The NFL's wild-card weekend for the 2021 season is over, and good riddance to it. Four of the six games were decided long before the start of the fourth quarter, including the Los Angeles Rams' victory Monday night over the Arizona Cardinals. The good news, of course, is that we're all set for what should be a much more competitive set of divisional-round matchups.
It's never too early to start looking ahead, and so what follows is a first glance at the upcoming divisional games. We know that we'll see three rematches of regular-season games -- 49ers-Packers, Bills-Chiefs and Rams-Buccaneers -- as well as a matchup between the Bengals and Titans. The winners of each game will advance to the conference championship games.
Let's explore how each team can win next week, identify the biggest things to watch for in each game, name an X factor who could impact the outcomes and update each franchise's chances to reach -- and win -- Super Bowl LVI.
Note: Odds and game lines are via Caesars Sportsbook. Predictions are from ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI).
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SF-GB | LAR-TB
CIN-TEN | BUF-KC
Super Bowl chances
NFC
