Eight remain, with Super Bowl LVIII less than a month away as the NFL reaches the Divisional Round of the playoffs. We guide you through the latest news, views and build-up from across the league...
- Belichick leaves Patriots after 24 seasons as head coach
- Which games are live on Sky this week?
- NFL playoffs 2023: Meet the final eight teams
Editor's note...
There was a clip doing the rounds this week of cornerback L'Jarius Sneed jamming Tyreek Hill into oblivion at the line of scrimmage during the Kansas City Chiefs' Wild Card victory over the Miami Dolphins. Or, as Hill would later joke, 'jamming him to Cancun'.
How to solve a problem like Tyreek Hill? Perhaps you retreat into two-high coverage in view of sacrificing Hill's yards-after-catch threat underneath in order to eliminate the deep shot? Perhaps you press him in the hope your covering defender(s) have the violent hands, footwork and route diagnosis to out-wrestle and smother him? Or perhaps you have the confidence and conviction to get your hands on him at the snap, knowing it comes with the risk of being exposed?
Sneed offered up a clinic in the latter, as he has done for much of the season. It was a play that epitomised Sneed and his role in Kansas City as something of a face for the bruising, suffocating, gritty defense that has not only kept the Chiefs alive in the face of a hobbling offense, but spearheaded their route to the Divisional Round. With the nous and disguise of Steve Spagnuolo's rolling and rotating coverages has come a nasty belligerence for which Sneed has set the tone.
For all that might have been said in the past of a pretty, picture-perfect offensive masterpiece, the identity of the 2023 Chiefs has been defined by a defensive mean streak. Sneed and Trent McDuffie have it in bundles, Chris Jones has it, George Karlaftis has it, Mike Danna has it, Justin Reid has it. They will need it against a Bill team that has hit harder and run faster as the season has progressed.
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A Chiefs-Bills matchup rarely falls short of chaos. Buffalo were 13 seconds away from toppling Patrick Mahomes and co. during their 2021 Divisional Round epic, only for the Chiefs to strike late before crushing Bills hopes in overtime on their way to Super Bowl glory. It would become the face of a mouth-watering rivalry between the league's two best quarterbacks, who meet again in spite of indifferent seasons.
The Mahomes'-led offense that has tormented teams over the year has been riddled by mistakes and devoid of consistency, while Josh Allen's Bills have been playoff football since the beginning of December in a, successful, bid to claw their way out of a postseason-less hole.
Chiefs win, and who would be surprised if they went all the way as a symbol of Mahomes and Andy Reid's finest hour? Bills win, and who would bet against them ending their long, long wait for a Lombardi?
Before then, the No 1 seeds join the party as the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers return from their respective bye weeks to resume their Championship pursuit. CJ Stroud and Jordan Love, though, will have something to say about their pathways as respective favourites...
Around the league...
- In yet another ground-breaking move for the NFL's international growth, Wales and Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit announced on the eve of the Six Nations that he is stepping away from rugby to pursue a career in the NFL by joining the league's International Player Pathway programme. He has registered as a wide receiver/running back.
- Former England rugby prospect Harry Mallinder followed suit in joining the IPP as a kicker/punter, having played for Northampton from 2013 to 2021 before spending time with the Black Rams Tokyo in Japan.
- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones released a statement on Thursday to confirm Mike McCarthy will remain head coach for the 2024 season following his side's shock playoff defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Wild Card Weekend.
- Jerod Mayo was named the new head coach of the New England Patriots, being elevated as the successor to Bill Belichick after 24 years having been an assistant in Foxboro since 2019.
- Belichick conducted an initial interview with the Atlanta Falcons for their vacant head coach job, with a second scheduled for the weekend.
- The Los Angeles Chargers have meanwhile held interview with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, among others, for their vacant position, with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson also scheduled to speak with the organisation.
- It was reported during the week that Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce had informed teammates he planned on retiring following the team's playoff exit; Kelce has since suggested on his podcast 'New Heights' that he is yet to make a final decision.
- The Baltimore Ravens have signed veteran running back Dalvin Cook while waiving Melvin Gordon ahead of their playoff clash with the Houston Texans.
What to watch...
Saturday, 9.30pm - Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens: Behold a fresh, enthralling quarterback duel for the league to enjoy over years to come. CJ Stroud has catapulted a broken Houston Texans franchise into both relevancy and surprise contention as the rookie story of the season; Lamar Jackson is closing in on MVP as the 2023 season's most consistent quarterback performer while leading Baltimore's Super Bowl charge. Two of the league's most aggressive arms, two of the league's most inventive creators, two of the league's most poised operators. Stroud has the scent for another underdog upset; Jackson faces the test of harnessing soaring expectations.
Sunday, 1.15am - Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers: Among the key factors heading into Saturday night could be how the 49ers attack the middle of the field, and, in particular, Packers linebackers Quay Walker and De'Vondre Campbell, who boast tremendous attributes but have lacked consistency as coverage defenders this year. Their job will be blunting the NFL's third-ranked rushing offense spearheaded by Christian McCaffrey, while blanketing the crossers of tight end George Kittle and the light-personnel end arounds of Deebo Samuel. Joe Barry's defense has taken its fair share of criticism this season; Saturday awaits as their most daunting obstacle yet.
Sunday, 8pm - Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions: Last weekend's Wild Card win over the Eagles served up the latest reminder that there may be few greater exhibitions of awe-inspiring power in the NFL than that of Bucs defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey manhandling grown men in the trenches. They stand to be the ultimate blockade for a Lions rushing attack that ranked fifth last season. On the backend, Todd Bowles' Antoine Winfield Jr.-inspired secondary are tasked with the job of thwarting Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has put up 100 yards in four of his last five outings including 110 in Detroit's Wild Card victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Sunday, 11.30pm - Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills: The Bills wanted their own version of Travis Kelce with whom to spice up Josh Allen's options on offense, and first-round rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid continues to tease signs of fulfilling that chain-moving role. He made three more catches for 59 yards and a 29-yard touchdown in last weekend's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, mixing in his threat as a vertical option with the separation-gaining cut-making prowess on crossing routes. He now has 230 receiving yards over the last three games as an increasingly-prominent member of Allen's trust tree. As much might be said about Chiefs rookie receiver Rashee Rice, who, amid a year of agonising dropped catches, has preserved some hope of an offensive turnaround, continuing against the Miami Dolphins as he made eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.
Playoff picture
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Time to rub your crystal ball, because the NFL's Super Bowl challenge is back! Make your playoff predictions as we reach the home stretch on the path to Super Bowl LVIII...
Best quotes
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy on his job security entering the final year of his deal: "I've never talked about players' contracts, coaches' contracts. I'm not going to start today. "I will say I'm very confident in the direction. I like where we are moving forward, I'm very confident where I am."
Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox on questions over the future of head coach Nick Sirianni: "What is there to talk about? He's a winner. He's a winning head coach. Did we have some bumps this year? Every team, every organisation, everybody goes through it. We don't look at firing a man that has won 10-plus games two years in a row. He took this organisation to three playoff appearances three years in a row. He's a good leader for this team. He does a really good job."
Patrick Mahomes on his rivalry with Josh Allen becoming like that of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning: "We've played in a lot of big games. I'm excited for the challenge. I grew up watching those [Brady-Manning] games and remember how many memories I have from that, and hopefully we can play in these great games as well and give memories to the kids that come up behind us."
Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson with a shot at Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield: "If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that's a great group. [Mike] Evans, [Chris] Godwin, [Russell] Gage, that's a great group. I played against them for real."
Baker Mayfield's response to Gardner-Johnson: "I don't think he's really watched (the) film because he mentioned Russell Gage. We love Russell but Russell hasn't played a snap all year for us."
Jerod Mayo on taking over from Bill Belichick in New England: "For me, I'm not trying to be Bill, I'm not trying to be Bill. I think that Bill is his own man, if you can't tell by now I'm even a little bit different up here. But what I will say is, the more I think about the lessons that I've taken from Bill, hard work works, right? Hard work works. And that's what we're all about."
Brock Purdy speaking to 49ers legend Steve Young on comparisons to other QBs: "My identity not being in this, football, this life, the things that can come with it, and it's all such a blessing. I'm very thankful for it and I'm not taking it for granted, but, honestly, my mindset is I try to hold this all loosely. Not try to hold onto, 'I need to be the guy or the starter in the NFL.' I think the more you think like that, the more you start comparing yourself to guys like that - Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen or whatever. Those guys are great, but I'm not them and they're not me."
The stats
- CJ Stroud needs three touchdown passes to surpass Mark Sanchez for most postseason touchdown passes by a rookie in NFL history
- A win on Sunday would see Patrick Mahomes move level with Brett Favre (13) and Ben Roethlisberger (13) for sixth-most playoff victories by a starting quarterback in the NFL
- Dalton Kincaid (Bills) and Sam LaPorta (Lions) both have the chance to become the rookie tight ends to record a touchdown catch in multiple playoff games this weekend
- The Chiefs will advance to their sixth successive AFC Championship Game appearance with victory over the Bills on Sunday, overtaking the Oakland Raiders (1973-77) for the second-longest Conference Championship streak in history behind only the New England Patriots' run of eight consecutive years from 2011-2018
- Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff are set to become the first pair of No 1 overall picks to meet in the Divisional Round since Andrew Luck came up against Peyton Manning in January 2015
- Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, who is entering the NFL's IPP programme, has previously recorded a time of 10.44 seconds over 100m
Essential reading:
The NFL officially has a CJ Stroud problem
He is too good. He shouldn't be this good. Not now, not here, not yet. CJ Stroud has ransacked the NFL's quarterback arm's race, torpedoing the best laid playoff plans of rivals, igniting an unlikely dream and spring-boarding a new era for the Houston Texans.
Stroud is not only producing one of the greatest rookie campaigns in league history, but ascending towards the NFL's elite quarterbacks as the face of a rejuvenated Texans organisation, which finally has a reason to believe.
We look at the superstar rookie quarterback on the back of his scintillating playoff debut...
Rees-Zammit: Rugby star with 'Cheetah' speed to blaze a trail in NFL?
Louis Rees-Zammit is not the first rugby player to try his hand at making it in the NFL, but can he succeed where others have faltered and what sets him apart from his peers?
The 22-year-old Wales international, who played his club rugby at Gloucester, announced on Tuesday he is joining the NFL's International Player Pathway (IPPP) this month in the hopes of "making my dreams a reality".
He follows in the footsteps of one-time England international Christian Wade, among others, but, given Wade did not make a regular-season appearance during his three years with the Buffalo Bills before returning to club rugby and French side Racing 92 in 2022, has Rees-Zammit possibly bitten off more than he can chew?
Read more on Rees-Zammit's next steps and his chances of securing an opportunity in the NFL...
Belichick's Patriots: The end of an era for the NFL
Against all the odds and villainous portrayals, contrary to bleak expectations and gloomy projections… Bill Belichick once dressed as a pirate to a Randy Moss-led roller-skating Halloween party with the New England Patriots.
Not the odds-and-expectations-clobbering Super Bowl tale you were thinking of, huh? Not the evil genius masterplan you were anticipating, huh?
NFL playoffs 2023: Meet the teams
The 2023 NFL playoffs continue!
Inside the Huddle: Bills the hottest team in the NFL?
Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold reflect on the best and worst of Super Wild Card weekend, including the Green Bay Packers' stunning win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Buffalo Bills' red-hot form and the Philadelphia Eagles' late-season collapse.
They also reflect on Jerod Mayo's appointment as Bill Belichick's successor as New England Patriots head coach, as well as Louis Rees-Zammit's high-profile switch from rugby to the NFL.
Her Huddle: Divisional Round preview
Hannah Wilkes is joined by Liz and Ash to break down a busy week for the NFL, including Belichick's departure and the upcoming Divisional Round matchups, where more upsets potentially beckon...
Watch Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs live on Sky Sports from 8.30pm Saturday, followed by Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers; Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Detroit Lions at 8pm Sunday, before Kansas City Chiefs against Buffalo Bills.
