American Football

NFL Divisional Sunday Schedule & Open Thread

January 22, 2024

Kansas City Chiefs v Buffalo Bills — Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

Detroit gets to host its second game in as many weeks, while Patrick Mahomes finally has to play on the road in the postseason.

The narratives for today’s NFL Divisional Playoff games are simple to identify.

On one hand, we have a Detroit Lions team that is getting set to host its second postseason game in as many weeks. Detroit won its first playoff game in over 30 years last week when they defeated the Los Angeles Rams on Wild Card Sunday, and today they host an old NFC Central Division rival as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town.

In the other game, we finally will get to see what a Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs squad does in a true road playoff game. This is, shockingly, Mahomes’ first road game in the postseason in his career, as each of the last five AFC Championship Games have been played at Arrowhead Stadium. Tonight he and the Chiefs will face the 2nd-seeded Buffalo Bills in what should be a chilly but not bitterly cold game.

Of course, the Chiefs are no strangers to the cold, having just defeated the Miami Dolphins last Saturday in temperatures around and below zero degrees Fahrenheit. The Lions and Buccaneers, meanwhile, will be playing in a city with similar temperatures to Buffalo, but in the climate-controlled environs of Ford Field. (Just a reminder: don’t forget that if you’re in a mid-week press conference with the visiting head coach.)

Join us for both games today as we see which of these teams will advance to the conference championships next week.