Eight teams remain in the chase for the NFL’s Lombardi Trophy, the prize for the winner of the Super Bowl each year. On the AFC Divisional Round of the bracket, the Tennessee Titans visit the New England Patriots on Saturday night, and the Jacksonville Jaguars visit the Pittsburgh Steelers in the early game on Sunday afternoon. Let’s take a look at some reasons why we are picking the Patriots and the Steelers to move on from these divisional matchups. Check out our logic before you lock in your NFL playoffs odds for the second weekend of the postseason.
2018 AFC Divisional Round Betting Prediction
Let’s begin with the Sunday matchup — Jacksonville at Pittsburgh. The fate of the Jacksonville offense lies in the hands of Blake Bortles. While the Jaguars did make it through the wild card round, eliminating Buffalo by a 10-3 score, that game was all about the Jacksonville defense. Blake Bortles attempted just six passes that went more than five yards beyond the line of scrimmage — and he completed just three of them. When it was time to throw a screen pass, there were times when it was clear that he was aiming the ball and ended up short-arming the pass, leaving the ball well short of the target. Bortles did have one clutch moment — the touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal in the last minute of the third period. At that point in the game, it seemed like the Jaguars would do anything but let Bortles throw the ball, and so the Bills loaded the box. It was a gutsy play call, and Ben Koyack did a great job getting inside his defender and making sure that his feet both made it down in bounds. On the day, though, Bortles went 12 for 23 for 87 yards and a touchdown.Here’s the updated #NFLPlayoffs bracket headed into the Divisional Round. Which teams will move on? pic.twitter.com/TX88lYkfhJ
— NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2018