NFL divisional round playoff predictions: how do you beat the No 1 seeds?
Share:
The best weekend in football whirls into action with Kansas City starting their bid for a three-peat and ends with a blockbuster meeting of MVP candidate. What the Texans need to do to win: CJ Stroud needs to continue his upward trajectory. After turning what would have been an ugly fumble deep in his own half into the beginning of a run of 23 unanswered points against the Los Angeles Chargers last week, Houston’s quarterback seemed to shake off his winter blues at the very moment he found Xavier Hutchinson wide open downfield. Stroud needs to trust his instincts in order to compensate for a subpar offensive line, though more importantly he has to have faith in Nico Collins. The receiver will be under blanket coverage from Trent McDuffie and Justin Reid, owing to a lack of any other significant Texans threat downfield, but his remarkable knack of making catches in heavy traffic will be crucial if his team are to keep pace with the Chiefs. Oh, and in games that Collins has 150 or more receiving yards the Texans are 4-0 so just keep it flowing in his direction. Easy.
![[Jayden Daniels has turned around the Commanders in his rookie season]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/63363f753fc263873d0237efdcee7e8768e53663/0_0_4459_2674/master/4459.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
What the Chiefs need to do to win: After coasting through the warmup for this game 27-19 in December it is tricky to see what the masters of staying one step and one score ahead need to add to their gameplan. However they must be prepared for a battle with Houston’s defense. The pass rush from Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter is immense while the cornerback pairing of Derek Stingley Jr and Kamari Lassiter dominated the Chargers with a trio of interceptions between them last weekend. Patrick Mahomes needs to watch his back while being very careful with ball placement in light of Houston’s clear advantage over Kansas City in the backfield and trenches.
![[Saquon Barkley has been almost impossible to contain this season.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/621bff55bcf6390adca6d3c53c9ca90351c65957/0_220_3320_1993/master/3320.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
