Divisional Round One under-the-radar storyline for each team

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Divisional Round: One under-the-radar storyline for each team Published: Jan 09, 2018 at 07:04 AM Matt Harmon The eight remaining teams are set as we head into the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. While many of the top storylines surrounding each organization in this stage of the postseason have reverberated throughout league circles all season, certain players and interesting facts have slipped through the cracks. When you sit down this weekend to find out who will advance to the NFC and AFC Championship Games, remember the following eight under-the-radar stories, which relate to the teams, their players or how they're deploying their talent. Teams below are listed according to their playoff seeding. All the advanced metrics used in this article come from wealth of data. NFC PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (No. 1 seed): struggles under pre sure. The current starter -- pre sed into service by virtue of 's Week 14 knee injury -- is the quinte sential example of a statuesque pocket pa ser from days gone by in the NFL. Philadelphia's offense looked like a ghost of its once-dominant self to close out the regular season under Foles. Wentz showed so often that he could thrive outside of structure, but Foles lacks that ability: Foles' pa ser rating falls from 107.8 when kept clean to 23.8 when under Tobias Harris Jersey pre sure. The ' pa s protection will need to be pristine in the postseason. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (No. 2): excels in play-action. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur's work with Keenum is part of the reason again. NFL offenses don't make enough use of play-action, but Keenum threw 28.7 percent of his pa ses out of play-action during the regular season. Only (30.3 percent) and (29.1 percent) checked in with higher play-action rates among quarterbacks who took at least 25 percent of their team's dropbacks. Keenum's pa ser rating jumps from 92.8 to 111.8 when he throws out of play-action. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (No. 4): Their offensive line is the best in the NFL. and both made the , but not a single offensive lineman cracked the initial NFC roster. You'd think plowing the way for one of the NFL's most dynamic rushing attacks would be enough to earn at least one of the players along the front five a spot. The snub becomes more egregious when you consider New Orleans' pa s-protection prowe s. The led the NFL in Pro Football Focus' pa s blocking efficiency metric (with an 84.7 score) and allowed a league-low 68 hurries. , (in line to replace , who in the Wild Chris Paul Jersey Card Round), , and are names you should know. ATLANTA FALCONS (No. 6): The defensive tackles can bring pre sure. The signed 346-pound nose tackle away from the to help beef up the efforts of their front seven against the ground game. While Poe and his 19 run stops helped Atlanta field a top-10 rush defense, it's more surprising that he's been a big a set as a pa s rusher. Dan Quinn and Co. have cut Poe loose, teaming him with to form one of the best interior duos in the game. Both Jarrett (39) and Poe (36) rank inside the top 10 among defensive tackles in total pre sures this year. AFC NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (No. 1 seed): thrives despite drops. The ' pa s-catchers have dropped 30 targets from Brady this season. Brady and are the only two quarterbacks who saw their teammates drop at least 30 of their throws and still made the playoffs. Brady has lost 264 yards through the air due to receivers dropping pa ses this year. As if Brady needed any help to boost his resume, it's wild to think the MVP candidate could have stuffed the stat sheet even more than he did, had his receivers squeezed a few throws here or there just a bit tighter. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (No. 2): 's among the best slot receivers in the NFL. Smith-Schuster's story quickly drew national attention, but you might not know that the rookie was arguably the best slot receiver in the NFL this season. The USC product led all wide receivers in yards per route run (2.15) from the slot in 2017, and he didn't drop a single one of his targets from the slot. However, Smith-Schuster isn't just limited to the short Louis Williams Jersey areas, as some traditional slots are. The rookie caught 54.5 percent of his deep targets this year, best among wideouts who saw at least 25 percent of their team's deep pa ses. Pittsburgh snagged a special one in the second round. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (No. 3): is benefiting from easier routes. Bortles threw to his pa s-catchers on cro sing routes (22 percent) and "halfback non-screen" routes (18 percent) more than he did on any other patterns this season. That represents a shift from last season, when the go route (16 percent) was his most-targeted route. It's clear that Jacksonville's coaching staff wanted to eliminate some of those low-percentage throws from Bortles' plate. His playmakers have totaled a combined 865 yards after the catch on cro sing and halfback non-screen routes this season, making Bortles more of a point guard than he's been in previous years. TENNESSEE TITANS (No. 5): is more elusive than you might think. The ' offense looked more exciting than it had in months during Tenne see's in the Wild Card Round. To the surprise of few, it came with Henry leading the charge. The second-year back has quietly been one of the best at his position all season in limited action. Henry ranked ninth in Pro Football Focus' elusivene s rating among backs with at least 25 percent of their team's rush attempts. What's striking about this is that the ma sive Henry weighs 247 pounds, while all the other backs in the top 11 (scores above 55) weigh an average of 209.6 pounds. 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