One storyline to follow in each Divisional Round game on TSN

How will the long rest affect the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday?

Will the elder statesman lead the Los Angeles Rams to an upset victory?

Here's a storyline to watch for every NFL playoffs matchup this weekend on TSN.

You can watch every Divisional Round game LIVE on TSN, and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App. Click here to see a schedule of all the games.

Rested Chiefs battle hungry Texans - but how much rest is too much?

The Kansas City Chiefs earned the AFC's top seed behind another brilliant season from head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company.

After a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day locked up the top seed, most starters sat for rest in the finale a week later, and, with the bye week given to the top seed, will have gone 24 days between playing an NFL game.

Twenty-four days of rest between games will set a new highest mark in NFL history (excluding games missed due to injury). The previous high mark is owned by Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, who sat 22 days before starting the Houston Oilers' game against the Chiefs in the Divisional Round in 1993 - a game the Oilers would lose 28-20.

The rest-versus-rust debate hangs around top-seeded teams each year, but the Chiefs have shown a remarkable ability to avoid playing rusty.

Head coach Reid is 32-7 in his career following a bye week, which is the best in NFL history among coaches with a minimum of 10 such games coached. Mahomes is 21-4 in games with 10+ days of rest in his career, also the highest by any QB since 1950 with a minimum of 10 such starts.

Kansas City won the only battle between these two teams in Week 15 earlier this year, by a score of 29-17.

"Hope to see y'all in the playoffs," Mahomes said to Texans QB C.J. Stroud on the field after the game.

Can Lions' battered and bruised defence stop hotshot rookie Jayden Daniels and the Commanders?

The top-seeded Detroit Lions take on the Washington Commanders in the late slot on Saturday.

Detroit's offence, led by quarterback Jared Goff and the two-headed rushing attack of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery was a juggernaut this season - their 564 points score this year is fourth-best in NFL history.

However, the three highest-scoring offences ahead of Detroit all failed to win a Super Bowl, and the phrase 'defence wins championships' is always hanging around the back of fans' minds.

Detroit's defence allowed 30+ points three times in the final five games of the season, including a 48-point thrashing at the hands of the Bills in Week 15.

The Lions finished 30th in passing yards allowed this season. The Lions have been sorely missing elite pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft that went down with a fractured tibia and fibula in Week 6, and ranked 23rd in sacks as a team (37.0) this season.

In addition to Hutchinson, the Lions have the following defensive players on injured reserve heading into the matchup: linemen Alim McNeill, Kyle Peko, Mekhi Wingo and Marcus Davenport, linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes and John Cominsky and defensive back Carlton Davis III.

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is likely to take home offensive rookie of the year honours after throwing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns while also adding 891 yards and six touchdowns rushing, and he has a chance to truly make his mark on the league by commandeering an upset victory over the wounded Lions defence.

Matt Stafford, the elder statesman, looks to lead the Rams to an upset victory over the Eagles

Gone are the days of veteran quarterbacks leading teams on deep playoff runs - the Tom Bradys, Peyton Mannings and Drew Breeses have all retired, and the younger generation of quarterbacks has taken over.

With the exception of one - Matt Stafford, quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams, who is trying to lead the team to an upset victory over Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Stafford is one of just five active quarterbacks to have won a Super Bowl title, along with Mahomes (three), Russell Wilson (one), Joe Flacco (one) and Aaron Rodgers (one).

His 16 seasons in the NFL dwarf the next-closest, Goff of the Lions, who is in his ninth NFL campaign. Every other starting QB remaining in the playoffs became NFL starters in 2018 or later.

Stafford ranks fourth in NFL history for playoff passing yards per game (296.9), owns the third-highest passer rating in playoffs history (103.0) and has thrown for 200+ yards with at least two touchdowns in six consecutive playoff games, a streak exceeded only by Rodgers (nine games), Terry Bradshaw (seven) and Flacco (seven).

The Rams will need Stafford to keep up his playoff magic if they're going to keep up with the Eagles and superstar running back Saquon Barkley on Sunday.

Barkley set Eagles franchise records when the Eagles beat the Rams 37-20 in Week 12, running for 255 yards and two touchdowns and finishing with 302 yards from scrimmage.

MVP favourites Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen lead the Ravens and Bills in a highly anticipated showdown

Josh Allen had a brilliant season for the Buffalo Bills, routinely making plays that left fans and coaches in awe.

The seventh-year quarterback had a stretch of games to end the season in which he accounted for 19 touchdowns with two turnovers and only one sack taken - a stretch that included wins over the two top teams in the NFL, the Chiefs and Lions.

For everything amazing he did though, Lamar Jackson, quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, was just as impressive.

Jackson finished his season with an incredible 41 touchdown passes against just four interceptions, adding 915 yards and four touchdowns rushing to go over 5,000 net yards on the year.

When the two teams met in Week 4, the Ravens crushed the Bills in Baltimore, 35-10. Running back Derrick Henry was unstoppable, totaling 209 yards from scrimmage with two touchdowns.

Both sides are looking forward to the matchup of two of the elites in the AFC, but both Allen and Jackson downplayed the significance of the quarterback matchup.

“That’s why you play this game to be in moments like these,” said Allen, before playing down the individual aspect of facing Jackson. “In the history of football, I’ve never really played against another quarterback.”

The 28-year-old Jackson, similarly, refused to make it personal.

“Excuse me for everybody watching, but I really don’t care who’s watching,” Jackson said of facing Allen. “We really don’t care how people feel about it. We’re trying to go in there and just win.”