The divisional round is here! Many NFL fans call this the best weekend of the year, with four games on tap that will narrow the field down for the conference championship games next Sunday. While much of the news this week has focused on the head coaching market, we are ready to pick some games.
In the first game of the weekend, the Bills opened the week as underdogs in Denver against the top-seeded Broncos, but four of our writers and editors think Buffalo will prevail.
On Saturday night, the Seahawks and 49ers will renew their NFC West rivalry in Seattle, and our editor, John Pluym, is the only one who thinks the banged-up 49ers will pull off the upset.
Sunday’s action begins in Foxborough, where the Texans will take on the Patriots. This is the one game where we are fully split, with three pickers on each side.
And the weekend will conclude in Chicago, where Conor Orr is the only one on our panel who has Ben Johnson’s wild ride continuing and ending the Rams’ season.
Here’s who we have making picks this season:
Conor Orr, senior writer
Gilberto Manzano, staff writer
Matt Verderame, staff writer
John Pluym, managing editor
Mitch Goldich, senior editor
Clare Brennan, associate editor
All picks are straight up. Visit SI Betting for picks against the spread and much more gambling content.
SI graphic
Green squares denote upsets.
Bills at Broncos
- Clare Brennan: Bills
- Mitch Goldich: Bills
- Gilberto Manzano: Broncos
- Conor Orr: Broncos
- John Pluym: Bills
- Matt Verderame: Bills
49ers at Seahawks
- Clare Brennan: Seahawks
- Mitch Goldich: Seahawks
- Gilberto Manzano: Seahawks
- Conor Orr: Seahawks
- John Pluym: 49ers
- Matt Verderame: Seahawks
Texans at Patriots
- Clare Brennan: Patriots
- Mitch Goldich: Texans
- Gilberto Manzano: Texans
- Conor Orr: Texans
- John Pluym: Patriots
- Matt Verderame: Patriots
Rams at Bears
- Clare Brennan: Rams
- Mitch Goldich: Rams
- Gilberto Manzano: Rams
- Conor Orr: Bears
- John Pluym: Rams
- Matt Verderame: Rams
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