No Seahawks no worries: Staff predictions for each divisional round game

The Seahawks didn’t make it to the divisional round of the playoffs but they still made the playoffs, so yay! And the Seahawks will likely be better in 2023. Who wins in the divisional round though? Our staff takes a gander here.

Before we get into the picks, however, I’d like to give some standing updates. We do these picks every year and every year someone else finishes atop the standings. Do we know what we are talking about mostly? No. But we like to guess.

Here is where the standings are through the Wild Card round. And just as an FYI, some of us had the Seahawks beating the 49ers. Many of the favored teams in the divisional round are the same, though.

Staff predictions for every NFL divisional game, sadly without the Seahawks

Standings:

Lee Vowell 6-0

Matt Holm: 5-1

Michael Thompson: 4-2

Jake Luppino: 4-2

Andrew Bailie: 4-2

Max Downard: 4-2

Karley Sibert: 3-3

Todd Vandenberg: 3-3

Jaguars at Chiefs, 1:30 pm PT on Saturday

The Chiefs are going to win, right? They are the best team in football. They have Patrick Mahomes. And the Chiefs beat the Jaguars earlier this year 27-17. Still, Jacksonville has won 6 straight games.

Todd Vandenberg: Jaguars 26 Chiefs 23

Jake Luppino: Chiefs 38 Jaguars 23

Andrew Bailie: Chiefs 31 Jaguars 20

Michael Thompson: Chiefs 41 Jaguars 10

Max Downard: Chiefs 31 Jaguars 24

Karley Sibert: Chiefs 38 Jaguars 17

Matt Holm: Chiefs 38 Jaguars 27

Lee Vowell: Chiefs 34 Jaguars 24

Giants at Eagles, 5:15 pm PT on Saturday

The Eagles will get Jalen Hurts back for this game and that probably is the difference between Philadelphia making a deep run in the playoffs or not. Or maybe not. The Eagles’ defense hasn’t been great lately, especially against the run, and the Giants can run. This should be an interesting matchup between two NFC East rivals.

Todd Vandenberg: Eagles 19 Giants 13

Jake Luppino: Giants 24 Eagles 23

Andrew Bailie: Eagles 24 Giants 20

Michael Thompson: Eagles 31 Giants 17

Max Downard: Eagles 28 Giants 24

Karley Sibert: Eagles 24 Giants 17

Matt Holm: Eagles 23 Giants 20

Lee Vowell: Eagles 27 Giants 21

Bengals at Bills, 12 pm PT on Sunday

The Bills must be a team of destiny after all the turmoil they have had to overcome this season, most notably the injury to Damar Hamlin. But everyone has a destiny, good or bad. And Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has helped cause the destinies of several playoff teams over the last couple of seasons to be one of failure.

Todd Vandenberg: Bengals 33 Bills 26

Jake Luppino: Bills 34 Bengals 31

Andrew Bailie: Bills 27 Bengals 24

Michael Thompson: Bills 34 Bengals 31

Max Downard: Bills 28 Bengals 24

Karley Sibert: Bills 27 Bengals 20

Matt Holm: Bengals 27 Bills 21

Lee Vowell: Bengals 34 Bills 31

Cowboys at 49ers, 3:30 pm PT on Sunday

Will Cowboys QB Dak Prescott play a clean game? Will 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy finally be faced with an obstacle he can’t overcome in his rookie season? Which defense will be better? Whichever team answers the previous questions better will win.

Todd Vandenberg: 49ers 43 Cowboys 12

Jake Luppino: 49ers 27 Cowboys 23

Andrew Bailie: Cowboys 20 49ers 17

Michael Thompson: 49ers 27 Cowboys 24

Max Downard: 49ers 31 Cowboys 27

Karley Sibert: 49ers 31 Cowboys 24

Matt Holm: 49ers 31 Cowboys 17

Lee Vowell: 49ers 24 Cowboys 19