The Super Bowl is just two games away, and these teams are the likeliest to reach American sport's biggest night...
Seattle Seahawks to beat Atlanta Falcons – {ODDS:129894207:19/10}
Despite their impressive regular season record, it is difficult to see the Falcons easing past a hardened playoff team like the Seahawks.
Seattle reached consecutive Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015, and quarterback Russell Wilson has won eight and lost three of his 11 career postseason games.
Atlanta, meanwhile, have not been in the postseason since 2012, and although quarterback Matt Ryan is an MVP candidate this year, he has lost four of his five playoff starts.
The Falcons were beaten when these teams met in Seattle earlier this season, scoring just 23 points – their third-lowest total of the year.
Seattle’s defence – which has allowed the fifth-fewest yards, fifth-fewest touchdowns and third-fewest points this season – will likely cause them problems again this week.
That the Falcons lost three home games this season also suggests that playing in Atlanta will not be a significant advantage.
New England Patriots to beat Houston Texans – {ODDS:129997075:1/15}
The Patriots have not lost in the divisional round since 2010, and that won’t change here against the offensively-challenged Texans.
Tom Brady’s playoff record of 22 wins and eight defeats makes him one of the most successful postseason quarterbacks ever.
In fact, Brady has played in five times as many playoff games as the Texans have in the history of their franchise.
His opposite number, Houston’s Brock Osweiler, has little chance of winning this passing duel, given that he lost his starting job in December and is only playing now because of an injury to Tom Savage.
The Texans’ defence has kept them in plenty of games this season, and would give them a chance of winning against the majority of playoff teams.
But the Patriots have conceded fewer points than any team this year. They are the strongest all-round team in the AFC, and will win this mismatch.
Kansas City Chiefs to beat Pittsburgh Steelers – {ODDS:129997169:4/5}
On the surface, the Steelers seem an easy choice here, given that they have won eight consecutive games and beat the Chiefs back in Week 4.
But Kansas City have had great success shutting down top-10 offenses since that result, beating the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders (twice) and Atlanta Falcons and conceding an average of just 17.2 points per game.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has had another stellar season, but he is dealing with a niggling foot injury and his tendency to throw interceptions will likely hurt Pittsburgh this week.
No team has recorded more picks than the Chiefs this year, and Roethlisberger has thrown seven in his past four starts.
Kansas City won six of their eight games at home this season, and have only lost twice over the last 12 weeks of the season.
Well-rested after a bye over wildcard week, their seventh-ranked defence should see them advance to the AFC Championship game.
Dallas Cowboys to beat Green Bay Packers – {ODDS:130006373:5/11}
Aaron Rodgers’ outstanding second half of the season has propelled Green Bay into the divisional round, and himself into the MVP race.
Unfortunately for the Packers quarterback, it is hard to see his team advancing past a Cowboys side that features two rookies in the running for the NFL’s top individual prize.
Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have been inconceivably good in their first professional season, and their combined impact has made the Cowboys’ offense the fifth-best in the league.
But it is their fifth-ranked defence that will prove the key to beating Green Bay this week, just as they did at Lambeau Field in Week 6.
Dallas have allowed the fewest rushing yards of any team in the NFL this season, and Green Bay have struggled all year when their ground attack has been bottled up.
Given that they lost four of the last seven games in which they recorded fewer than 85 rushing yards, a repeat result of that previous meeting looks likely.
