With wild-card weekend in the rear-view mirror, the top seeds in the AFC and NFC have entered the playoff chat.
Divisional weekend kicks off with a Saturday double-header that features the 2020 MVP favourite against arguably the league’s top defence and a pair of electrifying young quarterbacks squaring off in Western New York.
To help get set for the action, here’s what to watch for in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS
Saturday, 4:35 p.m. ET
What Vegas is saying: Packers -6.5 | O/U 45.5
Notable Injuries
Packers: Kingsley Keke, DE (Out, concussion)
Rams: Cooper Kupp, WR (Out, knee); Terrell Lewis, LB (Out, ankle); John Wolford, QB (Out, neck); David Edwards, G (Out, ankle)
How they got here
Packers: With Aaron Rodgers back in MVP form, the Packers thrived in head coach Matt LaFleur’s second year in charge on the way to an NFC-best 13-3 record behind the league’s highest-scoring offence.
Rams: Sean McVay’s team was able to survive a worst-case scenario at quarterback on wild-card weekend thanks to an absolutely dominant defensive performance against division rival Seattle.
What To Watch For
MVP favourite Rodgers faces toughest test yet
It’s been a renaissance season for the 37-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who led the league with 48 touchdown passes in the regular season and quarterbacked his team to the second-best record in football. Along with a top offensive line (even without All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari), arguably the best receiver in the game in Davante Adams and a dangerous run game, Rodgers and the Packers are an offence to be reckoned with.
But in their first game of the playoffs, Green Bay faces what might be its toughest test of the season in the Rams defence, which allowed both the fewest points and yards in the regular season and is fresh off smothering Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offence last Saturday.
With juicy matchups all over the field – Adams vs. Jalen Ramsey and the Packers offensive line vs. Aaron Donald being our favourites – how the Packers fare against Brandon Staley’s defensive unit is must-watch TV.
Can elite Rams defence steal another one?
It’s been laid out above so we don’t need to belabour the point: the Rams defence is dominant.
But the offence, which is usually a strength of L.A.’s under Sean McVay, is in a bit of a funk these days because of a very sticky situation at quarterback. Not only is Jared Goff dealing with the effects of recent thumb surgery but he hasn’t been at his best in the second half of this season even when healthy.
John Wolford, the backup QB who led the Rams to the playoffs with a Week 17 win when Goff was sidelined, is out for Saturday’s game after suffering a neck injury against Seattle. So the options at quarterback are slim for an offence that has been struggling to find the end zone.
That means an upset win will almost definitely fall on the shoulders of the defence… again. Can they repeat last week’s performance and shock the Packers at Lambeau? It’s going to be a tall task, but the good news is defensive superstar Aaron Donald is a go despite leaving the wild-card game with a rib injury last week.
BALTIMORE RAVENS AT BUFFALO BILLS
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET
What Vegas is saying: Bills -2.5 | O/U 49.5
Notable Injuries
Bills: Darryl Johnson, DE (Questionable, knee)
Ravens: D.J. Fluker, G (Questionable, knee); Marcus Peters, CB (Questionable, back)
How they got here
Bills: Buffalo survived a scare from Philip Rivers and the Colts on wild-card weekend in the best game of the first round, mostly thanks to another MVP-type performance from Josh Allen.
Ravens: Lamar Jackson got the monkey off his back last weekend, earning his first playoff victory with a win over the Titans in which the reigning MVP torched Tennessee with his legs and the Ravens defence stuffed rushing champ Derrick Henry.
What To Watch For
Can Bills slow down Lamar and the Ravens?
Josh Allen put on a show in last week’s tight win over the Colts, and we expect the third-year Bills quarterback will be able to keep up his stellar season against the Ravens. But the biggest question heading into the divisional round for Buffalo is how the defence will slow down the quarterback on the opposite sideline.
Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier had success against the Ravens in their matchup last season, holding that prolific Ravens offence to its lowest total yards in a game in all of the 2019 regular season.
But that Bills defence was a top-three unit; the 2020 edition of the Buffalo defence is still above average but has had its ups and downs, which includes giving up 472 total yards to Indy last weekend.
Jackson and the Ravens offence has been explosive throughout their six-game win streak, averaging 425.5 total yards of offence – including 262.2 yards per game on the ground – and more than 34 points per contest over that span.
Can the Bills defence rebound from wild-card weekend to slow Lamar Jackson and get big stops? That will be the key to Buffalo advancing to its first AFC title game since 1993.
Will blitz-heavy Ravens get after Josh Allen?
During the regular season, no defence blitzed more than the Ravens: Baltimore rushed five or more players on 44.1 per cent of dropbacks, according to Pro Football Reference.
It’s a strategy that’s worked well for a defence that has been among the league’s best under defensive co-ordinator Don “Wink” Martindale the last three seasons, including in 2019 against Buffalo when Josh Allen struggled in a big way against the Ravens’ blitz.
In Josh Allen’s previous matchup with the Ravens, he was blitzed on a career-high 64% of dropbacks. Allen was sacked 5 times on blitzes (tied for the 2nd-most in a game since 2016) and lost -17.7 EPA (6th-worst by a QB).#BALvsBUF | #RavensFlockpic.twitter.com/ywICPZOrHW
But, unfortunately for the Ravens, success against the blitz is among the many incredible transformations Allen has undergone as a passer this season, and in 2020 the Bills QB has emerged as among the league’s best in that category.
Despite that marked improvement, Martindale says his defence won’t shy away from bringing the house against Allen in Saturday night’s prime-time showdown – and with good reason seeing how well it work last time. But Baltimore did show an openness last week to change tactics when blitzing wasn’t getting the desired results, and cut the percentage of dropbacks on which they blitzed Ryan Tannehill in half in the third and fourth quarter last Sunday – and it worked.
So will the Ravens blitz Allen Saturday at their normal rate, and if so, how will Allen fare? If Allen continues his success against the blitz, will Baltimore adjust on the fly?
Whatever happens, Saturday’s clash between two of the AFC’s most prolific teams will be fascinating.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
