Top-seeded Lions and Chiefs avoid upsets; Ravens or Bills in epic tilt?

Why Gennaro picked the Chiefs: Both teams annoyed us during the regular season, but there are levels to this. The back-to-back reigning champion Chiefs won 15 of their first 16 games, took a ninth straight division title and clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed on Christmas. And yet, they caught flak for the way they won, often playing with their food before eating a W. Compare that to the Texans, who won five of their first six games … then underwhelmed for the better part of three months to ultimately take the AFC’s worst division almost by default. Owning a quintessentially average point differential of ZERO, Houston opened the playoffs as a home underdog — or, as some opined, a “bye week” for the visiting Chargers.

Here’s the interesting part, though: DeMeco Ryans’ group impressively rallied on Wild Card Weekend, smashing the Bolts, 32-12, while showcasing the kind of suffocating pass rush that could exploit Kansas City’s well-documented protection issues. Furthermore, the Texans played a tight game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium less than a month ago. So, what’s stopping me from predicting Houston will flip the script on Saturday?

Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.

Kansas City’s head coach boasts a remarkable career record of 32-7 after a bye, leading me to believe that, yes, he will have a plan to stymie edge monsters Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. As for the Chiefs’ quarterback? Well, this is the time of year when the man’s fully locked in. Just ask him about this past Sunday, when his wife gave birth to the couple’s third child.

“It was cool that football was on TV when I was in the hospital, so I got to watch a little bit,” Mahomes said. “Brittany was kind enough to let us watch football as she was getting ready to give birth to our second daughter.”