We're onto the divisional round of the 2021 NFL playoffs. On Sunday night, the Bills and Chiefs will try to come out on top of what should be a shootout.
How can each team playing on Sunday continue their playoff run at least another week and earn a bid to the conference championship games? We took a closer look at the game tape and outlined the winning blueprint for all eight teams. For each of the divisional-round matchups, we identified the biggest thing each team must do to create an advantage and win, picked a played to watch and pointed to a scheme that could make all the difference in the outcome. We're looking at personnel matchups, scheme advantages and coaching tendencies that can clear a path for every team to the next round -- and one step closer to Super Bowl LVI.
Here are the focal points, key game-breaking players and impact schemes for all four matchups. (We included ESPN's Football Power Index projections for each matchup, along with the current game lines.)