Last week’s Divisional Round was filled with great moments and plenty of excitement, but this week is almost sure to top that. All of the favorites won last week, making for some hard-hitting, high scoring games. While the outcomes are still to be determined, we can safely say that the games will be exciting and hard to call.

New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos

The Patriots flexed their muscles and showed why they are undefeated at home with their 43-22 win over the Colts. With LeGarrette Blount rushing for 166 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries and without Tom Brady throwing for a single touchdown, the Patriots still blew the Colts out of the playoffs. Another big factor in that game was the Patriots’ great defensive play. They picked off Andrew Luck four times and allowed only 69 total rushing yards while they were on the field. The only negative to come out of that game was an injury to the shoulder of their punter Ryan Allen. With Allen out, their placekicker, Stephen Gostkowski, took over the punting duties. This could prove to be problematic in their matchup with the Broncos, in which field position will matter and punters are indispensable.

While the Patriots beat the Colts by a large margin, the Broncos had to play a little harder to win their game. The Broncos had to fend off a late comeback by the Chargers, but held on to win 24-17. They won on the strength of another impressive game by Peyton Manning, who threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns with a quarterback rating of 91.1, while Knowshon Moreno ran for 82 yards and a touchdown. Although the stats may not be there for the Broncos’ defense, who recorded no interceptions and whose leading tackler had only four tackles, they played a good game as a unit. They allowed only 259 total yards and held the Chargers to 4-12 on third down attempts. One key problem that the Broncos will have to face is the injury to their cornerback Chris Harris Jr. He will likely be inactive in this week’s game, which could allow New England a chance to attack the Broncos’ depleted and inexperienced secondary.

The question now is “Who wins?” It’s nearly impossible to pick between the two players whose play has defined a generation of football, but they can’t both win. Both teams are riding a lot of momentum coming into this game; the Patriots have found new life in their running game while the Broncos have beaten back one of their biggest rivals. The difference-maker in this game is going to be the defensive secondaries and which team can stop the other’s prolific quarterback. That edge goes to the experienced New England Patriots. They’ve been in this situation before and they know how to win. This game will definitely be high-scoring and close, but the Broncos will end up being just another stepping stone in Tom Brady’s quest for a record-setting sixth Super Bowl appearance and fourth Super Bowl victory.

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks

The 49ers are the only road team that won in the Divisional Round, but no one was surprised due their explosive offensive and ferocious defense. While Colin Kaepernick didn’t have a spectacular day, only throwing for 196 yards and running for 15 yards and accounting for two total touchdowns, and Frank Gore had a mediocre day with only 92 total yards, the 49ers still came out on top by a score of 23-10 over the Panthers.  This win was largely accredited to their stout defensive play. The 49ers’ defense finished that game with two interceptions, five sacks, and nine total hits on the opposing quarterback. It’s hard to rely on your defense to put in that kind of effort week-in and week-out, but the 49ers have proven over the course of the season that they are a defensive unit that should be both respected and revered.

On the other side of the field Sunday will be the Seattle Seahawks. Their 23-15 win over the Saints, in which they were outgained on yards 409-277, showed why it is so difficult to win in Seattle. Even when the offense takes a game off, their defense is there to pick up the slack. The only bright spot on offense for the Seahawks was Marshawn Lynch’s 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He produced more than half of their offense’s total yards. That’s almost unheard of in today’s NFL. It’s even more amazing that the Seahawks’ defense can hold the opposition to a league-low 14.4 ppg. Their defense also turned in three hits on the quarterback and an astonishing 74 total tackles. One big question mark moving forward for the Seahawks is the health of wide receiver Percy Harvin. Harvin had just returned from hip surgery for the game against the Saints, but suffered a concussion late in the first half of that game. Without Harvin, the Seahawks lose a potential big-play receiver.

This game is going to be hard to pick, and even harder on the offensive players who have to go up against these great smashmouth, old school defenses. It’s refreshing to see the league reverting back to it’s glory days of amazing passers and even better pass-rushers. The key for either team coming out victorious in this game is going to be their defence’s ability to disrupt the other team’s young quarterback. One big factor is the famous 12th Man. The 12th Man is the embodiment of the loud and proud Seahawks fans. I think that the 12th Man is going to play a big part in determining the outcome of this brutal slugfest, and that outcome is going to be in the Seahawks’ favor as they win this low-scoring, battle of the defenses.

These two matchups are almost exact opposites of each other. The Patriots-Broncos game is going to be a high-scoring game where the winner will be the team that can put more points on the board. The 49ers-Seahawks game will be low -scoring game in which the winner will be the team that can hit harder and stop the other team more times than they are stopped. Even with such diversity, the NFL Playoffs manage to hold our attention and keep us on the edge of our seats until the final tick of the clock.