NFL Divisional Playoffs 2017: Will Road Teams Struggle to Compete?

Home teams decimated their Wild Card competition, but will the momentum carry over? Will they now struggle on the road in the NFL Divisional Playoffs?

Cinderella stories are for suckers, because nothing is better than the best teams facing off. After a lopsided Wild Card Weekend, that’s exactly who’s left in the 2017 NFL Playoffs—the best teams.

NFL Divisional Round: Picks and Score Predictions for Every Game

Will the momentum carry over for our Wild Card winners, or will they struggle on the road in the 2017 NFL Divisional Playoffs? Who impressed with their performance and who’s in trouble?

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem discuss the 2017 NFL Playoffs in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

Upsets are for suckers. You know who loves a good Cinderella story? Wimps and children! We, as football fans, should want the best teams in the sport to advance each round, giving us the best games and most exciting contests possible. After wild upsets seemingly every year, we finally had a clean sweep of favorites in the Wild Card Round. This sets us up for what should be a tremendous divisional round.

Obviously, I had personal rooting interest in at least one game this past weekend. Besides that, everyone who won was the best-case scenario. Each victory gives us the best possible games this coming round. In the NFC, we have the four best, most talented teams remaining. In the AFC, we have the three elite clubs…and the Houston Texans. After the Derek Carr injury, there was no good fourth team for this equation, so we still have the best of the best.

Those people who say they love upsets and unexpected results are the same people who would have been whining if Detroit or Miami were playing on Sunday. No one wants to watch those teams again! Let’s be real.

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With how impressive each of the four winners looked, do you see that carrying over to the Divisional Round? We need to make sure we aren’t overreacting to one outcome, especially since some of these wildcard wins came against pretty bad teams. Oakland (now) and Detroit are not good teams. New York only plays one side of the ball. We will find out how much everyone thought of these first-round wins when we examine the lines for Round 2 later in the week. But for now, did any team legitimately impress you?

The Sunday winners are my answer. Pittsburgh’s offense was unbelievably explosive. That has to scare anyone. Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell remain the best duo in the NFL. And Green Bay’s win was amazing because of how they won. The Packers, after losing Jordy Nelson, put up 38 on what was possibly the best defense in the postseason. I’m still worried about Green Bay facing a good offense, which New York is not, but Aaron Rodgers and Co. can score on anyone at any time.

Dan Salem:

I was disappointed that the Wild Card Round was not competitive. I want to watch good football games, not blowouts. Yet I’m happy with the results, as we now have the best possible scenario for week two of the playoffs. Upon further review, I put very little stock into the blowout victories. Only the Packers impressed me over the weekend. Every other team that won has reason for concern when playing on the road in the Divisional Round.

Green Bay looked unstoppable against New York and that should scare Cowboys fans to the core. Dallas will get the Packers at home, but their slightly above average defense can only hope to slow down Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay proved it can quiet a potentially explosive offense, yet Dallas is certainly better than the Giants, especially in the running game. After witnessing the Packers rack up points, the matchup with Dallas is looking like a shootout in the making. Ball control will be key for the Cowboys, while Green Bay must keep on rolling. The Packers put the league on notice.

Our other three Wild Card winners took care of business, but I can’t say I was overly impressed. I liked how Houston handled a better Oakland team, albeit at home and facing a rookie quarterback. The Texans defense convinced me they can contain the Patriots, but I have no more confidence in the team as a whole winning on the road against New England. The same goes for Pittsburgh. That game was much closer than the final score. If not for Miami fumbling in the red zone multiple times, we might not be looking so highly upon the Steelers. Their offense looked powerful, but the Dolphins pass defense is not good. Kansas City at home will be a very different story. That brings me to Seattle, who now travels to Atlanta after holding off a depleted Detroit. The Seahawks won at home, but they still have a lot to prove.

Next: 20 Bold Predictions for the Divisional Playoffs

The blowouts surprised me because I thought these teams were more evenly matched. I believe home-field advantage played a factor, as did major miss matches and turnovers. I’m leaning towards the Packers being the favorite against Dallas now, but our other three teams are still underdogs. They must now prove themselves versus their conference’s best teams.