Pittsburgh Steelers:

An even bigger factor of having Edelman back is teams can’t overload on covering Rob Gronkowski and he was extremely effective on Saturday with seven catches for 83 yards and two big touchdowns

Smith is the “X-factor” in both KC’s running and passing game. One thing to consider is that Bill Belichick has always been a bit passive when facing a quarterback who can run.

In a 180 degree swing from last week, all four home teams are favored in this weekend’s NFL division round playoffs. The Patriots are favored by 5 over KC, Denver by 6½ over Pittsburgh, Arizona by 7½ over Green Bay, and in the closest line Carolina – the team with the NFL’s best record – is only a 3-point home favorite over Seattle.

A look at the injuries suffered in the first two Wild Card weekend games shows why the Patriots value having a bye week so much and how important it is.

Between the regular season and playoffs of 2014, LaFell caught 87 passes for 1072 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Week 14 game was one of the chippiest of the 2015 season, a game that where many lambasted the officiating crew for letting the game get out of hand. That NFL handed out five fines to players following that game, but the NFL – in yet another questionable decision – has assigned the very same crew to officiate this game. Welcome to the world of decision making by Roger Goodell and his minions.

Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia had plans to beef up the front seven and trust in some young players in the secondary to carry the team this season.

The NFL regular season is supposed to reward teams with the best records with an advantage in the playoffs, but Vegas handicappers differ with their opinion. Of the four teams playing at home in the first round of the NFL playoffs only one is favored to win. Despite all the disparaging comments about their division, the NFC East lays claim to the only home favorite in the wild card round. The Washington Redskins are the sole lone favorite this weekend, and that is by just one point – despite the traditional three points being placed in favor of the home team. The Packer playoff mystique is long gone after last week’s home loss to the Vikings

Martin and LaFell contributed three catches for 11 yards against one of the poorer pass defenses in the league…that isn’t getting it done and is unacceptable.

Brady at age 38 is defying father time and not just playing at a high level, he’s at the pinnacle of NFL QBs

While many of the top NFL teams such as New England, Seattle, Carolina and Green Bay lost in Week 16, nobody was more negatively affected than the Pittsburgh Steelers. A shockingly flat performance against an injury-riddled Baltimore team that was forced to start an out-of-work Ryan Mallett at quarterback will most likely keep them out of post-season play. Losses by the Patriots and Panthers prevented those teams from securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs, but did not drop them in the playoff standings. Seattle’s loss at worse means only the difference between a fifth and sixth seed, and despite the Packers looking abysmal on Sunday night, they are still in the driver’s seat to win the division and claim the number three seed in the NFC.

The Patriots showed some grit coming back from a 17-3 deficit in the Meadowlands and sending the game into overtime, but the Jets produced in the extra session to easily go down the field and score.

While NFL Week 15 did not do much to the playoff picture other than end the misery for a handful of teams by officially eliminating them from post-season play, it did bring genuine contenders one step closer to clinching scenarios in Week 16. Eighteen teams still have at least a mathematical chance at a playoff spot with two weeks to go; that is surely something that Roger Goodell’s parity-driven Park Avenue league office that strives for participation banners is surely proud of.

In both conferences the race for the number five seed is nearly as meaningful as getting a first round bye. Both of the number five seeds will most likely be playing against a team with a .500 (or losing record). On the other hand the number six seed will have to go on the road against a ten or eleven-win club.

Mariota is completing 62.4 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2786 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 91.9 passer rating. All very respectable numbers especially for a rookie