(Reuters) – The divisional round of the NFL playoffs this weekend features four tantalizing match-ups, including a potential high-scoring shootout between Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills.
Mahomes and Allen are two of the most gifted quarterbacks in the National Football League and are fresh off lopsided wins in the first round of the playoffs during which they both threw five touchdown passes.
“They definitely present challenges for any defense with a quarterback of the caliber of Patrick and the weapons that he has,” said Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.
“We’ll have to really be on top of our game to try to slow them down. They are a really good offense for a reason.”
Mahomes led Kansas City past the Bills in last year’s AFC Championship Game to punch their ticket to a second consecutive Super Bowl where their bid to repeat as champions ended in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Chiefs, one win away from their fourth consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship, are a 2-1/2-point favorite at home on Sunday against a Bills team that beat them in their regular season meeting last October in Kansas City.
This weekend will also see each conference’s top seeds enter the fray with the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans joining in on the action after first-round byes.
The Packers are led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is a heavy favourite to be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, when they host the San Francisco 49ers in frigid conditions at Lambeau Field on Saturday night.
The game will mark the second meeting between the teams this season, the first coming back in September when Rodgers led the host Packers on a last-minute comeback.
“Aaron does a real good job of not making bad decisions and not turning the ball over,” said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. “But he also makes all the plays down the field wherever you’re off just a hair.”
Titans running back Derrick Henry, who has been out since breaking his foot last October, returned to practice in pads this week and is expected to play in Saturday’s clash with the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.
The return of Henry, who despite missing nine games finished the regular season ninth with 937 rushing yards, would provide a huge boost for the Titans.
“He’s a tremendous player. In my opinion, I think he’s the best running back in the game,” said Titans receiver A.J. Brown. “Just having him back, having that confidence with him around, at any moment, he could go for 70. That gives us confidence. So we’re excited.”
In the weekend’s other matchup, Tom Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champion Buccaneers will host the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s early game.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
