What we have in front of us as sports fans this weekend is some real fun.
Much like the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16, the divisional playoff weekend represents the sweet spot of the entire NFL season. And in this case, all four games provide great quarterback matchups.
These games feature the league's top rookie (CJ Stroud), a two-time Super Bowl winner and MVP (Patrick Mahomes), and a former No. 1 draft pick who was waived (Baker Maye). Field and Jared Goff), the likely successor who sat behind the legend before he started (Jordan Love), and two of the most dynamic playmakers of this generation (Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson). and former NFL draftee “Mr. Jackson.” It's irrelevant.'' (Brock Purdy)
The four games and eight quarterbacks are listed below.
Game 1: Texans vs. Ravens
The Texans will have Stroud from Houston and Jackson from Baltimore when they play against the Ravens on Saturday afternoon.
Both quarterbacks are likely to win important awards in their respective 2023 seasons, with Stroud the favorite to win NFL Rookie of the Year and Jackson the heavy favorite to win league MVP.
All the pressure is on Jackson. He had an impressive regular season with a completion percentage of 67.2, 3,678 yards, 24 TDs, 7 INTs, and 821 rushing yards and 5 TDs. He led the Ravens to a 13-3 record in 16 games this season, giving them an overall regular season record of 58-19.
However, Jackson has lost three of the four playoff games he has started, has a mediocre completion percentage of 55.9, and has only three TDs and five INTs.
Stroud finished the regular season with a 63.9 completion percentage, 23 TDs, and just 5 INTs, and is playing on house money. His 4,108 yards ranked eighth in the league despite missing two games due to injury. His five INTs were the fewest of any quarterback who played 12 or more games.
prediction: Stroud is unfazed and looked like he's having a great year as a rookie, but Jackson is rested, has a strong team around him, is playing at home, and has a score to settle in the playoffs. .
Game 2: Packers vs. 49ers
Green Bay's Love and San Francisco's Purdy will be featured in Saturday night's game between the Packers and 49ers.
Purdy, 24, led the league in passer rating (113.0) in his first full season as a starter. Love, 25, ranked second in the NFL in TD passes (32) in his first season as a starter.
Purdy completed 69.4 percent of his passes this season for 4,280 yards, 31 TDs, and 11 INTs.
This is all new for Love, his first year as a starter. He had a magical performance in last week's road wild-card game against Dallas, completing 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and 3 TDs.
Those numbers came after a regular season in which he threw for 4,159 yards, 32 TDs, and 11 INTs. Since the Packers started 3-6, Love has led the Packers to seven wins in their last nine games, scoring 21 TDs and just one INT in that span.
prediction: As hot as Love is, Purdy has a better supporting cast of skill position players, a little more postseason experience, and is at home. Purdy won, but there will come a time when Love will make the playoffs.
Game 3: Buccaneers vs. Lions
The Buccaneers will feature Tampa Bay's Mayfield and Detroit's Goff on Sunday afternoon against the Lions.
Goff was selected No. 1 overall by the Rams in 2016, and Mayfield was selected No. 1 overall by the Browns in 2018. Maybe that draft feels like a long time ago, since the Rams gave up on Goff and sent him to Detroit, and Mayfield ended up in Cleveland, Carolina, Los Angeles, and Tampa, where he flourished this season. There will be.
Goff set a new career high with a regular-season completion percentage of 67.3 percent and threw for 4,575 yards, 30 TDs, and 12 INTs, the second-most TDs and third-most yards of his career.
More importantly, in last week's wild-card 24-23 win over the Rams and Matthew Stafford, in a full-circle game in which the Rams dumped him, Goff completed 22 of 27 passes (81.5 percent). , gained 277 yards and one score. T.D.
Mayfield played in all 17 regular season games and had a career resurgence, setting career highs in passing yards (4,044) and TD passes (28).
prediction: Mayfield's performance has been impressive, but Goff and the Lions are riding an incredible emotional wave right now, and this year looks a lot like Detroit's year. The Lions' wild-card victory over the Rams ended a nine-game postseason losing streak and marked the team's second playoff victory in history, their first in 32 years.
Game 4: Chiefs vs. Bills
Sunday night's game against the Chiefs at the Bills will feature Mahomes vs. Allen.
This has become a modern-day version of the Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning postseason battle, with Mahomes having the upper hand at the moment, defeating Allen and the Bills in 2020 and 2021, winning two Super Bowl titles and two Super Bowl titles. He won Bowl MVP.
But those playoff games were played in Kansas City, and Mahomes has played in every postseason contest other than the Super Bowl. Now Allen and the Bills will have to do it in tough Buffalo.
Mahomes and Allen have faced off six times in their NFL careers, winning three times each in four regular season games and two playoff games, with Mahomes going 2-0 in the playoffs.
Over the last four years, Mahomes and Allen rank 1st and 2nd in QB wins (Mahomes 50, Allen 48), total TDs (Allen 174, Mahomes 151), and yards from scrimmage (Mahomes 20,454, Allen 20,001). Ranked.
In the postseason, Mahomes is tied with Brady for the most playoff wins (12) by age 30, and Allen is the only QB in playoff history to average 250 yards passing and 50 yards rushing per game. It is.
prediction: This is postseason time for Allen. That's because he and his team are the most-watched teams in the league right now, and this game is being played at his home, not Mahomes', for a change of pace.
