The 2023 NFL Playoffs roll on this weekend as the Divisional Round starts on Saturday and runs through Sunday, giving fans four incredible matchups. It’s time to look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this NFL Divisional Round.
If the NFL Divisional Round is anywhere near as good as the NFL Wild Card Round, football fans are in for a real treat this weekend. Last week, the Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off the third-biggest comeback in playoff history, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals squeaked by divisional rivals, the New York Giants pulled off a fantastic upset, and the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys rolled.
This weekend, we get the Jaguars welcoming the Kansas City Chiefs to the playoffs on Saturday, followed by an NFC East battle between the Giants and Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night. On Sunday, we’ll see the Bills and Bengals finally play after the near-tragic Damar Hamlin situation in Week 17, and Sunday night will wrap up with the classic Cowboys-49ers playoff matchup.
Previous NFL Picks & Predictions: Wild Card | Week 18 | Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 |Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8
So, without further ado, here are the NFL picks, predictions, and odds for the NFL Divisional Round.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the NFL odds.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5)
Full Jaguars-Chiefs betting preview
Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars made their mark on the NFL Playoffs last week when they stunned the Los Angeles Chargers after falling down 27-0 before coming back to earn a stunning 31-30 win. It was an incredible game that should give Jags fans hope that Lawrence and coach Doug Pederson are the right combination to lead the franchise for a long time.
That said, the Wild Card Round was their moment, and now they will move aside for the teams that are truly ready to contend for a Super Bowl. This descriptor might apply to the Jaguars as soon as next season, but right now, it does not.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, on the other hand, are prime Lombardi Trophy candidates. The only thing to worry about is that sometimes, a bye week slows momentum. The Chiefs aren’t a momentum team, though. They are a squad that can throttle up or throttle down at will (and probably throttle down too often), so a week off will help more than hurt.
Mahomes and company will take care of the fellas from Duval County with relative ease and send them home to (eventually) celebrate a successful campaign.
Prediction: Chiefs 35-14
Update: The Chiefs withstood a Patrick Mahomes injury and pulled out a 27-20 win to advance to yet another AFC Championship Game.
New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5)
The Eagles beat the Giants twice this season. It happened in Week 14 with a 48-22 blowout and again in Week 18 with a 22-16 win against the Giants’ second string. That second game is informative because the Giants are a team growing in confidence every week, while the Eagles are struggling to regain their pre-Jalen Hurts injury form.
While the bye week did allow Hurts to recover more, it also blunted any momentum the Eagles may have had. Philadelphia is not Kansas City, so look for them to start slow in this contest.
There seems to be one outright upset in most playoff rounds, and for the second week in a row, it will be Brian Daboll, Daniel Jones, and the Giants who pull that upset off.
Prediction: Giants 24-23
Update: The Eagles dominated from the opening kickoff for a 38-7 win over the rival Giants.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Buffalo Bills (-5.5)
This was set to be one of the heavyweight fights of the 2022 season that never happened because of the Damar Hamlin situation. What has changed since that game, though, is that the Bengals have lost several offensive linemen, and now the Joe Burrow protection isn’t as good.
The Bills don’t have Von Miller either, which means the pass rush isn’t as good as it could be. If Buffalo can get to the quarterback in this game, the defense can win it for the team.
Burrow vs. Josh Allen is one of the best QB matchups we’ll see in the playoffs this year, and despite the absences, this should be a back-and-forth affair. In the end, the Bills have become a solid late-game team, and they should get the job done in what will be an emotional game at home. Look for the Bills to win but not cover in this one.
Prediction: Bills 34-31
Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers (-3.5)
The Cowboys have been wildly inconsistent this season at times, and the beatdown of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round was no exception. Playing the 49ers is a different deal, though.
Brock Purdy and the Niners consistently move the ball up and down the field, while the defense is the best in the NFL right now. This game is where the Cowboys’ issues of not having an upper-level wide receiver corps will show up, and Dak Prescott could have a tough time.
Even starting the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft at QB, the 49ers are still the much better team top to bottom, so they’ll win this game in comfortable fashion as we wrap up these NFL Divisional Round picks and predictions.
Prediction: 49ers 28-17
Establish the Pass Podcast NFL Divisional Playoff Predictions
| Matchup | Blake | Dillon |
| JAX @ KC | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| NYG @ PHI | Eagles | Eagles |
| CIN @ BUF | Bills | Bengals |
| DAL @ SF | Cowboys | 49ers |
| Reg. Season Record | 177-92 | 172-97 |
| Playoff Record | 4-2 | 5-1 |
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