NFC Divisional Round Preview

NFC Divisional Round Preview

After an exciting Wild Card Weekend, the NFC Divisional Round is set, and two teams are highly favored to win. However, it doesn't always guarantee that outcome.

Let’s dive in and break down these two NFC divisional matchups:

No. 1 Detroit Lions vs. No. 5 Washington Commanders

The Lions have been arguably the best teams in the NFL this season due to their efficient offense that found a way to outscore their opponents by 222 points.

To put that in perspective, the next highest points differential was plus-160 by the Philadelphia Eagles. That is a 62-point difference.

While Detroit wasn't statistically the best on the defensive side of the ball, ranking in the bottom half of the league for most categories, it managed to hold its opponents to just 20.4 points per game.

They are favorites to take on a newly reformed Commanders team led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. However, he can be a big threat against this injury-ridden defense.

Daniels put on a performance last week, totaling 304 yards and two touchdowns to help upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Being the only rookie quarterback left in the playoffs is a lot of pressure, especially when it’s against the Lions, although he has proved he is more than capable of competing in big games. That is why Daniels is the front-runner for Rookie of the Year.

The Commanders are fired up coming off a walk-off field goal and can easily catch the Lions off guard, who might be a little flat-footed following the bye.

These two teams will battle it out on Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. to see who will advance to the NFC Championship Game.

No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Rams

The Eagles were right on the cusp of a first-round bye, but they ended up not needing it after a dominant 22-12 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

Jalen Hurts showed signs of struggle throughout the game, possibly from his two-game absence because of a concussion. Fortunately, he was bailed out by a stellar performance from Saquon Barkley and a defense that walked away with four turnovers. That should happen when you’ve got the No. 1 ranked defense in the league.

However, a defense can only get you so far. Hurts must find his rhythm to help lead the team to victory. Still, Philadelphia is the heavy favorite to win this game.

That will be hard to guarantee due to the recent performance of the Rams.

They dominated the Minnesota Vikings, who at times looked like the second-best team in the NFC, in the Wild Card round and easily upset the Eagles with another outstanding performance.

A huge part of that was thanks to Los Angeles’s defense, which registered nine sacks against Sam Darnold.

Hurts has been sacked 40 times this season (including the playoffs), and it will be crucial for the defensive line to have another impressive performance against a struggling quarterback.

Pairing that with Matthew Stafford and offensive threats like Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, Tyler Higbee, and company can lead to a scary matchup for the Eagles.

The Rams are headed across the country to Philly and will look to upset the Eagles on Jan 19 at 3 p.m.

The winner of each game will play the following weekend, on Jan. 26, to decide who will get a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9.

Carlin Whalen is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cjw6426@psu.edu.