USF Bulls in the Pros: Divisional Playoff Round Preview

With the Wild Card games now over, the number of teams hoping to win the Lombardi trophy will get even smaller as the NFL Divisional Playoff round is scheduled to begin this weekend.

Let's take a look at the former Bulls who will be playing in these games, how they preformed last week, and what we can expect from them this week.

Jason Pierre-Paul- Tampa Bay Buccaneers OLB

With his two tackles and one pass deflection, JPP helped the Bucs defeat the Washington Football Team by the score of 31-23, their first playoff win since winning Super Bowl 37 in 2003.

With the win, the Bucs will now play a familiar NFC South nemesis in the New Orleans Saints. The Saints blew the Bucs out both times they played in the regular season and they have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, giving up only 29 sacks this season. The Bucs and JPP are in for a challenge.

JPP will need to show why he was selected to the Pro Bowl and continue to put pressure on Drew Brees in what could be Saints QB’s final game.

The Bucs and Saints will play on Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET on Fox.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling- Green Bay Packers WR

MVS and the Packers got the benefit of resting last week as the top-seed of the NFC.

MVS has been a solid member of the Packers’ receiving core all-season and they’ll most likely need to rely on his pass-catching abilities when facing a challenging Los Angeles Rams secondary featuring the likes of Jalen Ramsey, Jordan Fuller, and Darious Williams covering the backfield. If MVS is to have an impact, he will need to find a way to break away from these talented defenders.

The Packers will host the Rams at Lambeau Field on Saturday at 4:35 p.m. ET on Fox

Austin Reiter- Kansas City Chiefs, C

Reiter and the Chiefs are the number one seed in the AFC and will be playing their first game of the playoffs this week when hosting the Cleveland Browns.

Reiter has been part of solid offensive line that have done a pretty good job of protecting the face of the NFL, Patrick Mahomes, by only giving up 24 sacks this season. They are tasked with trying to limit pressure on the franchise when lining up against one of the NFL’s most talented defensive ends, Myles Garrett.

Reiter and the Chiefs will welcome the Browns to Arrowhead on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. ET on CBS.

D’Ernest Johnson- Cleveland Browns, RB

Johnson dressed in the Browns’ drought-ending win over the Pittsburg Steelers but did not have any carries.

The Baker Mayfield-led Browns will need to keep up with high-powered Kansas City offense, matching touchdowns with touchdowns of their own. Cleveland will likely heavily rely on star running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt meaning absent an injury, Johnson will most likely see little-to-no playing time outside of special teams.

If you haven’t already, check out this amazing mini-doc on the Junkyard Dog: