Patriots – Chiefs: 3 things to watch for Saturday

The second round of the National Football League playoffs is approaching and there are a lot of storylines heading into this weekend. The Chiefs might also be missing a key offensive player since Jeremy Maclin is questionable after not practicing all week. OLB Justin Houston (knee) will also be a game-time decision…. They still secured a first-round bye, which they definitely needed considering all their injuries.

The Patriots are seeking their fifth consecutive AFC championship game appearance, and the Seahawks are seeking their third consecutive NFC championship game appearance. With Edelman coming back one of the most unsafe set of triplets in the NFL, Brady, Edelman and Gronk, is back at full strength. DE Chandler Jones (team-high 12½ sacks) caused a distraction but is expected to suit up…. NFL Mobile applications are also another way to stream the Chiefs-Patriots game, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store, Google Play, and the Windows Store.

After a wild Wild Card weekend, filled with shock endings and inexplicable collapses and mistakes, it’s time to move ahead to the divisional round. Green Bay has a rematch with Arizona, and you know what they say about the difficulty of beating a good team twice in the same season. Arizona is 3-0 in playoff games at University of Phoenix Stadium, which has been a house of horrors for the Packers. Then there was Green Bay, out to prove that they are still relevant, with a solid win over the Redskins.

The Cardinals are given a 75% chance to prevail in the M/P model, not surprising given how Aaron Rodgers was battered by Arizona on December 27, getting sacked a career-high nine times in a 38-8 loss. Cardinals WR Michael Floyd had six catches for 111 yards in that game…. If he can not play in the matchup, the Patriots will be in big trouble. CB Sam Shields is trying to come back from a concussion.

Pete Carroll and the Seahawks have proven themselves in the past and they should play a stellar game here.

The team that rolled to 14 straight victories at the start of the season and finished with a 15-1 record has not won a lot of accolades from those that follow the NFL.

Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seahawks (abdomen) … Alex Smith threw for 195 yards and a touchdown. He’s probable to return….

All-time, the Chiefs following a playoff win have gone 1-2 straight-up and against-the-spread in the next game. If Carolina wins, it’s because they can dominate the line of scrimmage much the way the Rams and Vikings did in 2 of the past 3 games against Seattle. Of the seven teams that have won at least 15 regular-season games, only three reached the Super Bowl, and just two (1984 49ers, 1985 Bears) won it….

Jay Busbee, Kevin Kaduk and I argued the point on the Grandstanding podcast previewing this weekend’s games; I’d pick Week 1 of the National Football League season as the best, for reasons I explained near the end of the podcast.

The game could surely swing on who can hit their shot(s). Despite the loss, former Patriots tight end Ben Watson made a memorable play that would have become legendary if the Patriots prevailed that day. Can the Steelers overcome those injuries and win? While I don’t have super confidence in him, I think he can do just enough, and get plenty of help from the running game and the defense to advance to the AFC title game.

As for Antonio Brown, he was out of action yesterday, which isn’t really much of a surprise. Ben Roethlisberger suffered a separated shoulder that includes some ligament damage. I don’t expect Arizona to tweak one thing to win this week.

“It was great to see Peyton Manning smile once again”, said Fouts after he returned to lead the Broncos to a 27-20 victory over the Chargers in the regular season finale. His passer rating was the lowest among all quarterbacks, and he was intercepted on 5.1% of his throws, easily the worst in the league.

Game time: 4:40 P.M.