NFL playoff teams BUS rankings; previewing the divisional round

By Matt Provencher
Published

Wild card matchups are over, and eight teams remain as they face off for a spot in their respective conference championships. Last weekend had a lot of action as the Buffalo Bills narrowly escaped an upset against the Dolphins, the Jaguars had a wild comeback from a 27-0 deficit against the Chargers, and the Cowboys blew out Tom Brady and the Buccaneers even as kicker Brett Maher missed four extra points. 

This week shouldn't let us down either as we see three NFC East teams still in the hunt. The Giants will try to eliminate the NFC's No. 1 seeded Eagles in a game that Jalen Hurts is said to be fully back and healthy for. The Cowboys try to build on their win but have a tall task ahead of them as they face the 49ers and their strong defense. Patrick Mahomes is back in action this week after the Chiefs had a bye week to rest players, while the Bills take on the Bengals in what is sure to be the game of the weekend as both teams meet again after their canceled Week 18 game. 

The higher-seeded teams last weekend overall had better Banged Up Scores as well, and the healthier team won 4 of the 6 games. 

Health only gets more important this week in the divisional round as the stakes rise.

The Giants take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET on FOX.  Jalen Hurts' health will be a primary storyline to watch. He was taken off the injury report this week after missing two games before returning to seal the Eagles' top seed in Week 18. In that game, Giants head coach Brian Daboll chose to rest many starters and was still able to put up a fight against Philadelphia. The Giants have scored low in BUS ranking this season as their IR list has built up with season-ending injuries. They have, however, been able to cash in wins as others on the team have stepped up in the process. Meanwhile, the Eagles have been one of the healthiest teams all season and had just started to fall down the rankings late, with injuries to Hurts and others such as Avonte Maddox and Lane Johnson. 

The other NFC showdown on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX sees the Cowboys looking to upset the No. 2 seeded 49ers and derail Brock Purdy and their high-flying offense. They will have to face a strong defense to do so, however. The 49ers were relatively unscathed after their game against the Seahawks in the wild-card round. Dallas is dealing with injuries to Jayron Kearse and Micah Parsons, both of whom said they feel good and are ready to go this weekend. Both teams have been up and down in the Banged Up Score rankings this year, and this past weekend came into their games with a 68.7 (DAL) and 75.5 (SF) BUS. Two closely matched teams who are sure to put on a show. 

Make sure to check back this weekend for Updated BUS Rankings on ThePredictors.com as well as Twitter on @NFLonFOX and @SportsDocMatt to see the health matchups. 

Renowned orthopedist Dr. Matt Provencher and his company, ThePredictors.com, deliver data-driven injury insights to football fans. In this first-of-a-kind role as Athlete Injury and Performance Analyst for FOX Sports’ digital platforms, Provencher provides important predictive player health and recovery information about post-injury performance, the impact of weather, field conditions and more. 

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