Three wild card games from the NFL playoffs have ended and the AFC teams’ matchups in the divisional rounds have officially been determined. The Baltimore Ravens travel to the Buffalo Bills next weekend, while the Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans.

To take a look at these matchups, we asked our NFL Nation reporters to pick out something we learned about the teams they’re covering during the wild card round. (For the Chiefs who didn’t play this week, we asked Adam Teicher to provide an injury update.) Seth Walder also examined how each team can win to advance to the conference championships, and we provided opening lines from ESPN BET.

Let’s start with the No. 1 seed Chiefs meeting the Texans. And check back as the NFC division battles solidify. We will also be previewing these games.

Jump to a matchup:
HOU-KC | BAL BUF

AFC

Opening line: KC -8 (42.5)

Matchup background: The Chiefs and Texans faced off in Week 16, with Kansas City winning 27-19. The last playoff meeting between these two franchises came in the 2019 wild card round, when the Chiefs erased a 24-0 second-quarter deficit to beat Houston 51-31. Kansas City won the Super Bowl that season. – ESPN

Chiefs injury update: The Chiefs should have all of their starters and key players on their active roster available for the divisional round. That includes defensive tackle Chris Jones, who hasn’t played since Week 15 due to a calf strain. Running back Isiah Pacheco and offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor have also missed time recently due to injuries but should be ready to play. Starting cornerback Jaylen Watson, who has been on injured reserve since breaking his ankle in Week 7 against the 49ers, has also practiced and could be activated. – Adam Teicher

What we learned about the Texans in the wild card round: After an up-and-down regular season, the Texans made outstanding contributions in all three phases in their 32-12 victory over the Chargers in the wild-card round. Quarterback CJ Stroud threw for 282 yards and running back Joe Mixon rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown. The defense intercepted Justin Herbert four times, resulting in the third-worst overall QBR of his career as a starter (13.0). Cornerback D’Angelo Ross also blocked a punt and returned the favor with a blocked extra-point attempt for a score. — DJ Bien Aime

Why the Chiefs will win: Well, the main reason the Chiefs won is because they are playing the Texans. Despite advancing to the divisional round, Houston has not been a consistently effective offensive team since losing Stefon Diggs (knee) in Week 8. As of Week 9, the Texans rank 27th in EPA per play on offense – including negative EPA per play on both dropbacks and designed runs against the Chargers.

Of course, the Chiefs bring more than their fair share of strengths to the table, starting with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but not even stopping there. Coming into this season, you could argue that the Chiefs lacked game-winning receivers. But today it’s a different story: Kansas City traded for DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown returned from injury, and Xavier Worthy showed growth late in the season. Plus, it’s at least possible that tight end Travis Kelce was simply saving his strength for the postseason. Add that offense to a defense that still boasts some elite talent in Jones and Trent McDuffie, and Kansas City is a formidable opponent any playoff team, let alone the Texans. — Walder

Why the Texans will win: Their pass rush. As ugly as the Texans’ offense has been for most of the season – and frankly, it wasn’t great in their win over the Chargers – their pass rush always gives them a chance. Danielle Hunter led the NFL with a pass-rush win rate of 26% in the regular season, and he and Will Anderson Jr. were both over 25% in that category on Saturday. (Denico Autry was at 21% and also delivered a sack.) These edge rushers against the Chiefs’ tackles represent a category in which the Texans – who are deserving underdogs – will have a clear advantage over Kansas City.

The back end of the defense is also important. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. had a great regular season, earning two picks against Los Angeles. And don’t sleep on CB Kamari Lassiter, who didn’t allow a single reception as the next defensive lineman and also had a pick, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. — Walder

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Opening line: BUF -1 (51.5)

Matchup background: The Ravens and Bills faced off in Week 4, with Baltimore handing Buffalo a 35-10 loss – the third-worst loss of quarterback Josh Allen’s career. Lamar Jackson and Allen have only played each other once in the playoffs, and Allen has the advantage. Buffalo defeated Baltimore 17-3 in the 2020 divisional round. – ESPN

What we learned about the Bills in the Wild Card Round: This Bills team may not have reached its peak yet. Before the game against the Broncos, cornerback Rasul Douglas said the Bills hadn’t played their best yet, and Saturday’s win suggested he might have been right. Buffalo scored 31 unanswered points and the defense limited the Broncos to 2 of 9 on third down despite not forcing a takeaway, one of the unit’s strengths. But the Bills will try to avoid another slow start. — Alaina Getzenberg

What we learned about the Ravens in the wild card round: Jackson has proven he can be successful in the early postseason. In winning his last three playoff openers, he recorded an overall QBR above 80, completed 70% of his pass attempts and threw four touchdown passes to one interception. The challenge for Jackson was the encore. He followed a win with a loss in each of the last two playoffs, posting a QBR of 44, a 56% completion percentage and one touchdown throw with two interceptions. –Jamison Hensley

Why the Bills will win: Josh Allen. Forgive the obvious answer here, but it’s just reality. It’s fourth-and-short? Allen can convert with his legs and running through a defense. Third and long? He can unleash an absurd pass, like his outrageous touchdown throw to Ty Johnson in the wild-card round (which actually came on fourth-and-1, but you get the point). All while being the best in the NFL at limiting mistakes. He had the lowest sack rate (2.6%) and ranked second in turnover rate (1.2%) during the regular season.

And the fact that he plays behind an offensive line that ranked third in pass block win rate in the regular season — and allowed just two sacks against a great Denver defense — certainly helps. As is the support Allen receives from his running backs. No team generated more EPA on running back targets than Buffalo.

The ravens could He’ll be without top wide receiver Zay Flowers (knee) again, and if he is, that’s certainly a plus for Buffalo. Although Baltimore has shown an ability to win on the ground, the Bills’ defense was better against the run (eighth in EPA per play against runs designed) than the pass (20th against dropbacks) in the regular season ). They struggled against scrambles, which will be a problem for Jackson. So the Bills will likely need a lot of points to beat Baltimore – with or without Flowers. — Walder

Why the Ravens will win: Their running attack is nearly unstoppable. Baltimore has shown it won’t hold back from using Jackson’s legs in the postseason – he ran 14 times (excluding kneeballs) in the Ravens’ win over the Steelers – and the combination of him and running back Derrick Henry is life for the defense brutal. Read plays in the wild card round were incredibly effective as the Steelers’ defenders were forced to cover for both Jackson and Henry, resulting in fewer players standing in the way of the actual ball carrier.

However, beating the Bills will require solid performance on both sides of the ball. Fortunately, that is no longer a problem for the Ravens. Because they moved Kyle Hamilton back to the primary safety position in Week 11, Baltimore ranks first in EPA allowed per game on defense, postseason included. — Walder