Still exhausted after last weekend’s NFL Super Wild Card marathon? Well, too bad, because we have another big weekend of playoff football ahead of us to enjoy. The Divisional Round is down to the final eight teams, so let's get to it.
This weekend's games will seem a little blah without Spongebob or slime cannons after we were treated to a delight of a broadcast from Nickelodeon last weekend. Nonetheless, fans still have plenty to bet on with the Super Bowl closing in and stakes for teams even higher.
Tom Brady will face off against Drew Brees in the geriatric matchup, Josh Allen will try to keep the Buffalo Bills’ Super Bowl hopes alive against the Baltimore Ravens, and who knows what else is going to happen on Divisional Round Weekend. Let’s take a look at how the odds stack up and which teams are most likely to move one step closer to a spot in Super Bowl LV.
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Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook as of Thursday
Green Bay Packers (-6.5, O/U 45.5) vs. Los Angeles Rams
The line for this game opened at -7 on Monday and is down to -6.5 as of Thursday, but Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback to beat in this one. Green Bay is looking to reach its second consecutive NFC Championship Game and is on a six-game winning streak. I don’t like to bet against momentum.
The Rams upset the Seattle Seahawks on Wild Card Weekend but now they’re playing in Green Bay, where the temperature is expected to be close to or below freezing on Saturday evening. This could pose a problem for Los Angeles. Plus, Jared Goff was raised in California and cold weather is not his friend. He is 0-2 with five interceptions when the game time temperature is below freezing.
I’m taking the Packers -6.5, Over 45.5.
Buffalo Bills (-2.5, O/U 50) vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Bills’ road to the Super Bowl continues on Saturday night, but it runs through the Ravens and it won’t be a walk in the park.
The Ravens allowed the fewest total yards (209) of any team during Wild Card Weekend when they beat the Tennessee Titans. And Lamar Jackson now has the confidence boost of his first playoff win under his belt.
But here’s the thing: there’s a chance for snow showers in Buffalo on Saturday night. Jackson has never played a football game in the snow. Not a single one. He grew up in South Florida and has said he’d never even seen snow before college at Louisville. Snow is a tough variable to prepare for if you’ve never played in it and there’s really nothing Jackson can do about that now.
Taking this weather report into account, I’m going with the Bills here -2.5, Over 50.
Kansas City Chiefs (-10, O/U 57.5) vs. Cleveland Browns
The Browns shocked the world and made Ben Roethlisberger cry on Wild Card Weekend when they ran over the Pittsburgh Steelers in a huge upset. And I wouldn’t rule out another upset against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs haven’t played since January 3, so we have your classic rest vs. rust situation. Plus, their starters haven’t played since before that after sitting out the Week 17 regular season finale.
You also have a quarterback matchup of rival insurance pitchmen in Baker Mayfield for Progressive and Patrick Mahomes for State Farm. The two have certainly faced off before and in record-breaking fashion.
During their college careers in 2016, Mayfield and Oklahoma beat Mahomes and Texas Tech 66-59. The two quarterbacks combined for 1,279 passing yards, setting a single-game NCAA record for most total passing yards by opposing players.
Fast forward to present day and Kansas City is the Super Bowl favorite (+200), while the Browns clock in at +3000. But, you know what? I’m going with the Browns here. Why not? They have pulled off surprises this year and stunned me last week against Pittsburgh.
Give me the Browns +10, Under 57.5.
New Orleans Saints (-3, O/U 52) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s the old guy showdown on Sunday night featuring Tom Brady, 43, and Drew Brees, 41 (but his birthday is January 15 so by game time he will be 42 years old). Even Brady made fun of their AARP status on Twitter when someone joked the game should be on the History Channel due to the quarterbacks’ combined age of 84 (or 85 by Sunday).
The Saints crushed the Bears on Nickelodeon last week, but I’m not so sure they’re going to reach the Slime Zone enough times to beat the Buccaneers. Brady “didn’t come this far to only come this far” and his sights are dead-set on the Super Bowl. Or at least the NFC Championship Game.
Tampa Bay is the underdog this week but I’m picking them to win outright. Give me the Bucs +3, Over 52.