Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles
WR Dyami Brown, Commanders
Dyami Brown’s breakout continued in the divisional round, as he led all Washington pass catchers with six receptions for 98 yards. The shift began for Brown in Week 16 when the Commanders faced off against the Eagles. Before that matchup, Brown — a 2021 draft selection — had just two career games with over 55 receiving yards. He’s bested that total three times in the last month including both of Washington’s playoff contests. Five of his 11 postseason receptions have gone for 20-plus yards.
LB Frankie Luvu, Commanders
The Rams had success getting to Jalen Hurts, collecting seven sacks against Philadelphia’s formidable offensive line. Disrupting the timing of the Eagles’ passing game will force them to become one-dimensional. Frankie Luvu was all over the field in both matchups this year. He sacked Hurts twice in the Week 11 game, but has just one sack in the eight games since. Luvu will have to make an impact in this one.
RB Saquon Barkley, Eagles
A winning gameplan for the Eagles features a heavy dosage of Saquon Barkley. He looked unstoppable against the Rams, rushing for 205 yards and 2 TDs. He’s gone over 100 yards in eight of his last nine appearances. The Commanders have one of the league’s worst run defenses. They were actually outgained on the ground last week in their upset win over Detroit. The Lions averaged 8.7 yards per carry, but only ran it 23 times. Barkley will likely approach 30 carries by himself in this one, and it’s difficult to imagine Washington’s defense keeping Philadelphia’s running back under 150 yards.
EDGE Nolan Smith, Eagles
The Georgia product had one of the biggest plays of the game in Philly’s win over the Los Angeles Rams — a strip-sack in the fourth quarter on a crucial third down. He leads the Eagles with 3.0 sacks in the playoffs, and has recorded at least one in five of his last seven games. Jalen Carter’s dominance and Zack Baun’s breakout has gotten most of the attention up front, but Smith could be in for another big game.
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs
TE Dalton Kincaid, Bills
The Bills didn’t need to throw the ball much as they capitalized on three Ravens turnovers in their divisional round win. Nearly one-third of Josh Allen’s 22 pass attempts went to WR Khalil Shakir. RB James Cook was second in targets with three. Two of Buffalo’s recent high draft picks have been pass catchers — Kincaid and Keon Coleman — and the duo combined to see just three targets on the evening. Kincaid did not play when these two teams met during the regular season. The Bills used a first-round draft pick in 2023 to try and get Allen a reliable weapon akin to what Patrick Mahomes has with Travis Kelce. Kincaid had a quiet regular season, but could make up for it with a big game in this spot.
EDGE Von Miller, Bills
When the Bills signed Von Miller in 2022, they knew they weren’t getting the same player that won MVP in Super Bowl 50. Still, it’s been a disappointing three-year stretch for the two-time champion. Miller recorded 5.0 sacks in the postseason during that memorable run with the Broncos. He returned to the playoffs six years later as a Los Angeles Ram, and registered 4.0 sacks during their run to a title. In three years with Buffalo, Miller has zero playoff sacks. Would be a great time for him to get on the board this weekend.
WR Xavier Worthy, Chiefs
It was a vintage Travis Kelce performance against the Texans as the future Hall of Famer caught seven passes for 117 yards and a score. What shouldn’t go unnoticed in Kansas City’s win was Xavier Worthy’s contributions in his first career playoff game. Worthy was the only WR on the team to catch a pass, recording five receptions for 45 yards. The rookie is averaging over 50 yards per game in his last eight games. He could easily go over that total with one big play.
LB Nick Bolton, Chiefs
Last week, we identified edge rusher George Karlaftis as the key player for Kansas City’s defense. He registered 3.0 sacks in the win over Houston. Heading into this matchup, linebacker Nick Bolton could be a game-changer for the Chiefs. Bolton is a proven playoff contributor who almost never comes off the field. His play could set the tone for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
