As we plunge into the divisional playoffs, pundits are asking: can Josh Allen upstage Patrick Mahomes? Will Donald and Von Miller sink Tom Brady's Buccaneers? How healthy are King Henry and Sir Julio? Will Green Bay send the 49ers packing, or will Bosa and the boys drastically reduce the Rodgers Rate?

But let's not forget those chess masters operating in the background, tablets and play sheets in their hands, headphones on their grey heads. These are the generals directing their soldiers and spies.

Steve Spagnuolo of the Chiefs is versed in many defensive strategies. He will likely employ a 'robber' or 'spy' to mirror Josh Allen as he moves across the field. Allen threw five TD passes against New England, but it was his mobility that shot the Patriots down. In Week 17, a different general, Dean Pees of the Falcons, had his rooks shadow Allen, batting and tipping several passes. The Bills won the game, but Allen threw three picks and no TDs.

On Sunday, Captain Brady will be without some of his top guns after Leonard Fournette and others went down. Unlike Allen, Brady is the consummate pocket quarterback. That could make life simpler for the Ram defense, which caged the Cardinals' Kyler Murray.

But Brady and Mike Evans can dink a defense to death with short passes. The Rams counter with the golden Cooper Kupp and that unpredictable knave, OBJ.

Can those miner Forty-Niners bury the scoring machine known as the Packer offense? While the first strategy that comes to mind is a potent pass rush, let's not forget the ability of Kyle Shanahan to engineer a ball-control offense that wins time of possession and keeps the Jolly Rodgers docked.

And, finally, who dey think dey gonna beat dem Titans? Why, it's that young prince, Joe Burrow, flanked by his squires, Joe Mixon and the league's top rookie wide receiver, Ja'marr Chase. The Bengals will now test their newly-forged mettle down there in Tennessee. If King Henry and Sir Julio are as "back to normal" as the reports say, then it might take an act of Zeus himself to raise the orange and black to victory.

So, as the old generals put the final touches on their battle plans and the field generals practice their parrying and marksmanship, we mere observers gleefully await the weekend wars. The jousting commences on Saturday. By Sunday, the smoke clears, and the world will know which four combatants are in the conference championships.

Last week, my picks went 4-2. I will now close my eyes, summon the oracle, and point to this week's winners.

Bengals at Titans Titans
Rams at Buccaneers Rams
49ers at Packers Packers
Bills at Chiefs Chiefs.

And so, fans, avoid the nicks, bullets and cannon fire. Find a safe place on a soft couch and shelter there. It's going to be a spectacle, so ready your grog and your chips.