving Rivers one step closer to that elusive Super Bowl appearance amid one of the best seasons of his career. A Colts win in the other AFC matchup would give the Chargers a home game in the AFC championship. Otherwise, they would travel to Kansas City where they beat the Chiefs by a slim 29-28 margin in Week 15. If New England wins: Ho hum. The Patriots have appeared in each of the past seven AFC championship games, advancing to the Super Bowl four times and winning two titles during that span. This year's team went 11-5, which marked their worst record since 2009, though they were a perfect 8-0 at home. That should make them big fans of the Colts on Sunday, as an Indianapolis win would afford them another home game if they advance. Otherwise, they will be forced to take to the road, where they went just 3-5 during the regular season. No. 6 Eagles at No. 1 Saints (-8) Sean Gardner/Getty Images If Philadelphia wins: A victory would add to the already unlikely legacy of Nick Foles. The best backup quarterback in football marched the Eagles down the field in the fourth quarter against the vaunted Bears defense for the decisive score, and a Cody Parkey missed field goal punched Philadelphia's ticket to the divisional round. As the No. 6 seed, the Eagles' path to the Super Bowl will be all road games. They were 4-4 on the road during the regular season, moving above .500 on the year with their win last week. If New Orleans wins: The Saints have the biggest point spread of the week, and that's not surprising considering they already dismantled the Eagles once this season with a lopsided 48-7 victory in Week 10. Drew Brees lit up the Philadelphia secondary in that game with 363 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Mark Ingram added 103 yards rushing on 16 carries and two touchdowns of his own. The Saints have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, though they went just 5-3 at home during the regular season. Odds courtesy of OddsShark and current as of Jan. 10.<doc-sep>One round of the 2018 NFL playoffs is in the books. Now we're previewing the divisional game slate with a rundown for each matchup from Dan Graziano, score predictions from our NFL Nation reporters and Football Power Index projections from ESPN Stats & Information. Plus: Key matchups to watch from Matt Bowen, what to know from a sports betting perspective by Rob Nelson of ESPN Stats & Information, officiating nuggets from Kevin Seifert and more. Jump to a matchup: IND-KC | DAL-LAR LAC-NE | PHI-NO SUNDAY'S GAMES Point spread: NE -4 | Matchup quality: 76.5 (of 100) The Patriots at home in January coming off a bye feels like easy money. Philip Rivers is 0-7 in his career against Tom Brady, and the Patriots are tried-and-true playoff blue bloods. But these Chargers are 9-0 this season when they've had to travel outside of Los Angeles. Flying to Baltimore last week, back home Sunday night and back to New England this week might bother some teams, but it's not likely to make much difference to Anthony Lynn's road warriors. Will Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley have an ingenious new game plan to combat Brady and the New England running game, as he did last week against the Ravens? And what aspect of the Chargers' diverse offense will Bill Belichick scheme to take away? It may be now or never for Rivers, who has his best team in years and a chance for a sweet late-career addition to his legacy. -- Graziano FPI win projection: NE, 65.0 percent. The Patriots are the smallest favorite in this round, according to FPI, but were also the only team to go undefeated at home this regular season. New England finished fourth in offensive efficiency (78.4) and second in defensive efficiency (80.5) at home, according to FPI. Rivers was second in the NFL in QBR in road games during the regular season (81.3) and posted a 78.3 at Baltimore in the wild-card round. Matchup to watch: Belichick vs. Rivers. Let's keep an eye on the coverage schemes and rotations Belichick draws up to limit Rivers' ability to throw intermediate cuts off high-low concepts. In the Chargers' playbook, Rivers can work two-level reads inside, which puts defenders in conflict -- and that leads to open windows. New England's linebackers and secondary must take away his ability to make high-percentage throws with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams on inside breaking routes. -- Bowen Betting nuggets: The Chargers have won outright in each of their past five games as an underdog and are led by Rivers, who is 6-1 ATS with four outright wins in seven career postseason starts as an underdog. As for the total, eight of the Patriots' past nine games have gone under. -- Nelson Officiating scouting report: Referee Ron Torbert's regular-season crew threw the second-lowest total of flags (13.7 per game) this season. That increases the likely possibility of a low-flag game. The Patriots finished the season tied for seventh in the NFL with 113 penalties. The Chargers ranked No. 14 with 124. -- Seifert Eric D. Williams' pick: The Bolts will have to play a near-perfect game on the road to earn a victory. However, with a veteran coaching staff and two edge rushers, Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, who can pressure Brady, the Chargers have a chance to pull off the upset. The key for the Chargers will be limiting mistakes and scoring touchdowns on offense. The Patriots allowed 4.9 rushing yards per play during the regular season, tied for third worst in the NFL, which bodes well for Melvin Gordon. New England also allowed 59 passing plays of 20-plus yards in 2018, so the Chargers' receivers should create some explosive plays down the field. Chargers 24, Patriots 21 play 1:30 Woodson: 'Upset brewing in Gillette' NFL Live's Tedy Bruschi and Darren Woodson explain their picks for the AFC divisional matchup between the Chargers and Patriots. Mike Reiss' pick: The Patriots' defense has been a different unit at home (where the team is 8-0) and that will ultimately be the difference-maker against a Chargers team that is dominant outside of Los Angeles County. The Patriots are well-rested and healthy coming off the playoff bye, and players felt like Wednesday's full-pads practice was an important one for them to ramp things up for a physical game. Meanwhile, the Chargers are banged up in some key spots (running back, for one) and will be making another flight across the country after playing in Baltimore on Sunday. Patriots 27, Chargers 20 In case you missed it: MMA obsession is toughening up the Chargers' receivers ... 'Money Badger' Michael Badgley continues to make clutch kicks for Chargers Point spread: NO -8 | Matchup quality: 60.4 (of 100) To get to last year's Super Bowl, the Eagles had to win two home playoff games. To get to this year's big game, Nick Foles & Co. have to win three road playoff games. One down and two to go, with the help of a Soldier Field upright, but this week's trip to the Superdome may be the toughest test yet. They'll see a rested Saints team that finished in the top five in the league in rushing and passing offense for the second year in a row. If the Saints' offensive line can keep the Eagles' defensive front from wrecking the game with the pass rush, Drew Brees should have plenty of time to pick apart Philadelphia's decimated secondary. New Orleans would be wise to build a big lead, though. Based on the past two postseasons, the last thing you want to do is put the ball in Foles' hands late in a close game. -- Graziano FPI win projection: NO, 80.9 percent. The Saints are the biggest favorite of the weekend, thanks largely to their offensive prowess at home this season. Brees posted a league-leading 89.7 Total QBR in home games this season, the second highest since ESPN began tracking QBR in 2006 (Aaron Rodgers, 90.5 in 2011), leading the Saints to the second-best offensive efficiency in home games (85.0), according to FPI. One ray of hope for Philadelphia is that the Saints had a 30.4 defensive efficiency at home, second worst in the league. Matchup to watch: Brees vs. Avonte Maddox. Maddox is an aggressive corner with the transition speed to break downhill on the ball. He's going to close in a hurry. But that also leads to opportunities to run double moves at the young cornerback. If Maddox is sitting on the slant or the quick out -- like we saw in the wild-card matchup against Chicago -- look for Brees to target the rookie with a double move over the top. -- Bowen Betting nuggets: The Eagles have won outright in each of Foles' past six starts as an underdog, with four of those wins coming in the postseason. As for the total, the over is 9-0 in the Saints' nine postseason games played in Superdome. -- Nelson Officiating scouting report: Referee Carl Cheffers' crew gets two of the least-penalized teams in the NFL. The Saints had the second-fewest penalties (109), and the Eagles ranked No. 6 (112). Officials did nab the Saints for 20 defensive pass interference (DPI) calls, second most in the league, but Cheffers' regular-season crew made the second-fewest such calls (nine), and overall had the lowest combined total of DPI, illegal contact and defensive holding (27). -- Seifert play 1:18 Can the Eagles' secondary shut down the Saints' receivers? NFL Live's Tedy Bruschi and Darren Woodson explain their picks for the NFC divisional matchup between the Eagles and Saints. Tim McManus' pick: The Eagles are playing their best ball of the year and are 4-0 since Foles came in for the injured Carson Wentz. The defense was gashed for 546 yards and 48 points by New Orleans in Week 11, but it has since stabilized, yielding 15 points total over the past two games. This will be a much closer game, but the home-field advantage the Superdome provides will come into play and tilt the game the Saints' way. Saints 27, Eagles 24<doc-sep>
Ryan Clark says that the difference for the Chargers is going to be Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram's ability to close the pocket on Tom Brady. (1:06) With the conclusion of the wild-card games, the playoff field was reduced to eight teams. The Super Bowl is just two wins away! Let's reset the field, breaking down the divisional weekend games with early projections from ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI). Jump to a matchup: IND-KC | LAC-NE PHI-NO | DAL-LAR AFC Saturday, Jan. 12 | 4:35 p.m. ET | NBC | Arrowhead Stadium | Tickets Early FPI projection: Kansas City, 71.7 percent Colts' best chance to win: Run the ball the way they did in their wild-card win over the Houston Texans. Houston was the third-best run defense in the league in the regular season, allowing an average of 82.7 rushing yards per game, but the Colts ran for 200 yards in their 21-7 victory Saturday. Kansas City was the 27th-best run defense in the league in the regular season, allowing an average of 132.1 rushing yards per game. If Marlon Mack, who had a franchise-record 148 yards against Houston, and the Colts' line can run the ball the way they did in the wild-card round, they might be able to control the game and keep the ball out of Patrick Mahomes' hands. FPI chances to make the Super Bowl Saints 49.8 percent Chiefs 46.9 percent Rams 35.7 percent Patriots 26.3 percent Chargers 16.3 percent Colts 10.5 percent Cowboys 8.6 percent Eagles 5.9 percent Chiefs' best chance to win: Honestly, there are all kinds of possible answers here: Find a way to get pressure on Andrew Luck, stay away from the kinds of costly defensive penalties that have hurt them all season, protect Mahomes and let him do his thing. But the most important part of this game for the Chiefs might be psychological. Andy Reid's past playoff failures (11-13 record in playoffs) are an unfortunate part of his otherwise sterling legacy, and the memory of last season's 18-point home collapse against the Titans is still fresh. The Chiefs have been the better team all season and need to play like it. Stat to know: The Colts allowed a league-low 18 sacks in the regular season (and none Saturday). But the Chiefs' defense tied for the league lead with 52 sacks in the regular season. Something's got to give, and the game could be decided by how that's resolved. Bottom line: The only quarterback who threw more touchdown passes this season than the Colts' Luck (39) was the Chiefs' Mahomes (50). Both of these teams are capable of explosive plays downfield, but with Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton battling an ankle injury, the Chiefs should be the more explosive team in this matchup. Indianapolis' impressive defensive front is going to have to play as well as it has all season to both confuse and contain Mahomes. No one has done that all season. Sunday, Jan. 13 | 1:05 p.m. ET | CBS | Gillette Stadium | Tickets Early FPI projection: New England, 62.1 percent Chargers' best chance to win: Generate pressure with their front four. The smart (though somewhat injury-driven) strategy Sunday by Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to use seven defensive backs against a run-heavy Baltimore Ravens team seemed to confuse and rattle quarterback Lamar Jackson. But the main reason it worked was the way the Chargers' defensive line was able to get to Jackson. Seven defensive backs isn't likely to work against the Patriots, but if Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram & Co. can move Tom Brady off his spot, that's historically the way to beat New England in the postseason. ESPN/NFL Next Gen Stats Patriots' best chance to win: A healthy Rob Gronkowski. The bye week is critical for teams, in part because it allows their banged-up and injured players extra time to heal. That might not be more important for anyone than it is for the Patriots' tight end (47 catches, 682 yards, three TDs), who hasn't looked like his dominant self for most of this season. The Chargers will be a legitimate challenge for New England on both sides of the ball, but a healthy Gronk is the kind of matchup-buster who can make a difference in a close game. Can he find that old Gronk magic in time for one more run?