The NFL's wacky wild-card weekend is in the books, and for those who need a quick refresher, it was an unprecedented couple of days. For the first time in playoff history, all four road teams won in either a wild-card or a divisional round. Two of those teams, Seattle and Pittsburgh, needed nothing short of a miracle to move on. The other two, Green Bay and Kansas City, were flat-out dominant against the wildly overmatched Washington and Houston.
With that in mind, here are the key factors to each game in round two.
Kansas City at New England -- 4:35 p.m. EST, Saturday (CBS)
The last time these two met was a Week 4 battle last season in which Tom Brady endured one of the worst losses of his career while throwing for a measly 159 yards and two picks. You know what came next. Expect something much different this Saturday, but don't rule out Andy Reid, whose red-hot Chiefs have rattled off 11 straight wins to become the first 1-5 team in 45 years to make the playoffs.
They've done it behind terrific defense and the steady hand of veteran quarterback Alex Smith. How that defense checks Julian Edelman will determine whether or not Reid and company move on. Edelman, returning from a broken foot that forced him to miss seven games, says he's ready to go "full throttle." That's a boon for the Super Bowl-defending Pats, who are 9-0 this season with Edelman in the lineup and just 3-4 without him.
Edelman's superior quickness will force the Chiefs' defense not to merely double-team Rob Gronkowski, whose efficiency numbers -- along with Brady's -- have been significantly reduced sans Edelman. Furthermore, how the Chiefs elect to cover him will be crucial: Rookie cornerback Marcus Peters -- whom The Huffington Post recently profiled -- earned Pro Bowl honors. His eight interceptions ranked tied for first in the NFL, and the dynamic Edelman will surely be one of his most serious tests yet.
If Peters holds up, we could be looking at Kansas City's second postseason victory since Joe Montana was under center. But that's a big if.
Green Bay at Arizona -- 8:15 p.m. EST, Saturday (NBC)
Balance is the vital factor for the Packers, as six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews recently told HuffPost -- and balance is something they had in abundance against Washington's team last week. Thirty-two runs and 36 passes will do that for you. But in an embarrassing 38-8 defeat in Week 16 at Arizona, Aaron Rodgers was sacked eight times. The game got completely out of hand (Carson Palmer torched the Packer defense for 238 yards in the first half), and balance went out the window.
Even with Rodgers at the helm, this is clearly not the Packers offense of last year. The absence of All-Pro wide receiver Jordy Nelson forced the slot-oriented Randall Cobb into a role that doesn't suit him. In addition, the woeful regression of third-year running back Eddie Lacy (758 yards, 3 touchdowns) has essentially eliminated the threat of play-action.
The NFC West champ Cardinals have a tremendous offense, but the heartbeat of this team all year has been one of the league's premier defensive units, ranking fifth in total defense. Head coach Bruce Arians desperately wants to get after Rodgers, attacking a makeshift Packers offensive line that has struggled in pass protection all year. But Arizona doesn't excel at rushing the passer. It ranked just 20th in sacks, relying more on its secondary to shut down the aerial attack. That's why the loss of stellar free safety Tyrann Mathieu, who departed in late December with a torn ACL, could end up handing the Packers a victory.
Green Bay has to find running room early and it has to keep its franchise quarterback upright. If the Packers cannot accomplish this, a balanced offensive game plan once again goes out the window, and so do any chances for a potential road upset.
Seattle at Carolina -- 1:05 p.m. EST, Sunday (FOX)
Seattle and Carolina are mirror images of one another. Both teams can boast of superb dual-threat quarterbacks, shutdown defenses, aggressive