The NFL playoffs are into the divisional round and here are 5 Things to Know heading into the weekend:
The Kansas City Chiefs put their 11-game winning streak on the line against the Patriots
The New England Patriots are hosting the Kansas City Chiefs for the first game on the divisional round schedule and the Chiefs come in as the hottest team in the NFL. The Chiefs have won 11 straight games after starting the season 1-5 and now the team has the tough test of trying to win in Foxboro. The Chiefs defense has been playing great and Kansas City comes in with a ton of confidence after shutting out the Texans in the wild card round.
The Seahawks and Panthers rematch after Carolina won in Seattle this season
The Carolina Panthers went 15-1 this season and are the top seed in the NFC and now they host a team that many think can get back to the super bowl in the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks were able to get past the Minnesota Vikings with some fourth quarter magic after Blair Walsh missed a potential game winning field goal. The Seahawks are hoping to get Marshawn Lynch back after he missed the game against Minnesota.
The Packers and Cardinals battle again after Arizona dominated in the regular season
The Green Bay packers have struggled on offense at times this season, but the team appeared to regain form against the Washington redskins in the wild card round. Now Aaron Rodgers and the Pack take on the second seeded Arizona Cardinals in the desert. The two teams have played this season already and that matchup was a dominating performance by Arizona and now Green Bay will try and return the favor.
The Broncos-Steelers rematch, this time with Peyton starting
The Broncos are the top seed in the AFC and they will play the Steelers in the divisional round. These two teams played towards the end of the regular season, with Pittsburgh beating Denver and now the Steelers will get another chance to do that. This time around though it will be Peyton Manning starting the game under center over Brock Osweiler and that could be huge with Ben Roethlisberger coming banged up.
Major players are dealing with injuries
Injuries could play a major factor through the divisional round of the playoffs, as players like Ben Roethlisberger, DeAngelo Williams, Antonio Brown, Jeremy Maclin, Julian Edelman, Tom Brady and Marshawn Lynch are all banged up. Williams visited with a foot specialist this week and he could miss a second straight game for the Steelers. Roethlisberger is dealing with a shoulder sprain and the quarterback also said he has torn ligaments in his shoulder after suffering the injury against the Bengals. ESPN reports that Roethlisberger is expected to play, while Brown could be out with a concussion.
