The NFL playoffs continue to chug along, and we are now in the Divisional Round. With four teams facing off today in their quest for the Lombardi Trophy, we have an action-packed day of football. Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff are two of the more common names we have seen in the postseason so far, but newcomers like Jayden Daniels are looking to stamp their names in playoff history.
Let’s take a look at all the NFL games on TV today, how you can watch, and what you can look forward to!
NFL Games Today: How to Watch Texans vs. Chiefs
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 18
- Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
- TV Channels: ABC, ESPN
- Live Stream: ESPN+
- Where: Arrowhead Stadium
Texans Stats and Insights
In the Wild Card game against the Chargers, Eric Murray returned an interception for a touchdown, giving the Texans their fourth non-offensive TD in three playoff games over the past two seasons. For context, every other team has only one non-offensive TD since the start of last postseason.
Texans Non-Offensive in Postseason Since 2023:
- Eric Murray: 38-yard interception return vs Chargers in 2024 Wild Card
- Steven Nelson: 82-yard interception return vs. Browns in 2023 Wild Card
- Christian Harris: 36-yard interception return vs. Browns in 2023 Wild Card
- Steven Sims: 67-yard punt return vs. Ravens in 2023 Divisional Round
Dating back to 2020, the Texans actually have a return TD on either defense or special teams in 4 straight playoff games. That ties the longest streak in NFL history with the Chicago Bears from 1940-42.
Houston converted just 49.1% of their red zone trips into touchdowns this regular season (26th). The 2015 Broncos were the last team to post a sub-50% rate and advance to championship weekend.
The Texans average 26.1% more points per drive on the road than at home this season, the second-highest adjustment in the league (Seahawks: +51.7%). The other road teams this weekend:
- Commanders: +11.6% (6th)
- Ravens: 0% (T-11th)
- Rams: -13.6% (21st)
Chiefs Stats and Insights
Patrick Mahomes earned an 84.8 grade in our QB+ metric this season, ranking 10th in the NFL. While below his career norm, it was an improvement over his 81.5 score from last season.
Patrick Mahomes’ rates when throwing from outside of the pocket over the past four regular seasons:
- 2021: 8.2 yards per attempt, 8.1% TD rate
- 2022: 7.3 yards per attempt, 7.3% TD rate
- 2023: 6.4 yards per attempt, 4.9% TD rate
- 2024: 5.6 yards per attempt, 4.5% TD rate
In 2022, the Chiefs ranked dead last in percentage of opponent red zone passes that resulted in a touchdown (32.9%, league average: 23.1%). That ranking improved to 24th in 2023 (25.8%, league average: 23.5%). And again to 7th in 2024 (21.3%, league average: 24.8%),(they ranked 4th through Week 17 at 18.9%).
From Weeks 15 to 17—excluding Week 18, when most playmakers rested—the Chiefs’ defense allowed a touchdown on only two of seven opponent red zone drives.
DeAndre Hopkins has maxed out at a 63.1% snap share with Kansas City and now faces competition from a healthy Hollywood Brown, who has been targeted on 44.1% of his routes in the two games since his return.
NFL Games Today: How to Watch Commanders vs. Lions
- Date: Saturday, January 18
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: Fox
- Live Stream: Hulu
- Where: Ford Field
Washington Stats and Insights
Since the start of 2022, the Lions have a 73.8% win percentage against teams without a true weapon of a runner under center and a 54.5% mark when facing such an asset – Jayden Daniels certainly falls into that second bucket of QB.
On Sunday night, Daniels completed 58.3% of his pressured passes with two scores and zero interceptions (regular season: 46.4% complete with 1.6 touchdowns-per-interception).
The Commanders scored on 62.5% of their drives in the Wild Card Round and are near unstoppable when having success even close to that level (13-2 when scoring on over one-third of their offensive possessions).
Washington posted a 66.7 Def+ grade on Sunday night, their fourth-worst effort of the season. That said, two of those four instances have come against the Buccaneers, making that potentially a tough matchup more than something to fear moving into the Divisional Round.
Lions Stats and Insights
The Lions scored 41 points against the Chargers last season coming off their bye. They hung 47 on the Cowboys this season and are now coming off another bye week.
Jared Goff finished the season with a 93.2 grade in our QB+ metric, the 11th-best mark in our six years of tracking (second best this season, trailing Lamar Jackson).
The Lions ranked third in fourth down conversions during the regular season (22) and tied for 7th in fourth down conversion rate (66.7%).
Detroit’s offense gets the attention, but their defense, for the season, ranked seventh in turnover rate and red zone efficiency.
The Lions have covered 70% of their games since Dan Campbell took over (49-21-1), easily the best mark in the league (the Bengals at 61.6% are the only other team at 58%).
