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The Divisional Round largely lived up to the hype after a lackluster Wild Card Weekend. We saw an MVP battle in the snow while a surging rookie took out the NFC's top seed to keep an underdog story alive and well. Every year reminds us why you have to play the games, but that won't stop us from having some fun trying to predict them all anyway!
You can root for certain teams here but biases aside, all four of these teams have earned their seat at the table. Which of them will punch their ticket to the big game and ultimately etch their names into history as the winner?
We've made it through two rounds of exciting playoff football, which means it is time to break down our predictions and picks for the rest of the 2024-25 postseason, ultimately ending at Super Bowl LIX (59). Let's see what lies ahead before we enter the dark offseason and prep for the 2025-26 season!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for the 2025 playoffs:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Conference Championship Round Predictions
No. 6 Washington Commanders (12-5) at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
The “Cardiac Commanders” didn’t need any late-game heroics in their 45-31 divisional win over Detroit as premier rookie Jayden Daniels continues to play lights-out ball. Head coach Dan Quinn continues his aggressive play calling and attacking on fourth down, which helps him outpace fellow contenders.
Philadelphia stuck to its brand of bully ball in a 28-22 win over the Rams. Saquon Barkley contributed over 200 of the team’s 285 total rushing yards while Jalen Hurts only completed 15 passes for 128 yards. Barkley’s dominance is nothing new, but all eyes are on Hurts and his left knee after the QB got twisted up in the third quarter. His post-game comments were not encouraging:
Melissa Stark asked Jalen Hurts about his injured knee.
"I'm sure I'll get asked about it later. I don't know if I can answer right now."
Stark: "Are you OK?"
Hurts: "I finished the game." pic.twitter.com/KVWgvE13RO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 19, 2025
Consider that early 44-yard rush TD of his and now wonder if he can do that again. This is incredibly troubling with Kenny Pickett as the backup. Stud defensive back Quinyon Mitchell was also forced from the game with a shoulder injury but he’s optimistic to be ready for Washington.
The Eagles will once again enjoy home-field advantage, but Washington has knocked off Tampa Bay and Detroit on the road. Philly will offer the first cold-weather challenge, however. If Hurts is limited, as he appeared to be when he absorbed a safety instead of scrambling, then the offense becomes largely Barkley and Hurts’ passing arm.
Philadelphia opens as a five-point favorite at most sportsbooks, but Washington has relished the underdog moniker thus far. Daniels has played near-perfect football with a ~70% completion rate, zero turnovers, and just one sack taken while Hurts has eaten nine sacks but has also protected the ball.
Washington lost their first head-to-head tilt of ‘24 but led 10-6 going into the fourth quarter and then had that massive comeback win in the second game after Hurts got injured. The Commanders may not have the all-around talent to match the Eagles and therefore own a lower margin of error.
A great defense and incredible offensive line buoy any mistakes or limited nature for Hurts. Barkley has rushed for over 145 yards with multiple scores in each H2H contest and looks red-hot after this effort against the Rams. We side with the Eagles in a 27-24 win on Barkley’s back and playmakers like Jalen Carter finally forcing a mistake out of Washington.
No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-4) at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
The rematch is officially upon us as Josh Allen and the Bills will travel back into Arrowhead Stadium hoping to vanquish their demons. Sean McDermott has hopefully learned from his mistakes in showing more aggression in their 27-25 win over Baltimore because he’s played scared and mismanaged the clock in past playoff losses to Kansas City.
You’ll recall that Buffalo has already defeated the Chiefs this year, a 30-21 win in Week 11 that saw the Bills’ speedy defense limit K.C.’s offense. They forced a pair of interceptions out of Patrick Mahomes and notched two sacks, while Allen threw one INT and took zero sacks. But the game was played in Orchard Park. Can they take this blueprint on the road?
For those already getting their referee narratives at the ready, we must note K.C. had six penalties to Buffalo’s three in the earlier meeting. But the Chiefs were also without Marquise Brown and Isiah Pacheco on offense, as well as Harrison Butker on special teams. However, the Bills still hadn’t gotten stud linebacker Matt Milano back either.
In the end, who makes the key mistake will likely decide this game. Whether that proves to be a pivotal penalty or a loose ball in the cold weather remains to be seen. Joe Brady and Buffalo’s offense cannot afford to take its foot off of the gas if they get a leg up, but it is unlikely either team will pull away.
Buffalo holds the team advantage in turnovers, sacks, and overall offense. The two teams are back-to-back in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), which seeks to balance out surface stats with advanced metrics. Tyler Bass has been shaky at times but has looked great of late. As before, we side with Buffalo here in a 31-27 upset.
During reg. season, #Bills led NFL with +24 turnover margin. They're +3 today. #BillsMafia #BALvsBUF
— Pro Football Post (@ProFootballPost) January 20, 2025
Super Bowl LIX Prediction
No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) vs. No. 2 Buffalo Bills (13-4)
Much of this will depend on Hurts’ knee health and assuming no setbacks in the NFCCG. The Bills ranked 11th in that DVOA metric but the Eagles trailed no one, leading the NFL with top two units against both the pass and rush for a top overall score. Buffalo plays sharp but even at full strength is not a dominant, stifling defense.
Baltimore even had success against them with their version of Philly’s Tush Push (using Mark Andrews at QB). Both of these teams wouldn’t flinch in a cold-weather game, but Super Bowl LIX will be played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, so the elements won’t matter. A “Snow Bowl” with these two rushing attacks would be an insane sight, though!
The weather situation means it won’t be exactly like this recent Buffalo game against Baltimore in terms of defending the rush, but Barkley’s outlook has to be top dollar. Derrick Henry averaged over five yards per rush while Justice Hill added 50 yards on six totes as the Ravens ran downhill well. There’s little reason to think Philly couldn’t replicate that.
But would this matchup be asking too much of Philadelphia’s defense? The adage “Defense wins championships” is all well and good but Josh Allen’s MVP-caliber offense hits another gear in domes. They had games with over 400 yards against the Colts and Rams in domes before a whopping 559 yards and 48 points versus Detroit in Week 15. Please note that the Lions had the fifth-best DVOA unit.
At the end of the day, this writer believes that Allen’s offense can outwork Barkley’s output and put Philadelphia behind the eight ball, which is not how they’re built to fly. Buffalo was able to pick apart Denver’s defense, which was the only one to rank ahead of Philadelphia per Expected Points Added per play, according to nfelo.app’s database.
Mix in Hurts’ potential limitations and we’ve got a Bills 31-24 win over the Eagles.
Bills win and break the franchise curse, avenging the 1990s teams.
Of course, if I could snap my fingers and get the game I most want to see then it would be this:
Thirty-three years ago, the Buffalo Bills played the Washington Redskins in a dome in Super Bowl XXVI.
We could see a second Buffalo-Washington Super Bowl in a dome next month.
— Travis D. Hughes (@TravisDHughes) January 20, 2025
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