Go here for this week's Passing Matchups.

Top Rushing Matchup

Philadelphia vs Kansas City

The Eagles are leveraging their run-heavy offense to carry them throughout the postseason. Saquon Barkley has been dominant throughout the playoffs, averaging 147 rushing yards per game with five touchdowns in three contests. Barkley has now topped 100 yards in nine of his last ten games. The Eagles have the league's best offensive line, led by their two elite All-Pro tackles, Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, while both guards, Landon Dickerson and Mekhi Becton, are elite run-blockers. Jalen Hurts adds another level of difficulty in stopping the run for opponents, especially in the red zone, as he has four rushing touchdowns over the last two games and has now run for a touchdown in five of his last six full games. The Eagles have shown that they're matchup-proof, as Barkley was the only running back who topped 100 yards against Baltimore earlier this season.

Kansas City's run defense was the best run defense of the regular season. They allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and the third-fewest rushing yards, as they allowed 70 rushing yards per game to opposing running backs. However, throughout the playoffs, it has been a different story. Both Joe Mixon and James Cook topped 80 yards in the two playoff games, and they've now allowed four running backs to top 70 yards in their last three games as Pittsburgh ran all over them in Week 17. Chris Jones is a game-wrecker along the defensive line, but this is a defensive line that is somewhat undersized as George Karlaftis, Charles Omenihu, and Mike Danna, who play a majority of the snaps on the defensive line, range from 255 to 280 pounds. Expect defensive tackle Mike Pennel to get more snaps than usual this week. At 335 pounds, he can clog up the defensive line and take some pressure off the linebackers. Linebacker Nick Bolton has struggled over the second half of the season, which has been a big reason for the team being more average in recent weeks compared to the elite run-stopping unit we saw early on in the year. Kansas City has been exposed in recent weeks against mobile quarterbacks, as they've allowed 39 rushing yards or more in each of their last four games. This unit blitzes heavily, and if the quarterback can break contain, they can succeed on the ground.

Bottom Rushing Matchup

Kansas City vs Philadelphia

Throughout the playoffs, Kansas City has largely eliminated the committee approach in favor of Kareem Hunt leading the way. Against Buffalo, Hunt had 17 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown, while Isiah Pacheco had just five carries for 12 yards. Pacheco saw a season-low 29% of snaps, while Hunt saw a season-high of 58% as they just trust Hunt more to gain consistent yardage despite not having as much upside of the home-run play as Pacheco brings. The Chiefs have largely stuck with a rushing approach between the tackles, running behind elite center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith, who has been an excellent run-blocker this season. The Chiefs' rushing attack has faced issues, largely due to the offensive line as they were forced to move All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney to left tackle due to the poor play of D.J. Humphrey at the position. Against Buffalo, we did see Patrick Mahomes II's rushing upside return as he ran the ball 11 times for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Philadelphia has one of the most complete rosters in the NFL this season. GM Howie Roseman has done a simply masterful job in building through the draft to build a cohesive defensive unit. The addition of linebacker Zack Baun has been a remarkable story, going from a one-year prove-it deal with Philadelphia after struggling with New Orleans to being a Defensive Player of the Year finalist. On the season, the Eagles have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points and the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game at just 80 to opposing running backs. The defensive line is a nightmare for opponents. This unit has significant cohesion due to the heavy drafting of Georgia Bulldogs as they took 2022 first-round pick Jordan Davis and 2023 first-round picks Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith Jr. Along with veteran Josh Sweat, this is a deep unit that can take advantage of holes along the offensive line. With left guard Mike Caliendo struggling, it will be difficult for the Chiefs to consistently move the ball against this defense. 2022 undrafted safety Reed Blankenship has been tremendous against the run, severely limiting opposing running backs' upside to break a long run against this defense. With Kareem Hunt getting most of the work for the Chiefs, it would seem unlikely that Kansas City would have an explosive run unless it came from Xavier Worthy, as Darius Slay Jr. has been a liability against the run.